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. National Volunteer Fire Council to hold Grand Prize Drawing at Fire Rescue International
2. NVFC Screens Firefighters at Fire Expo
3. NVFC Releases Online Resource Guide for Firefighters
4. NVFC Heart-Healthy Tip of the Day
5. Small Steps

Washington, D.C., May 24, 2005 – The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program announces that it will be holding the Fired Up For Fitness Challenge grand prize drawing at Fire Rescue International in August. The show, which runs August 12-13, 2005, will be held in Denver, CO. The drawing will be held on Saturday, August 13th. NVFC will be located at Booth #317 on the main floor.

The grand prize, donated by FreeMotion Fitness, is a cable cross machine. FreeMotion Fitness, www.freemotionfitness.com, will also be exhibiting at the show in Booth #219. The Fired Up for Fitness Challenge is an online program where firefighters can log their daily physical activity. At certain milestones, participants are rewarded with different prizes, such as a free t-shirt and a certificate. All registered participants in the Challenge are eligible for the grand prize.

Additionally at the show, the program will be providing free health screenings. Stop by the booth to have your cholesterol, blood pressure and body composition screened for free. The screenings take only minutes and your results are available immediately. We encourage everyone to stop by the booth and have themselves checked.

In its second year, the NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter program educates firefighters and the communities they serve about the risks of heart attacks and other heart-related dangers inherent to fire fighting. The program has set an aggressive goal of reducing heart-related on-duty firefighter deaths by 25% by the year 2008. For more information please contact Maggie Wilson, NVFC Director of Health and Safety at Maggie@Nvfc.org.

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Washington, D.C., May 24, 2005 - The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) recently brought their Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program to the 2005 Fire Expo. The show was held in Harrisburg, PA from May 20-22, 2005. Fire Expo is one of the largest fire service conferences in the nation, with more than 18,000 attendees from across the United States.

In addition to blood pressure and body composition screenings, the NVFC also provided cholesterol screenings. The cholesterol screenings, each took only about seven minutes to complete. Participants were given the opportunity to meet privately with a health counselor to discuss their test results. By the shows end, the NVFC had screened over 1,000 firefighters. Participants also received valuable information on lowering their cholesterol and blood pressure, nutrition, smoking cessation and more.

"This program has given firefighters the ability to find out for free whether or not they are at risk for a heart attack or stroke," said Scott Potter, NVFC Connecticut Alternate Director and Past President of the Connecticut Volunteer Firefighters Association who attended the show. "Many firefighters would not have access to this life saving information if not for this valuable program."

Also at the show, NVFC Past Chairman and Delaware Director Jim Monihan participated in a press conference sponsored by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner (OSFC) in Pennsylvania. Ed Mann, the State Fire Commissioner, organized the event to inform Pennsylvanians about the far too many line of duty deaths each year. The OSFC is working with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and other organizations to reduce line of duty deaths. 20 programs are currently scheduled to be presented in the state. Jim Monihan spoke at the press conference regarding the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and our goal of reducing firefighter fatalities. NVFC is working closely with the OSFC to provide more information to individuals in the state. For more information on the OSFC initiative please visit www.osfc.state.pa.us.

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WASHINGTON, DC – The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter program has released another tool to help America’s fire and emergency services live a healthier lifestyle. The new publication, entitled “Face the Facts: NVFC Heart-Healthy Resource Guide,” provides life-saving information on coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, fitness, nutrition, cholesterol, smoking cessation and more.

The guide can be downloaded at: http://www.healthy-firefighter.org/pdf/2005-resource-guide.pdf.

“The online guide is an awareness tool the fire service can use to reduce the number of fatalities from heart attacks and other health-related issues,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The NVFC, our corporate partners, and the U.S. Fire Administration have made a commitment to reduce firefighter deaths, now each firefighter must make their own personal commitment to better themselves.”

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Fat-Busting Alternatives
Courtesy of MSN Health

Starting to reduce some of the fat in your diet can be as simple as choosing some of the great alternatives to foods that are currently available. Opt for the wide variety of low-fat or fat-free salad dressings, mayonnaise, yogurt, milk and cheeses that currently crowd store shelves. Also, avoid high-fat processed meats like cold cuts in favor of tasty, fresh meats with words like round and loin in the name. Buon appetito!

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Courtesy of SmallStep.gov

Here are some small steps you can take on your way to becoming Heart-Healthy….

1. Walk to work.

2. Use fat free milk over whole milk.

3. Do sit-ups in front of the TV.

4. Walk during lunch hour.

5. Drink water before a meal.

6. Eat leaner red meat & poultry.

7. Eat half your dessert.

8. Walk instead of driving whenever you can.

9. Take family walk after dinner.

10. Skate to work instead of driving.

Stay tuned for more Small Steps in the next Heart-Healthy Firefighter E-News.

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