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Policy & Procedure Manual

Wildland Firefighters of Indiana
This Policy and Procedure Manual
Table of Contents
POLICIES 3
PURPOSE STATEMENT: 3

DEFINITIONS 3
FIREFIGHTER 3
INJURY 3
LOWER EXTREMITY 3
SHORT-TERM INJURY 3
LONG-TERM INJURY 3

JOB ROLES AND DESCRIPTIONS 4

1) HANDCREWS 4
2) ENGINE CREWS 4
3) SMOKEJUMPERS 4
4) HELITACK CREWS 4
5) OVERHEAD PERSONNEL 4
6) CAMP CREWS 4
7) OTHER JOBS (NOT CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS CATEGORIES) 4

PROCEDURES 5
CHAIN OF COMMAND 5
WORKERS COMPENSATION 6

PRE-PLACEMENT PHYSICAL EXAM: 7

LOWER EXTREMITIES DISQUALIFYING CONDITION 8

THORACIC/LUMBAR/SACRAL SPINE DISQUALIFYING CONDITIONS 8

PATIENT REPORTED OUTCOME MEASURES 9

FOOT/ANKLE 9
HIP 9
PELVIS 9
KNEE 9
LOW BACK 9

APPENDIX A 10

APPENDIX B 11

APPENDIX C 15
THE TEST 15
Policies
Purpose Statement:
Firefighters seeking placement within the department must
undergo injury/illness screening by the medical program. This
screening will include, but is not limited to, a pre-participation physical
examination (PPE), occupational medical and fitness evaluations, risk
assessment, and injury evaluation. Firefighters enrolled in the force will
be required to meet the minimum medical requirements delineated in
the PPE portion of this chapter. After sustaining a disqualifying
musculoskeletal condition, as outlined below, crewmembers will be
required to be re-evaluated and meet the minimum standards or their
baseline scores to be considered for release from care by the medical
program. These policies are set forth with the intent to reduce the risk
and burden of injury and illness and improve overall health and safety
of firefighters operating in the department. This policy and procedure
manual is to be used in conjunction with state and federal guidelines to
protect the health and safety of wildland firefighters.

Definitions
Firefighter
An individual who is trained for the prevention and control of loss of life and
property from fire or other emergencies, who is assigned to fire-fighting activity, and is
required to respond to alarms and perform emergency actions at the location of a fire,
hazardous materials or other emergency incident.

Injury
A reportable injury is defined as one that (1) occurred as a result of participation
in an organized work event, task, or training and (2) required medical attention by a team
certified athletic trainer or physician and (3) resulted in restriction of the workers
participation or performance for 1 or more calendar days beyond the day of injury

Lower Extremity
The lower extremity is defined to include the hips, upper legs, lower leg, low
back, foot, ankle and toes. This includes all systems of the body not limited to the
nervous system, circulatory system, endocrine system, integumentary system, lymphatic
system, and skeletal system.

Short-term Injury
A short term injury is defined as any injury that meets the injury
definition that is resolved, including release of care that last for less
than 4weeks.
Long-term Injury
A long-term injury is defined as any injury that meets the injury
definition that is resolved, including release of care that last for greater
than or equal to 4 weeks.

Job Roles and Descriptions

1) Handcrews
Groups of about 20 firefighters that primarily use hand tools (shovels, saws,
rakes, etc) to clear a linear path through the vegetation to control the fire.
1. Type I- The Hotshots. These firefighters are available full-time, are
typically the most experienced and often assigned to the most challenging
duties.
2. Type II- These are typically contracted employees from regular agencies
temporarily assigned to help fight the wildfire.

2) Engine Crews
This group provides water, hoses, and pumping capability to the fire. These
firefighters experience is highly variable but must meet minimum national training
requirements.

3) Smokejumpers
Highly skilled and experienced firefighters who parachute into fire areas
inaccessible by land.

4) Helitack Crews
Personnel that manage helicopter operations and also rappel from helicopters to
inaccessible fire locations.

5) Overhead Personnel
These individuals have supervisory roles, such as incident commander, and
oversee firefighting operations and personnel. Overhead jobs may or may not involve
firefighting depending on the size of the fire and the rate at which the fire is being
controlled.

6) Camp Crews
These crews are small groups of about 10 people that generally perform
upkeep chores around a fire camp, and they generally lack of direct involvement in
firefighting activities.

7) Other Jobs (Not consistent with previous categories)

Jobs includes assignments such as heavy equipment operators (e.g.
bulldozers),food operations, and tree fallers, etc.
Procedures
Chain of Command

Each firefighter will obtain a pre-participation physical examination (PPE) with the
physician responsible for overseeing the Athletic Trainer who works with the
organization. The physician will evaluate the firefighter for potentially disqualifying
conditions of the lower extremity, as well as evaluating the overall health and well-being
of the firefighter. The responsibilities of each member of the chain of command are as
follows:

Physician: Responsible for initial evaluation, follow up appointments as

necessary, and communication with the athletic trainer.

Athletic Trainer: Responsible for obtaining documentation of PPE, creating

treatment plans as needed based on findings, scheduling follow-up appointments
with physician as necessary, and communicating work restrictions to the Station
Chief.

