Then it’s hilarious, unless you’re an adult who depends on working to provide for your family. Or, an administrator who watches their workforce slowly dwindle due to work related injuries. The truth is that in the fireservice, injuries rarely only affect the person who sustains the damage. If the injury happens on the scene of an emergency, not only is the focus of the crew diverted to the injured member, but the victim or patient has one less set of hands and eyes helping them. Beyond the initial incident there is the emotional and mental impact of the injury on both the individual and crew, and also the financial impact to the individual and department from their time off while healing. Injuries can absolutely dismantle a fire department, from the operational concerns of decreased manpower to the crew continuity being broken up. The most frustrating injuries are those which are predictable and preventable.
Like in sports, injuries in firefighting can be categorized in two different environments: during competition, and any other time, including practice. Injuries during either of those categories are a hinderance and although sometimes justified by the risk vs benefit continuum, still have an overall negative impact. Injuries sustained any other time than during emergency operations, are a much tougher pill to swallow. Especially once the golden rule of injury is understood. The rule being that, the greatest predictor of injury to a body part or system, is previous injury. Avoiding or preventing the initial insult to the tissue is the ideal situation, but understanding that just because the injured part is considered healed, range of motion is almost all the way back and the pain is gone, does not mean that the firefighter is out of the woods. Often, once the injured firefighter completes their rehab or strengthening protocol, they return to the very same routine of lifestyle and training that they did before. The very lifestyle and training methods that may have very well contributed or even directly caused the injury. What are the chances you know someone with a bad (ankle, back, shoulder, knee) who is stuck in their two to three time per year loop of exercise, injury, rest, rehab?
A truly effective injury prevention program must go beyond some routine stretches and over emphasizing the need for situational awareness. Attention to preexisting and current injuries and common muscular imbalances of the firefighter have to be taken into account. As well as a working knowledge of firefighting demands and how to train to increase performance without increasing risk. The adage rings true, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Be prepared for your shift.