"Fitness Center in the Firehouse"

[Guest]

Little help, please

If you believe your Fire Dept has committed to providing a comfortable, functional and well supported "Fitness Center" in your FH, a couple of officers in this dept would like to know a little about what you have, where you're located and if a visit could be arranged

This dept is trying to convince the "powers that be" that the above is a worthwhile investment and that a comittmant should be made to improve FF health & (thereby) safety and that the return on investment is a good one

Thanks!

BMFD 327

[ex-commish 490]

We have a room with a universal multigym, a rack of dumbells, a stepper, bike, and treadmill. I would be glad to show you our room. Contact me at Amanc2196@aol.com.

Andy Mancusi

Chief

Hawthorne FD

[CFD320 35]

Grand Street Firehouse in Croton has a fairly nice fitness room. It includes an elliptical trainer, upright bike, 2 flat benches, power/squat rack, Powertech leverage gym (http://www.dumbbellbuddy.com/powertec/powertec_wb_multisyst.html really awesome all in one), cable crossover system, dumbbells 5-85lb, curl bars and various other stuff I cant think of now. I would be happy to show you around. I think we put it all together for about 3k (some equipment was donated).

[dfcic 0]

Our department has taken a different approach. Our active firefighters are allowed a really nice discount each month at a local gym, an expensive one really, which makes the otherwise outrageous monthly fee attainable.

As for results and usage, a handful of us are there each morning and evening doing the right thing and staying in shape. If you're no longer active in the department I believe they audit the program and stop paying the difference.

The nice thing about this option is that the equipment and services don't get dated / worn. The club maintains the most current stuff to please its other members. Plus, the place is cleaned for us, etc., and they have ammenities you wouldn't get in a FD workout room (pool, tennis, etc.)

I'm not sure what this costs the fire district, mind you. It's bound to be a bit pricey. But it's something you might keep in mind as an option. Especially if space is an issue.

[CFD320 35]

My company used to cover all of the cost for members to belong to our local gym. We got a very nice deal when it was a Golds gym. When it was bought out by NYSC the membership fees doubled and then climbed higher. We decided that it was better to put our own together and pledge the amount equal to 2 memberships per year for additions and maintinence. As a fringe benifit it keeps guys at the firehouse which benifits the community.

[ONLOCATION 24]

I believe one of the houses in Peekskill has a gym.

Grand Streets set-up in Croton is really nice, well thought and pretty much has everything.

[pfd950 1]

Every few days somebody posts a LODD, from overexertion/heart attack. Physical fitness is the key!!! As everybody knows we take our bodies from 0-60 in 2.0 seconds. In bed one minute, then within 10 minutes we are placing demands on our bodies that the average person wouldn't dream of doing. I am a member in a not very busy Dept. It is very easy to get complacent about my physical conditioning. That complacency could kill me !!!! (or any one of us)

We are very fortunate in our Dept. The entire top floor of our building is a full size gym. We leave 1/2 as a basketball court/pt area and the other 1/2 is full of cardio,

strength, and other assorted pieces of fitness equipment. Most of the equipment was used and donated to us by residents. We recently implemented a P/T program 3 days a week. Especially targeting the cardio aspects of fitness. We throw on some packs, grab some tools or maybe an apartment pack and do some stairs. (the first time I did this my calfs hurt for 3 days). The turnout has been good and getting better. We keep the workout tough but loose, if you need to take a break, take a break. It is all about getting healthier then you are now, not competing against each other!!! The progam has started to become contagious among the members. We are feeling better, more confident, and never mind the $$$$$ we save on not having to pay for a gym.

[csf248 0]

over here in elmsford we have a gym in the basement of our engine company.

it is used, however they started to remodel the basment for 58-b2 to be housed, so the gym is covered in construction dust because someone left the door open

[loopy31 12]

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. It is certainly the leading cause of firefighter deaths. That is reason enough for your "power at be's" to give the members of your department incentive to exercise. It is the most important thing you can do to improve your health and overall well being.

Our firehouse has a room that is about 900 square feet. It has two treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stair climber, 1 upright bike, two recumbant bikes and an upper arm ergometer. We also have a multistation universal cable system as well as dumbbells ranging from 5 to 75 pounds with a flat and incline bench. And it is a comfortable fit in that small amount of space. Most of this equipment was donated by people that live in our district, business that have employee fitness centers, or local gyms that we approached and asked to contact us when ever they wanted to get rid of older equipment. Our department only spent about $2500 for all of the equipment that we have.

Our members have the ability to use it whenever they want. A major benefit to having a gym in the firehouse versus getttng them discounted memberships to a local gym, is that it gets volunteers to be physically at the firehouse more often. This increases their chances of being there when a call comes in.

Edited March 10, 2006 by loopy31

[Fire24 1]

It's a great idea and an excellent benefit to everyone to have this capability in your firehouse if possible. Unfortunately not all firehouses have the space in which to accomodate this type of equipment. In this case, the company or department should offer some type of benefit to their members in order to help them maintain physical fitness.

As Loopy31 ( :angry: ) noted, there is the added benefit for those FDs that have the equipment in-house so that their members are more likely to be there for response to calls. Better response times, better manpower and, most importantly, better fitness for their members are all great things.

I wonder: does anyone open up access to their facilities to other emergency service providers such as PD or EMS? I know that it can be a difficult thing to address but maybe this could be something to think about.