VIDEO: Heart health is a key focus for firefighters. With heavy lifting and gear, the body can take on a lot of stress.
In 2018, 64 firefighters were lost in the national line of duty — almost half of those were related to sudden cardiac arrest.
That’s one of the reasons why fire departments throughout the area gathered together for a fitness-based training session, hosted by the Gates Fire District.
It’s called Peer Fitness Training — a program designed and taught by the International Association of Firefighters and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
“The hope is that we can improve our physical fitness on the uniformed fire level, where the people delivering the service to the citizens in the community are healthy and prepared to do the job, ” said captain of Gates Fire District Nick Amendolare.