Although we’re in the profession of protecting and helping the public, we too often neglect ourselves and our body. In order to provide the services we’re sworn to provide to the public, we need to understand the importance of our being as physically able to perform our roles.

With this in mind, we developed the Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide for public safety professionals. The Firefighter-specific guide offers various exercises and injury-prevention tips geared toward firefighting.

The Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide is available through www.emergencystuff.com under pocket guides.   Amazon.com: www.amazon.com under books by Todd Platner.

Why are these guides so valuable? For one, to ignore your fitness is dangerous to you, your family and also your co-workers, not to mention those you serve. Additionally, we in the emergency services are often the victims of injuries and illnesses that we can avoid by keeping ourselves physically fit. Physical fitness isn’t about lifting the most weight at the gym or being able to compete in a 5K marathon with the fastest time. It’s about having the ability to expend energy to perform a task without overworking yourself needlessly. It’s about building your strength and endurance. It’s about using proper body mechanics to perform a task with the minimum amount of wear and tear on your body. It’s about building a better-prepared body—and it isn’t a difficult task to perform.

The Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide coaches you through simple activities that will allow you to minimize the risks of injuries caused by over extending your body. It gives you a guide for increasing your physical well-being, tracking your progress and asking yourself, “What variables do I need to consider in a fitness regimen?”

—Todd Platner, Author, and Lou Jordan, Publisher

Additionally, Platner operates the website http://firefitnessxl.com on this topic.

Community members and public officials joined Calloway County Fire-Rescue volunteers Saturday afternoon to dedicate the training facility that the organization has spent the last year-and-a-half building.

After welcoming remarks by CCFR Chief Tommy Morgan, training officer Heath Ryan talked about the word, “dedication,” saying that in the case of the facility, it meant much more than a ceremony to open a building.

Read more: Calloway Fire-Rescue dedicates training facility