NFPA 1582 Physical Fitness Standard ?

[10-57]

I'm currently enrolled in a Fire Officer II class in which we were assigned a complex homework assignment. The topic is how to implement a physical standard for apparatus drivers within your own company. I'm looking for any suggestions on were to obtain the best information sources to complete my assignment without ordering the standard book online. I have a tight schedule so i'm trying to cut to the chase, any and all help is appreciated.

[CAR2]

Are you looking to set up a PT program or establish medical requirements? 1582 is a medical standard and will not give you guidelines for establishing a conditioning program. NFPA 1583 is a fitness program standard. The official title is "Health-Related Fitness Programs For Fire Department Members". Let me try and paraphrase some of 1583 for you. 1) The fire chief shall appoint a health and fitness coordinator, which may be a qualified dept. member or outside resource. 2) Program review is by the dept. medical officer and the safety/health officer. 3) A fitness assessment must be conducted at least annually. 4) The FD medical officer using 1582 criteria will clear candidates and employees for duty and fitness evaluations. 5) The fitness assessment uses a pre-assessment questionnaire to determine if there are any personal medical issues that might interfere with fitness training. The test assesses: Aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. 6) A major part of the program is the exercise and fitness training program: exercise and health nutrition info, individual exercise program, warm-up and cool-down guidelines, aerobic exercise program, muscle strength program, flexibility exercise program, healthy back program and safety/injury prevention program. Hope this gives you some general info. The standard has more detail and examples of forms. Best of luck..those MFRI classes can be tough, but they are really good and you learn alot.

[10-57]

Thank's Car 2 for the info., Basicly what the assignment was to address was est. physical requirments and examanations/physicals for drivers. A student in the class stated a paraphrase from the Safety Officer book in which it stated info. from NFPA 1582. I was at work the other day and my whole crew including the Chief was trying to look at 1582 to see where and if it addressed specificaly anything in regards to physicals for drivers.

[CAR2]

Thank's Car 2 for the info., Basicly what the assignment was to address was est. physical requirments and examanations/physicals for drivers. A student in the class stated a paraphrase from the Safety Officer book in which it stated info. from NFPA 1582. I was at work the other day and my whole crew including the Chief was trying to look at 1582 to see where and if it addressed specificaly anything in regards to physicals for drivers.

1582 applies to all firefighters no matter what the duty. If they are actively engaged in fire suppression, they are covered by 1582. That having been said...1582 is a voluntary compliance standard unless adopted into law by a governing body or as a requirement by an AHJ. So basically to complete your assignment you could use 1582 and 1583. Also, see if there are existing SOP's out there you can "borrow" for your assignment. There is no point in reinventing the wheel. My group did alot of that for Officer III and IV. Best wishes and be safe out there.