Things that Make You Go, “What the &^%$?!”

Like many folks out there I subscribe to The Secret List (which of course is not so secret) to get notified about what’s going on in the Fire Service.  Chief Billy Goldfeder and his team do a great job of updating us about significant events in the fire service, Line of Duty Deaths in particular.

I opened my email this morning and saw that I would have to update my count of Line of Duty count.  Then I read the email and was prompted to say, “What the f^%k?”

For those who haven’t seen it, here is the email from The Secret List:

“It is with deep regret that we advise you of the Line of Duty Death of Captain Worne Hall, 86, of the Hitchins, Kentucky VFD. Hitchins in located in Carter County southwest of Ashland.  Captain Hall and Firefighters from Hitchins VFD responded to a reported ATV rollover around 1400 hours today. While coordinating the landing zone for an EMS helicopter, Captain Hall started experiencing chest pain. Treatment was initiated and he was transported to the hospital in Ashland where he died of a reported heart attack. Captain Hall is 86 years old and survived by his wife and 2 grown children. He was a member of the Hitchins VFD for approximately 35 years. As always our most sincere condolences to all affected.”

I too want to extend my sympathies to the family of Captain Hall, his wife and adult kids and the members of the Hitchins FD.  It’s never easy to lose someone you care about.

Is this REALLY a Line of Duty Death though?  The man was 86 years old!  What in the name of all that is reasonable is an 86 year old doing functioning on an Emergency Scene?  

If we are going to get serious about reducing Line of Duty Deaths we need to look at limiting the age of our members.  This may come as a shock to some people, but every single one of us is going to die.  Me.  You.  Everyone.  So, given that fact is it really reasonable to make a statistic out of someone who is 86 years old that has a heart attack? 

So far in 2010 we have seen 77 Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths.  26 of those fatalities have happened to firefighters who are over 60 years old; of those 14 have befallen firefighters over the age of 65.  65 is a mandatory retirement age in many Public Pension systems, and an age where you can collect full Social Security Benefits!  Now, I understand that in many departments that make use of on-call/volunteer responders it is men and women who have a wealth of experience, like Captain Hall, who are willing to show up when the bell rings.  Maybe we need to look at the studies into metabolic output, and the effects of aging on reaction times, and acknowledge that Emergency Response is really a young person’s game.  Maybe we need to find roles where our older members are able to serve in support capacities so their knowledge and experience, as well as their dedication, are not lost, but they aren’t placed in a position where they are under the stress and strain of emergency response.

If we are going to be serious about reducing firefighter LODD we need to consider whether age should be a limiting factor in participation.  If being over 65 placed a limit on the extent to which a member could participate (i.e. a prohibition on acting in an operational capacity) we would see an 18% reduction in Line of Duty Deaths.  That is taking life safety initiatives seriously.  That is making an effort to eliminate PREVENTABLE line of duty deaths.