Originally published June 30 2005
Firefighters across the country "stand down" for the day to focus on safety
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
While firefighting has always been dangerous, 2005 has proved a difficult year. Given the number of incidents, fire fighters are taking some time out to brush up on safety techniques and new developments in fire-fighting methodology.
Firefighters across the nation, as well as in South Florida, took part in a stand down day Tuesday to focus on their health and safety on the job.
When a cargo plane crashed in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood on June 13, firefighters used foam to soak up gas that could have ignited.
Although the job is always dangerous, 2005 has already been a bad year for firefighters.
Fifty firefighters have died in the line of duty since January -- 10 more than at the same time last year.
Five of the firefighters were from Florida.
Frank Kucera died on April 27 near Orlando after having a heart attack after training.
The higher number of deaths has firefighters across South Florida only answering emergency calls on Tuesday.
Everything else is focused on keeping these men and women alive.
We need to do something to reduce the stress and reduce the threat to our people," Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Chief Chuck Lanza said.
This year, fire isn't the biggest danger -- it is that several firemen have died from heart attacks after getting to the scene of a fire.
Broward firefighter Holly Peters said that the Florida heat places higher demands on firefighters.
"Life safety is number one, but if you have a downed firefighter, you're not doing any good for these victims," Peters said.
Firefighters and paramedics have medical gear to help victims, but learned Tuesday that they need to do a better job of taking care of themselves.
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