Fire Service Wellness-Fitness Program Saves Firefighter’s Life

Shoreline, WA. -- It was just another day on shift last November for Shoreline Fire Battalion Chief Jim Batdorf. Except that his employer was sending him to a local sports and wellness institute for a physical fitness evaluation. Batdorf is one of 85 firefighters at Shoreline. Every one of them is benefiting from a 74-thousand dollar U.S. Fire Administration grant that provides for comprehensive medical and fitness exams. The evaluation is meant to assure that firefighters are in shape for the demanding and stressful job they do and to help them maintain a high level of fitness. But Chief Batdorf found out rather suddenly that this was much more than a routine fit-for-duty evaluation. His visit to the Washington Institute of Sports Medicine that day saved his life.

“I had just finished the treadmill stress-test portion of the evaluation when they noticed a few irregular heartbeats on the EKG,” as Batdorf tells it. “I felt fine, did okay on the test, and was ready to move on”. But the doctor decided to refer him to a cardiologist as a precaution. A few days later, further evaluation showed an 80-percent blockage in a major coronary artery. “I laid there in the cardiac cath lab and saw the shadowy spot in my heart on the monitor,” Batdorf says. “I couldn’t believe it. I have never had any cardiac symptoms.”

Batdorf is a 35-year veteran of the fire service. He is 60 years old, slim and trim, with no blood pressure or cholesterol problems, and no cardiac history. But what the doctor told him was frightening. The hereditary condition in Batdorf’s heart is often called “the widowmaker”. It can be a silent, sometimes symptom-less killer. “They told me that, if left untreated, I would have dropped dead at any time”, Batdorf recalled. He went in for surgery within a few days, and is now fully recovered. He was back on shift on February 12 – just 12 weeks after that stunning day at the cardiology clinic.

Batdorf, like every other firefighter in the nation, is at risk for heart disease. When firefighters die in the line of duty, the most prevalent cause of death is cardiac-related. It can be due to the stress, the extreme physical exertion of the job, and to the chaotic hours and lifestyle of shift work. Responding to emergency medical, fire, hazmat, and rescue calls brings numerous challenges – and firefighters are faced with the need to constantly maintain their physical and emotional health. It becomes an issue for all of us when our safety depends on the health and safety of those responding to emergencies.

The International Association of Firefighters (I.A.F.F) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (I.A.F.C.) have been addressing this challenge for several years now, with it’s Joint Wellness-Fitness Initiative. The initiative mandates fire departments to initiate health and wellness programs -- from supporting on-shift exercise training, to sponsoring carefully-monitored medical and physical evaluations and ongoing wellness projects. FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration have joined that effort by providing millions of dollars in yearly federal grant money available to fire departments who wish to start wellness-fitness programs.

“The federal grant, which we applied for in 2002, made the program possible at Shoreline,” Batdorf says. “It’s an expensive proposition to provide this kind of testing and evaluation to every employee. But for my colleagues, my family and me, there is no way to calculate the value.”

Batdorf says he hopes that Congress will always put firefighter health and safety high on its list of priorities for funding – for every department and every firefighter in the nation. “If my story compels another department to get involved with the Wellness-Fitness Initiative – and to possibly “rescue” even one employee like me, it is well worth the cost.”

(See attached photo of B.C. Jim Batdorf)