NVFC Offers Free Health Screenings, Cooking Demonstrations at Firehouse Expo

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will offer free health screenings and cooking demonstrations at its Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program booth during Firehouse Expo from July 27-29 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. Stop by Booth #4008 to receive the free screenings, learn healthy cooking techniques, sample healthy recipes and pick up information about how to keep a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Over half of all firefighter deaths are attributed to heart attack, making it the leading cause of firefighter fatalities. The Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program is a proactive campaign to reduce the number of firefighter deaths from heart attack through proper nutrition, fitness and health education. Firehouse Expo, an event that hosts over 16,000 fire, rescue and EMS professionals each year, is one of a series of shows where the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program is exhibiting this year.

The NVFC has teamed up with L&T Health and Fitness, and award-winning fitness management and health-promotion company, to provide free, non-fasting screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose. A certified health counselor will be available to discuss the results with each participant.

"Knowing the status of your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels is a very important aspect of heart attack prevention," said Heather Schafer, Executive Director of the NVFC. "It is our goal to screen as many firefighters and EMS personnel as we can for these risk factors."

Chef Kevin Harris of Food For Love, Inc., will perform heart-healthy cooking demonstrations several times during the Expo. The cooking demonstration schedule is as follows:

Thursday, July 27 - 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3, p.m.
Friday, July 28 - 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Saturday, July 29 - 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 1:30 p.m.

"We have added the cooking element to our exhibit this year because nutrition is an essential component to keeping heart-healthy," said Maggie Wilson, NVFC's Director of Health and Safety.

To learn more about the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, visit www.healthy-firefighter.org. For more information about Firehouse Expo, visit http://www.publicsafetyevents.com/pub/fhe/index.po.