Our interviews with this year's fire chiefs of the year offer an interesting contrast. Chief Alan Brunacini of the Phoenix Fire Department, our 2006 Career Fire Chief of the Year, recently retired after 48 years of active service. Chief Tom Kuntz of Red Lodge, Mont., the 2006 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year, has more than 15 years of experience and has made strides at the national level. Each chief is personable and a well-respected role model. One has changed the American fire service, while the other is beginning to have an impact.

The American fire service is, without a doubt, in the midst of some serious changes and not by its own choice. Over the past five years, the fire service has been slapped with more change than in the past 20 years. Sept. 11, 2001, brought unified response to focus, as well as the need for cultural changes.

In March 2004, 238 people from fire departments, associations and organizations throughout the fire service industry responded to an invitation to a Life Safety Summit in Tampa, Fla. Initiated by National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Executive Director Ron Siarnicki, it truly was an amazing turnout of powerful individuals to discuss ways to prevent firefighter fatalities.

As the media reported news of the summit, some readers wrote that just over 100 firefighter deaths a year was, in fact, a minute percentage when you consider that more than 1 million firefighters respond to well over 1.5 million fire calls a year. True, but preventable firefighter deaths make up more than half of the firefighter fatalities, and there is no excuse for a firefighter death that can be prevented.

The suggestions from that meeting in Tampa were eventually narrowed down to the 16 Life Safety Initiatives. In the years since the summit, the efforts to stop preventable firefighter deaths have not only been sustained, they have grown and show no signs of slowing. Accountability reverberates; standardization in training, response and protocols increases; and most important, the heightened awareness of health and safety won't go away.

One area that Fire Chief has endorsed and supported even before the 16 Life Safety Initiatives were created is the need for physically fit firefighters and emergency personnel. In April 2001, Fire Chief included an exercise poster from the Los Angeles Fire Department to promote firefighter fitness. That issue also cited NFPA statistics from 1999: Of the 112 firefighters who died in the line of duty, “more than half were due to heart or stress-related diseases.” Unfortunately, not much has changed since then.

At the start of this year, the Chicago Fire Department implemented a department-wide fitness program that uses exercises developed by CFD Fitness Coordinator Darryl Johnson. Using resistance bands that cost less than $20, this program eliminates any excuses not to work out. The Chicago Fire Department exercise poster is included in this issue, courtesy of American LaFrance.

According to John Stevenson, president and CEO of American LaFrance, “We recognize that the physical demands placed on firefighters can be tremendous. We salute the Chicago Fire Department for developing this affordable exercise program, and it is our hope that this poster will be displayed and followed by all firefighters across the nation.”

The versatility of Chicago's exercise program also received the endorsement from Maggie Wilson, director of health and safety for the National Volunteer Fire Council.

“Fitness is a vital component in an individual's plan for achieving a healthy heart,” she said. “Having a regular exercise routine reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and it also works hand in hand with proper nutrition and calorie intake to achieve desired weight goals.”

The NVFC does more than just talk about health. It offers cholesterol screenings and cooking demonstrations at major trade shows (Booth #5225 at FRI in Dallas), and it created the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program at www.healthy-firefighter.org.

How many of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives can you name? There's no excuse not to be aware of the efforts of safety on and off the scene of an incident. You are a role model, aren't you?