Welcome to the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter E-News. The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program was designed to healp firefighters become more heart-healthy and lower the incidence of heart attack related deaths in the fire service. We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it benefits not only you, but others in your fire department, family and community.

1. NVFC To Receive DHS Grant for Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program
2. NVFC Presents Workshop on How to Develop Fire Department Fitness Programs
3. USFA and NVFC Form Partnership to Enhance Health and Safety of Volunteer Firefighters
4. USDA Reveals New Food Guide Pyramid
5. FreeMotion Fitness Donates Fitness Equipment to Challenge
6. Heart-Healthy Tip of the Week

WASHINGTON, DC, March 11, 2005 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in cooperation with the United States Fire Administration (USFA) today announced that the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has been awarded a Fire Prevention and Safety grant as part of the FY 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The grant will fund year three of the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program which aims to reduce firefighter fatalities from heart-related problems.

"The leading cause of death for this nation's firefighters is heart attack," said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. "We are grateful to DHS for their willingness to partner with us to continue the effort to reduce the unacceptable loss of these brave men and women who are falling while serving their communities."

According to USFA, in 2004, 110 on-duty firefighters died in the line-of-duty. Stress and overexertion, usually resulting in heart attacks, continued to be the leading cause of fatal injury, accounting for over half of the fatalities. More than half of these heart-related deaths were volunteer firefighters.

Thanks to this grant, the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program will launch Phase Three, in which NVFC will broaden the scope of the program. The program will travel across the country to several national fire service trade shows, as well as various state fire association conferences. Besides continuing the no-cost health screenings that the program currently offers, there will be many new opportunities to assist firefighters on the road to a heart-healthy lifestyle. The program will also introduce many new and exciting programs to benefit firefighters in the areas of fitness, smoking cessation and more.

The funds are a part of the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. This portion of the AFG program was open to national, state and regional organizations and associations. Priority is given to projects focusing on the prevention of fire-related injuries to children. Many of these awards represent innovative solutions for the delivery of fire prevention activities throughout the United States. A list of all current 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety grant award recipients announced to date is posted on the DHS website at: http://www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/awards/.

^ Back to Top

Washington, D.C., April 20, 2005 – The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) presented a workshop on how to design and implement fire department fitness programs. The workshop was presented at FDIC 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Titled “Creating Effective Fitness Programs for Your Fire Department,” the workshop was designed to help fire departments design and implement practical and effective fitness programs for their personnel. The two-hour session was held on Friday, April 15th in Room 205 of the Indiana Convention Center. Approximately 75 people attended, many of whom were responsible for creating fitness programs at their departments.

The workshop provided session participants with a comprehensive overview of effective fitness programming. Various principles of training were covered, along with different methods of fitness assessment and reevaluation. Special emphasis was devoted to cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and the choice of available screening and assessment tools. By the end of the session, participants were able to return to their fire departments prepared to design and implement successful fitness programs.

Gail Fast, M.A., ACE lead the NVFC’s fitness program workshop. Ms. Fast is vice president and director of marketing for L&T Health and Fitness (Falls Church, VA). Involved in the health and fitness industry for more than 10 years, she serves on the editorial board of Fitness Onsite magazine, and is a national lecturer on various health topics ranging from disease prevention to weight management. She also serves as a health science adjunct faculty member at American University and Mount Vernon College in Washington, DC.

The fitness program workshop is being underwritten in part through funding provided by the United States Fire Administration. In addition to the workshop, other health-related activities conducted by the NVFC at FDIC 2005 include its Heart-Healthy Firefighter program, aimed at promoting better health and fitness among the nation’s 1.5-million firefighters. Free screenings were offered for blood pressure, cholesterol, and body composition, along with smoking cessation information.

The Heart-Healthy Firefighter initiative has set an aggressive goal of reducing heart-related on-duty firefighter deaths by 25% by the year 2008. Now in its second year, the program educates firefighters and the communities they serve about the risks of heart attacks and other heart-related dangers inherent in fire fighting.

A Heart-Healthy Firefighter Kit developed by the NVFC has already provided thousands of firefighters with valuable information on fighting cholesterol and heart disease, as well as promoting better nutrition and overall physical fitness. The Heart-Healthy Firefighter Kit is available by visiting www.healthy-firefighter.org. The web site also offers other heart-healthy tools, including a medical history form that firefighters can print out and provide to their doctor.

