Need to Rehab Stressed at Firehouse Expo

Too many times, warning signs leading to line of duty deaths are overlooked on the fireground, leading to unnecessary tragedies.

This is what Montgomery County, Md. Firefighter/Paramedic Erik Gaull told attendees at Firehouse Expo last week in Baltimore as he urged them to place a higher importance on rehab.

"Failure to rehab can have deadly consequences," he said. "No if, ands or buts about it. If you don't rehab your people properly, you will kill them."

According to Gaull, deaths associated with a lack of rehab are most prevalent in training. He said peer pressure often plays a role among young and fit responders.

"There is a macho mentality where they want to keep going," he said. "You need to rest. We're not asking people to do anything other than sit down or lay down and rest."

Gaull said that in many cases, self rehab is enough, but that in others, some type of formal rehab is needed.

"Not every incident requires formal rehab, but high-rise fires and wildfires might require more than one."

In hot weather, he said commanding officers should keep a heat index chart on hand.

"You are going to want to know what the impact of the temperature will be on the fireground."

He went a step further, highlighting the policy of one chief who requires his incident commanders to dress in full turnout gear so that they know what their crew in going through in regards to the outside temperature.

"Wearing turnout gear is trapping all of the heat inside of you."

Incident commanders, according to Gaull, play a big role in enforcing rehab.

"Accountability is vital," he said. "We need to know where every single person is on the fireground at all times."

He stressed that in just about all cases in which rehab factors into a responder's death, that death was preventable.

"Do not send your people go home thirsty, hungry or tired," he said. "There is a body of literature out there that says you need to rehab. When it comes down to it, you are going to lose in court if you don't."