They were suffering from an illness related to exertion.
Frederick, Md (KM) Six Frederick County fire fighter recruits were taken to Frederick Health Hospital last week for an evaluation.. Acting Chief Tom Coe with the Division of Fire and Rescue Services says the incidents happened between Thursday, January 9th, and Saturday, January 11th. “Of those six that were evaluated, four received treatment and were admitted for additional monitoring and further treatment. And as of today, all have been released from the hospital and are back participating with their recruit class,” he says.
Coe says the six suffered an illness related to exertion. “This really followed the normal physical training coupled with the course called Fire Fighter Safety and Survival, where the fire fighters are trained not only to protect their fellow fire fighters and rescue them, but to be able to self-rescue if a catastrophic event happened on the fire ground,” he said.
He says the physical training was halted following these events to find out what happened. “Since that time, it was determined that it was related to the course work and the physical training coupled together,” Coe says.
As a result, Coe says training schedules have been adjusted so that the normal physical training, and the very demanding Fire Fighter Safety and Survival Course don’t overlap. He also says the county will be developing future medical monitoring so that other recruits don’t’ become ill during training.
“Our fire and rescue personnel are absolutely our most important asset, and their health and safety is absolutely the top priority of our organization,” says Coe. “So we work very hard to keep everybody in a safe environment and we will continue to do that.”:
In 2002, fire fighter Andrew Waybright died after a three-mile run on hot summer day. Waybright was in his third day of training with Frederick County Fire and Rescue.
By Kevin McManus