Heather Schafer, NVFC executive director, reported that the Heart-Healthy Firefighter program has been well-received. “We’ve been quite successful in educating firefighters about cardiac-related health issues,” she stated. “Not only have we put information into the hands of over 5,000 firefighters, we’ve also performed thousands of free cholesterol screenings at key fire industry events. We provided screenings at this year’s FDIC Conference, and more than 1,000 attendees were tested at the NVFC booth.”

Look for the NVFC Booth next at Fire Expo in Harrisburg, PA on May 20-22, 2005, Booth S20.

^ Back to Top

Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, announced today the United States Fire Administration (USFA), has initiated a partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) to study growing issues related to firefighter occupational health and safety in the volunteer fire service and to begin to develop initiatives, programs, and strategies to reduce on-duty firefighter fatalities among volunteers.

"In 2004 alone, this nation tragically lost almost 70 volunteer firefighters in the line of duty," said Brown. "There is a critical need for effective safety and health support to the estimated 800,500 volunteer firefighters in the United States. I join with President Bush and Secretary Chertoff in supporting efforts such as this that go directly to the protection of our nation's first responders."

The National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 2003, shows that nearly 71 percent of the fire departments in the U.S. are all volunteer and over 17 percent are mostly volunteer, representing the vast majority of fire departments who are dependent on volunteer firefighters to protect their communities.

"I am very pleased to work with the NVFC to examine critical health and safety issues among the volunteer fire service and develop initiatives to reduce the number of volunteer firefighter line of duty deaths," said R. David Paulison, U.S. Fire Administrator. "This partnership effort will also support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Firefighter Life Safety Initiative and the NVFC Heart Healthy Firefighter Program to mitigate on-duty firefighter fatalities, and further ensure that Everyone Goes Home safely, following a response to an emergency."

The volunteer fire service has distinct issues related to health and safety such as time commitment availability, long distances away from training facilities, antiquated equipment, rural operations, declining number of volunteers, the wide age range of volunteer firefighters, etc. This study will examine occupational health and safety issues not just of active firefighting staff, but will also include Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responders; fire-police and other traffic control emergency response personnel; and non-response support staff performing administrative and other non-emergency activities for the volunteer fire department. This study will also look at regional issues related to health and safety for the volunteer fire service.

"As volunteers represent a major component of the American Fire Service, it is critical to examine what specific occupational health and safety issues impact them, and develop initiatives and programs to reduce volunteer firefighter on-duty deaths," said NVFC Chairman Philip Stittleburg. "This is an extremely important issue of concern to the volunteer fire service and the NVFC is very committed to eliminating on-duty firefighter deaths through this innovative partnership."

Further information about this partnership effort, as well as other USFA research studies in firefighter safety and health, may be found on the USFA Web site at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/research/safety/

^ Back to Top

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2005 - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today unveiled MyPyramid, a new symbol and interactive food guidance system. "Steps to a Healthier You," MyPyramid's central message, supports President Bush's HealthierUS initiative which is designed to help Americans live longer, better and healthier lives. MyPyramid, which replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1992, is part of an overall food guidance system that emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle.

"MyPyramid is about the ability of Americans to personalize their approach when choosing a healthier lifestyle that balances nutrition and exercise," said Johanns. "Many Americans can dramatically improve their overall health by making modest improvements to their diets and by incorporating regular physical activity into their daily lives."

MyPyramid incorporates recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in January. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide authoritative advice for people two years of age and older about how proper dietary habits can promote health and reduce the risk of major chronic diseases. MyPyramid was developed to carry the messages of the dietary guidelines and to make Americans aware of the vital health benefits of simple and modest improvements in nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle behavior.

The MyPyramid symbol, which is deliberately simple, is meant to encourage consumers to make healthier food choices and to be active every day. Consumers can get more in-depth information from the new Web site, MyPyramid.gov, so that they can make these choices to fit their own needs.

The MyPyramid symbol represents the recommended proportion of foods from each food group and focuses on the importance of making smart food choices in every food group, every day. Physical activity is a new element in the symbol.

