Motivated and inspired by the death of a firefighter after becoming chief of the Kerrville (Texas) Fire Department in 1983, I have been chiseling away at fitness goals for more than 20 years.

This journal describes my journey to personal and departmental fitness, from when I first became a flabby firefighter in 1973 to a better fitness situation in our entire department today. Chiefs who are struggling with improving firefighter fitness may find insight in my account of Kerrville Fire Department's battle of the bulge.

The Kerrville Fire Department protects a city of 25,000 and the surrounding county — total population 30,000 — in southern Texas with three fire stations and 54 shift personnel. Two ambulances operate from sub-stations. It averages 6,000 calls per year, with about 4,500 EMS calls.

1973

Feb. 1, my first day as a firefighter. I had never been a volunteer firefighter and knew nothing about what it takes. I was young and full of myself and believed I could do anything the other firefighters could do.

As I met the other firefighters, I noticed that a lot of them were overweight. After the first meal, I found out why. I had never eaten so much food in one sitting. It was the same for the evening meal. I soon found out all of the shifts ate the same way.

I quickly gained almost 20 pounds; I had never been so heavy. During the shift, we didn't do much work around the station. We just waited around for a fire call. We didn't provide EMS back then. We averaged about 300 calls per year out of two stations. At a fire scene, I also discovered my endurance wasn't what I thought it should be. I wasn't able to work very long without getting very tired.

At that time we had only a few SCBA, and no one would wear them. If you wore one, you were considered weak. But I found out fast that I was weak and started wearing an SCBA. The other firefighters found out you could stay in a fire longer and not feel so bad afterwards, and pretty soon everyone started wearing them.

On my days off, I ran a lawn service, so I was walking behind a mower those days. I was in good shape, but you need to be in great shape to be a firefighter. I don't need to tell you how difficult it is to maintain your physical conditioning to be effective at an emergency scene. No one seemed to give much thought to exercising, on duty or off duty.

Over the next 10 years, I was promoted from firefighter to lieutenant and then to captain. During this time, the guys on my shift would play basketball after hours. This kept us in pretty good shape, but we couldn't do it all of the time. We also had several sprained ankles and hurt knees.

1983

On May 1, I was promoted to fire chief and discovered that many firefighters around the country were dying every year from heart attacks. Shortly after I took over, one of our firefighters was killed in an off-duty fall. Breaking the news to his parents was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. I decided then I never wanted to have to do this again. I didn't want any of my personnel to die because I had done nothing to help them get in and stay in good physical condition.

1986

I met with the city manager and the personnel director about my concerns for firefighter fitness and proposed an exercise program. We debated whether the exercise would be voluntary or mandatory. I told them that if the program were voluntary, the people who needed it most wouldn't exercise. I argued that a high level of physical fitness is absolutely essential for firefighters to be able to do their jobs safely and effectively, and it should be as much a part of the job as training to fight fires or to perform extrications. The city manager ultimately agreed the program should be mandatory.

I met with fitness organizations within the city, including the Center for Fitness, which held aerobic classes. After much discussion, it was decided that we would participate in a step aerobics class three times per week at a cost of $300 per month. The department's firefighters were to join an instructor-led class for one hour at the city auditorium while they were on duty, Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. They would use a 6-inch bench to step on to the rhythm of music. Step aerobics lasted for 40 minutes, followed by stretching for the remainder of the hour. I believed this to be so important, I attended all the classes and still do.

But the exercise program met with a lot of resistance from the firefighters, some of whom referred to it as “dance class.” Another problem was that civilians also attended the classes, causing some confusion and a lot of distractions. I could require them to attend, but I couldn't make them work out.

Some firefighters complained that once a week wasn't doing them any good, believing I'd give up. Instead we increased the days we could attend classes to six days per week, giving shift personnel two opportunities to attend each week.

I worked very hard at exercising, and I could see a difference in my conditioning. Some of the other firefighters who worked hard told me they felt better and were losing weight.

Despite the resistance of some firefighters, we placed the physical fitness program in the shift personnel's job description.

