As far as I know none of the LMRFD volunteer have been given a physical exam. As a volunteer for NACFD like all their firefighters I was given a physical, two physicals in fact.
We have several volunteers who are over 60 years old. I think that's great to keep our older citizens involved in the community and using their knowledge and experience for the fire district is great.
But what is the fire districts liability if a volunteer dies from a heart attack and it's judged to be a LODD (Line-of-Duty Death)
When a firefighter dies in the line of duty their family gets tens of thousands of dollars. That's great as these guys are heros and their family deserves help if something happens on the job.
But firefighters unlike law enforcement have a special clause that says an on-duty fatality is defined as an injury or illness sustained while on duty that proved fatal, including illness resulting from a sudden cardiac event or stroke within 24 hours of training or emergency response.
It seems only common sense to give volunteer firefighters a physical exam before they start. A 65 year old volunteer with a history of cardiac problems could show up for their first fire call or training session and have a heart attack and it would be a LODD.
Firefighters families are devastated when their loved one dies and they deserve the tens of thousands of dollars in benefits from various organizations.
The LMRFD needs to be responsible and make sure volunteer firefighters are in reasonable physical condition before sending them on calls or attending training by giving them a physical exam.
What liability does the fire district have if an elderly volunteer dies on a call or within 24 hours and we had no idea of an underlying condition?
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