MyPyramid illustrates:

• Personalization, demonstrated by the MyPyramid Web site. To find a personalized recommendation of the kinds and amounts of food to eat each day, go to MyPyramid.gov.
• Gradual improvement, encouraged by the slogan, "Steps to a Healthier You." It suggests that individuals can benefit from taking small steps to improve their diet and lifestyle each day.
• Physical activity, represented by the steps and the person climbing them, as a reminder of the importance of daily physical activity.
• Variety, symbolized by the six color bands representing the five food groups of MyPyramid and oils. Foods from all groups are needed each day for good health.
• Moderation, represented by the narrowing of each food group from bottom to top. The wider base stands for foods with little or no solid fats, added sugars, or caloric sweeteners. These should be selected more often to get the most nutrition from calories consumed.
• Proportionality, shown by the different widths of the food group bands. The widths suggest how much food a person should choose from each group. The widths are just a general guide, not exact proportions. Check MyPyramid.gov for the amount that is right for you.

The new food guidance system utilizes interactive technology found on MyPyramid.gov. MyPyramid contains interactive activities that make it easy for individuals to key in their age, gender and physical activity level so that they can get a more personalized recommendation on their daily calorie level based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It also allows individuals to find general food guidance and suggestions for making smart choices from each food group.

MyPyramid.gov features:

• MyPyramid Plan - provides a quick estimate of what and how much food you should eat from the different food groups by entering your age, gender and activity level.
• MyPyramid Tracker - provides more detailed information on your diet quality and physical activity status by comparing a day's worth of foods eaten with current nutrition guidance. Relevant nutrition and physical activity messages are tailored to your desire to maintain your current weight or to lose weight.
• Inside MyPyramid - provides in-depth information for every food group, including recommended daily amounts in commonly used measures, like cups and ounces, with examples and everyday tips. The section also includes recommendations for choosing healthy oils, discretionary calories and physical activity.
• Start Today - provides tips and resources that include downloadable suggestions on all the food groups and physical activity, and a worksheet to track what you are eating.

Future enhancements to MyPyramid.gov will include features that make it possible for consumers to make specific food choices by group, look at everyday portions of favorite foods and adjust their choices to meet their daily needs.

A child-friendly version of MyPyramid for teachers and children is being developed. This version of MyPyramid is intended to reach children 6 to 11 years old with targeted messages about the importance of making smart eating and physical activity choices. Additional information about USDA's MyPyramid is available at MyPyramid.gov. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and consumer brochure are available at http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines

^ Back to Top

FreeMotion Fitness, a leading fitness equipment manufacturer, has generously donated a cable cross machine for the grand prize winner of the Fired Up For Fitness Challenge. The Challenge is an interactive program available to firefighters on our website, www.healthy-firefighter.org. Firefighters sign up and log their daily physical activity. Activities include walking, jogging, weight lifting, tennis, and over 50 other activities. At certain milestones participants are rewarded. At 600 points they receive a Fired Up For Fitness T-shirt. At 2,400 point they will receive a certificate of completion.

FreeMotion Fitness™, a subsidiary of ICON Health & Fitness, is dedicated to providing total fitness solutions with competitive financing, quality customer service, comprehensive training and unparalleled products. FreeMotion™, the first and only full circuit of integrated functional strength training equipment. NordicTrack® Commercial Cardio has revolutionized the industry with Workout TV™, the first cable-access TV integrated into the console of the equipment. EPIC Strength™ utilizes ergonomic design and never-before-seen features to improve traditional strength training. FreeMotion Fitness is also the exclusive U.S. distributor of Reebok® Professional Studio Products and Reebok®-Tomahawk® Indoor Cycling Solutions.

To view the cable cross machine visit, www.freemotionfitness.com

^ Back to Top

Jump-start a balanced diet
Courtesy of Yahoo Health

By adding key foods to your diet, you can get daily allowances for key nutrients in one serving. For instance, 1 cup cantaloupe cubes has 190% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C; 1 cup frozen cooked spinach has 295% of the RDA for beta-carotene; and 6 oz. pink baked or broiled salmon fillet has 201% RDA for vitamin D. The greater the variety of healthy foods you eat, the greater your nutritional coverage

^ Back to Top