Fairfax, Va., Mar. 11, 2010: The
International Association of Fire Chiefs and the
International Association of Fire Fighters announced the theme for the 2010 Safety, Health and Survival Week: Fit for Duty.
Safety, Health and Survival Week (
Safety Week) is a collaborative program sponsored by the IAFC and the IAFF, coordinated by the
IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section and the IAFF Division of Occupational Health, Safety and Medicine, in partnership with more than 20 national fire service organizations.
Fire departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activity during Safety Week and instead focus entirely on safety, health and wellness-related training and education until all shifts and personnel have taken part. An entire week is provided to ensure each shift and duty crew can spend one day focusing on these critical issues.
With more than 50 percent of fire fighter line-of-duty deaths caused by health and fitness-related issues, both organizations believe it’s imperative that there be a concentrated effort in implementing wellness and fitness programs.
Safety Week’s Fit for Duty theme will cover a variety of topics that are extremely important to all fire fighters and EMS personnel. The program will assist fire departments with implementing their own programs to prepare fire fighters and EMS personnel with healthy habits that reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain cancers, thereby increasing the chance for a longer and healthier life.
While departments are encouraged to identify activities tailored to their specific community, recommended areas of concentration include:
- General Health and Wellness
- Food and Nutrition
- Fitness
- Stress Management
- Smoking and Smokeless-Tobacco Cessation
- Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Infectious Diseases
- Suicide Prevention
During the week, departments are also encouraged to support comprehensive fitness assessments, medical screenings and educational programs that build and maintain medically and physically fit personnel and help in reducing health and fitness-related deaths or injuries.
Planning tools and resources are currently available on the Safety Week website courtesy of the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section. Check out the
Resources > Health and Wellness webpage for specific resources on this year's areas of concentration.
Additional information can also be found on the
IAFF’s Health, Safety and Medicine’s website. Online resources in a variety of topic areas are available online year-round to support continuous efforts to promote personnel safety, health and wellness programs.
CALL FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
We seek submissions for new SOPs, policies, articles, program summaries, program descriptions, etc., on this year’s areas of concentration. The preferred format for submission this year is a URL link to a departmental or organizational website, in order to facilitate a timely posting of new resources and provide visibility to departments contributing to the program. If a link isn’t available, PDF documents will still be accepted.
If you have submitted resources for Safety Week in the past, there’s no need to resubmit the same information. However, if you have updated your resources or have new ones, we would like to add them to the website. If appropriate, please note that your submission is an update of a resource currently posted on the Safety Week website.
By providing resource links for use in conjunction with the Safety Week and overall fire/EMS safety efforts, you acknowledge that you:
- Have the authority to do so without infringing on copyright or ownership of the resources.
- Give the IAFC permission to post these links/resources on the IAFC's public website.
- Understand that the IAFC posts these links on the IAFC's website for use by public visitors to promote safety practices in the fire and emergency service, but the IAFC does not control who uses the resources or how they are used. The goal is to provide tools and resources that fire and emergency service professionals can customize for use in their area. Please do not send resource links that cannot be used in this fashion.
- Understand that their availability on the website does not constitute endorsement of any kind by the IAFC.
Email your current resources to safety@iafc.org by Friday, March 26, 2010. In your email, please indicate which of the 2010 areas of concentration (listed above) the resource references.
The NAHF encourages all Firefighters to participate in the
2010 Safety, Health and Survival Week
"Fit for Duty"
The Mexican American labor leader and US Navy Veteran was a humble man who gave of himself unselfishly to the cause of farm workers and all workers. He championed the cause of equality for Latinos like no one else. His courage in the face of some of our nation’s most powerful industries inspired generations of all races and nationalities to fight the good fight. The late founder and president of the United Farm Workers of America had deep confidence in the ability of people to move mountains of injustice. Under his leadership, farm workers moved the agribusiness mountain and won the first union contracts for agricultural workers in the grape fields. Millions followed Cesar Chavez on his journey, which won monumental gains for farm workers, for civil rights, political representation for racial minorities and environmental justice. These achievements place him as one of the most outstanding leaders of the twentieth century.
People from all races, nationalities, men and women alike admire Cesar Chavez for helping us stand tall with dignity and unity as we organize against injustice. The roots of Cesar Chavez’s organizing are deeply embedded in the Latino community and the class struggle of America. The rallying words of Cesar and the UFW, “Si Se Puede!” can be heard across the nation. When Cesar Chavez demanded union contracts, decent wages and safe working conditions, he extended the possibility for victory to all workers across the nation. He elevated the bar for equality and unity. He gave hope to the poor and under represented.
"We have another kind of power that comes from the justice of our cause. So long as we are willing to sacrifice for that cause, so long as we persist in non-violence and work to spread the message of our struggle, then millions of people around the world will respond from their heart, will support our efforts...and in the end we will overcome." ...Cesar Chavez