1988

After about two years, the aerobics instructor moved to a building with some exercise equipment. We continued taking the step class for about another year, and we began working out on treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines for 25 to 30 minutes. We also added weightlifting and stretching. Most of the firefighters worked very hard and were looking great. They were not overweight and were in great physical condition.

1994

We took over the EMS operation and added 16 employees. We have since added another six employees, which increased our total to 64 employees. The cost of using the exercise facilities increased to $500 per month.

1995

We gave a stress test to the firefighters. This was very costly, so we've only been able to do it once. Although we worked very closely with the local hospital, it still cost more than $350 per firefighter. We have requested funds each year to do a stress test on all shift personnel. With budgets the way they are, we haven't been able to give our personnel a stress test again.

Next year, we plan to request funds to do a stress test on all of the fire personnel 40 years old and over. We have 26 employees who are over 40 and six who will be 39 the following year. We did a blood workup on the personnel, but again this was costly.

Dr. Lester Breslow, dean emeritus of the University of California — Los Angeles School of Public Health, performed a study and found that death rates from all causes for least-fit men were 3.4 times higher than the most-fit men and 4.6 times higher than for women. Higher levels of physical fitness were beneficial even in those with other risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, cigarette smoking, and family history of heart disease. Fitness appears to compensate even for other risks factors that might shorten life.

1999

In May, we hired Biomedical Computer Systems, specialists in firefighter fitness programs, to do a fitness test on all firefighters. The test consisted of riding a stationary bicycle under a load for less than 10 minutes. The test measured the blood volume of oxygen, with age as a factor, and cardiovascular conditioning.

We retested in October so that firefighters could see how they were doing. The testing showed most of our firefighters were able to improve their test scores. We discovered that some of the firefighters were not in very good condition.

2002

The firefighters from Station No. 2 relocated to a new station with an exercise room in it. It had an elliptical machine, a treadmill, a Bowflex and some free weights. We reduced the amount of money we paid the Center for Fitness to $450 per month accordingly.

We are going to relocate the administration offices into the old fire station. At that time, we will also add a workout room to Station No. 3. This will leave central station as the only group still going to the fitness center. Our goal is to have an exercise area at all stations so we won't have to leave the station to exercise. This will also make it easier for the firefighters to exercise during the shift.

Today

Many of the firefighters who tested in poor condition in 1999 have worked on this and are in better condition now. I can see a difference in the firefighters. They can work longer and harder at a fire or an EMS call. We do not have many fire personnel who are overweight, but there are still a few.

Currently, we do not have any formal testing to evaluate firefighters' fitness level, but we give firefighters an air consumption test each year as an indicator of their physical fitness level. During this test, the firefighters find out how long they can breathe through an SCBA while doing tasks.

We have also sent our training chief and a driver to the Coopers Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas to help us develop a testing program for the department. We have been working on this for some time.

I believe the exercise program has helped the firefighters increase and maintain better physical conditioning. One of my lieutenants has qualified for the Boston Marathon, and another firefighter is trying to qualify. Yet another firefighter has competed in and finished an Iron Man Triathlon. Several of the firefighters compete in cross-country bicycle events.

Like most fire chiefs, as I've aged it's become more difficult for me to stay in shape, but I work hard at it. It's also important that other chief officers in the department support your physical fitness program. In my department, some officers are more involved than others.

On the shifts or stations that don't have the officer's support, the firefighters don't work out as hard. When these firefighters respond to an emergency scene, they may not be able to perform to the best of their ability due to their physical fitness level.

Not only do they suffer, but the people around them also suffer. Their fellow firefighters and the civilians they are protecting are depending on them to be able to respond when they are needed the most.

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Raymond Holloway is on the Texas Fire Chiefs Association Executive Board and was appointed by President Bush to the Governors EMS and Trauma Advisory Council. A member of the Texas Municipal League Resolutions Committee, he is emergency management coordinator for the cities of Ingram, Kerrville and Kerr County. In 2001, he was Fire Chief of The Year for the state of Texas. He has been a member of the Kerrville Fire Department for 31 years and fire chief of the department for more than 20 years.