6 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
Continued from Page 5
that only 3 members of the station would be using the
gym at a time. The gym gained additional PR benefit by
having us agree to wear station shirts while working out
at the gym and they indicated an area of the parking lot
where we would be allowed to park the rig to be out of the
way of normal patrons but very visible from the roadway.
This has led to increased community awareness of our
local volunteer fire department, and has also elevated the
position of this local workout facility as "that place where
the firefighters get fit". It's a deal that's worked out well for
everyone.
Now I'm not saying that you'll necessarily have an
opportunity to implement the same plan above in your
area, but I do think that being able to think outside the
box a bit can help find creative solutions to seemingly
intractable problems.
Culture
The hardest part of the fitness equation to address is how
your people feel about fitness in general. Often being
fountains of jocularity and cynicism, firehouses can be
tough places to make big attitude changes. You can't skip
this part, however, if you want to have an effective alteration
in the overall fitness level of your station. If your people
see all this "health junk" as a bland brochure from a sterile
district policy, it's unlikely to get much traction. Worse is
the "Crabs in a bucket" mentality that can develop when
one member takes it upon her/himself to get their fitness
back on track. Anyone who's ever seen a bunch of crabs at
the bottom of a pail knows the syndrome; any crab could
easily escape on their own, but whichever one is climbing
towards the top is grabbed by the others, mutually assuring
their own demise. The first member to start taking care of
themselves is often branded a health nut, mocked for his
vanity, and otherwise socially pressured to fit back into the
group.
The fixes for this problem are not hard, but they do take
time and effort. First, the station leadership (officers) sets
policy through their own actions whether they realize it or
not. If you lecture and badger about how important fitness
is to maintaining firefighter health, but you carry your own
spare tire and aren't doing much about it, then no-one is
going to fall for that old "do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do" line.
The example starts at the top; if you aren't in good shape
now, you need to become that way, and if at all possible
you need to do so in a very visible way. Working out,
especially when you're recovering from poor fitness, can
be very embarrassing in a culture that's traditionally built
on competition and machismo. People are afraid to show
how out of shape they really are, so they don't work out
where others might see, and often this leads to them not
working out at all. In a station leadership role, people need
to be aware that you are taking your own advice. Invite
your members to work out with you, and if they won't, do
it yourself anyway, right there at the station where they all
know it's happening. If you're consistent, they'll eventually
come around one by one.
Second, don't underestimate the power of a group.
Organizing a time 3 times a week or so when the station
works out together can be a positive motivator for those
who have a hard time keeping up with a workout routine
on their own. If it helps, get a program together (Insanity,
P90x, Crossfit, etc) and work the routine as a group. A
little friendly competition can keep things moving too;
having a leaderboard up in the station of those people who
are keeping the best times or moving the most weight or
doing the most reps can do a lot to counteract the slump
that comes when a person hits a plateau in their fitness
progression.
Finally, negative culture towards health and fitness needs
to be squashed. Now that doesn't necessarily mean
you need to write up anyone who speaks poorly of an
exercise program, but it does mean you need to be ready
to counteract the subtle jibes that start to emerge when
people don't like what they see. Usually a few well placed
remarks that turn the joke back on the jokester will suffice;
as long as you're a respected leader (which is a whole
article in and of itself) most people aren't going to want
to be on the opposite side of a joke fest from you for very
long. You also can use your position to grant complements
or encouragement to those people who are taking the
right steps. Make sure they know that you notice, and
that you appreciate that they're taking the issue seriously.
We often get so focused on stomping on the bad behavior
that we forget to reward the good; you need both to keep
your people moving in the right direction. If you aren't
an officer at your station, you can still have a big impact.
What can't be achieved through pressure can be done
through jealousy. Make yourself an example of what a fit
firefighter can be, and don't cave in when someone gives
you a hard time for your dedication to keeping your body
in fighting form.
Taking Care of Our Own
Fitness at the station level is one of the most challenging
problems that need to be addressed in the fire service, but
it's also one of the most vital. You know the numbers,
and what they mean for firefighters who don't take care of
themselves. It's up to us to make sure our people don't end
up in those statistics. Don't wait until your department has
an incident to take the steps necessary to keep your people
healthy; by then it's already too late.
About the Author:
Ethan Vizitei is a Captain with the Boone County Fire
Protection District in Columbia, Missouri, and the Station
Commander of BCFPD Station 14. His passion is as an
educator, and he's active as a conference speaker and an author
both in his vocation (Directory of Software Engineering, 12
Spokes Inc, ethan@12spokes.com) and in his avocation (Lead
Coach, BCFPD Training Academy, evizitei@bcfdmo.com).