Importance of heat safety for firefighters

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — This might be the hottest week of the year in the Tennessee Valley.

The Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD) says working in the heat is nothing new, but they are being extra cautious.

“There are lots of steps that are taken behind the scenes to protect our firefighters when they’re on duty. We always want to make sure that they’re hydrated. And then when they go out on calls, they’re also steps on major scenes,” said CFD Public Information Officer Lindsey Rogers.

Cold drinks are always flowing for firefighters.

In case of a long response, it’s vital to stay hydrated.

“Our firefighters will get fatigued very quickly. And so, the company officers our battalion chiefs will call additional companies to that scene so that we can rotate the crews in and out faster and spread out that workload to keep them safer,” Rogers said.

As a firefighter, carrying more than 70 pounds of equipment is part of the job.

Tack on extreme heat and that load becomes even heavier.

“We have our gear on that’s, you know, 70 plus pounds of weight and our gear doesn’t breathe. So, we’re working in 100% capacity. So, really, really quickly 10,15, Maybe 20 minutes as the most you can work in that gear before you’re going to have to take a break, rehydrate, cool off and then kind of get back into that,” said firefighter Anthony Westerfield.

At the end of the day, first responders say safety is a top priority during the summer and all year ’round.

“Our command staff is constantly thinking about firefighter safety. When the temperatures do rise, all of our company officers are monitoring that keeping an eye on that and taking that into account because safety is a top priority,” Rogers added. “We want to make sure that our firefighters are equipped to respond to all different kinds of emergencies and that that can really go the distance should there be a major incident.”