Respiratory Diseases and the Fire Service - IAFF

8
Introduction
rescue workers responded on the morning of 9/11, as did nearly 10,000 during
the next 36 hours. And in the weeks and months following 9/11, virtually all
of FDNY first responders worked at the WTC site – amid the debris and dust.
As a group, FDNY fire fighters experienced more exposure to the physical
and emotional hazards at the disaster site than any other group of workers.
FDNY, as a participant in the WFI, had implemented the baseline and annual
medical component four years prior to 9/11. The adoption of the WFI provided
the vehicle to intervene with early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of all
affected fire fighters, which clearly improved medical outcomes. FDNY’s WFI
program had over a 95 percent participation rate, which enabled its Medical
Division to analyze and publish data providing critical and unique insights
about WTC health effects. While the tragedy of 9/11 brought the medical issues
of fire fighters and respiratory diseases to the frontline, the medical successes
through the FDNY-IAFF WFI and medical evaluation program must be used
as the driving force for all fire departments for adopting this program. There
are no longer any excuses.
The IAFF also worked directly with the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) and their Technical Committee responsible for NFPA 1582, Standard on
Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments to ensure
that IAFF and NFPA documents were consistent with each other. We provided
our copyrighted materials to NFPA, with the provision that the incumbent
evaluations mirror the WFI.
The current 2007 edition of NFPA 1582, includes a stringent standard
for candidate fire fighters, as well as a more flexible guidance for medical
determinations for incumbent fire fighters based upon the specific nature
of their condition and the duties and functions of their job. The standard
addresses job tasks, where it is explained that those medical conditions that
potentially interfere with a member's ability to safely perform essential job
tasks are listed by organ system. Most importantly, possession of one or more
of the conditions listed within the standard for incumbent fire fighters does
not indicate a blanket prohibition from continuing to perform the essential
job tasks, nor does it require automatic retirement or separation from the fire
department.
The standard gives the fire department physicians guidance for determining
a member’s ability to medically and physically function using the individual
medical assessment.
Foremost, this standard was fundamentally developed for, and primarily
intended, as guidance for physicians, to provide them with advice for an
association or relationship between essential job functions of a fire fighter as
an individual and the fire fighter’s medical condition(s).
The federal government, through the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) also recognized that hiring and maintaining
medically and physically-fit fire fighters is an important step in reducing fire
fighter’s occupational disease. They are now in full support of the WFI and
NIOSH further recommends that all jurisdictions adopt this program for their
fire departments.