Station Chief: Responsible for coordinating with the athletic trainer on job
restrictions and workers compensation claims, and communicating these
restrictions to the Battalion Chief.

Battalion Chief: Responsible for ensuring firefighter complies with job

restrictions.

Physician

Athletic Trainer

Station Chief

Battalion Chief
Workers Compensation
The procedures applied to determine workers compensation will be
based off of the standards set by The Firefighters Compensation Act.
This act is dependent on the full-time or part-time status of a
firefighter.
1. Full-Time firefighter is defined as a member of the fire
department working under full-time standards.
2. Part-Time firefighter is defined as a volunteer or other member of
the fire department working under part-time standards.
The criteria of compensation for presumed cancerous diseases (brain,
bladder, kidney, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, colorectal, ureter,
lung) is dependent on the ability to demonstrate the injury or disease
is a cause of occupational hazard or brought on by an increased risk of
the presumed disease due to their job tasks. Diseases may have
previously listed requirements based on the nature of the condition.
1. Lung cancer: coverage extends only to workers who have been a
non-smoker.
2. Heart injury: coverage extends to those conditions that occur
while at work and following 24 hours of an emergency response,
unless proven otherwise.
Pre-Placement Physical Exam:
Prior to being placed at a battalion, firefighters will undergo a pre-placement
physical examination. The PPE will comply with the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Programs for Fire
Departments, Chapter 6, Medical Evaluations of Candidates guidelines (Appendix A)
(http://hamyarenergy.com/static/fckimages/files/NFPA/Hamyar%20Energy%20NFPA
%201582%20-%202007.pdf) The purpose of these guidelines is to determine if a recruit
meets medical requirements:

A recruit shall NOT be certified as meeting the medical requirements of these

standards if the physician determines that the candidate has any Category "A" medical
condition specified in these standards. Furthermore, a recruit shall not be certified as
meeting the medical requirements of these standards if the physician determines that the
candidate has a Category B medical condition that is of sufficient severity to prevent
the recruit from performing the essential functions of a firefighter without posing a
significant risk to the safety and health of self or others.
Category A (Disqualified): A Category "A" Medical Condition is a
medical condition that would preclude an individual from performing the
essential job tasks of a municipal firefighter in a training or emergency
operational environment, or present a significant risk to the safety and
health of that individual or others.

Category B (Provisional Clearance): A Category B Medical Condition

is a medical condition that, based on its severity or degree, may or may not
preclude an individual from performing the essential job functions of a
municipal firefighter in a training or emergency operational environment,
or present a significant risk to the safety and health of that individual or
others.

During the PPE, the firefighter will be required to complete the following, in addition
to the physical examination:
The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) (Appendix B)
A simple self-screening tool that can and should be used by
anyone who is planning to start an exercise program or
engage in physical activity.

Physical Performance Exchange Standard for Type 1 Wildland Firefighters

(WFX-FIT) (Appendix C)
Lower Extremities Disqualifying Condition
Category A medical conditions shall include:
-Hemipelvectomy
-Hip disarticulation
-Above-the-ankle amputation
-Upper extremity amputation at or above the wrist
Category B medical conditions shall include:
-Severe limitation of motion of a joint, fibrosis, or
arthrodesis
-Other amputations not covered in Category A
-Total joint arthroplasty:
Hip
Knee
-Deformity or dislocation of a joint or limb
-Joint reconstruction, ligamentous instability, or joint
replacement
-Chronic osteoarthritis or traumatic arthritis
-Inflammatory arthritis
-Osteomyelitis
-Compressive neuropathies including carpal tunnel
syndrome or ulnar nerve palsy
-Required use of stabilizing orthopedic braces
-Any other extremity condition that results in an individual
not being able to perform the job of firefighter

Thoracic/lumbar/sacral Spine Disqualifying

Conditions
Category A medical conditions shall include:
-Symptomatic spondylolisthesis, whether or not surgically
corrected.
Category B medical conditions shall include:
-Lumbar laminectomy or discectomy, with or without fusion
-Degenerative disease/spondylolysis/pars defect
-Structural abnormality, fracture, or dislocation
-Degenerative disk disease
-Herniated disk/sciatica/radiculopathy
-Spinal stenosis
-Spinal surgery not covered in Category A
 -Any other spinal condition that results in an individual not being able to
perform the job of firefighter
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Patient reported outcome measures are used as objective
measure of the firefighter health related quality of life regarding each
specific lower extremity body region. After the firefighter complete the
pre-participation physical examination the athletic trainer will review
the responses. If any responses on the pre-participation examination
result in a red flag then the athletic trainer will administer the patient
reported outcome measure to understand the impact of the pathology
on the firefighter. The PROM will be used to determine the impact of
the pathology, establish baseline values, and used to set goals.
Additionally, low scores may warrant a delay in employment, altered job
responsibilities, or increasing training time. This will be determined on a case-by-case
basis.

Foot/Ankle
Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM)
A score of 80% or below warrants communication between the athletic
trainer and battalion chief about the patient including treatment and/or
rehabilitation for the pathology. The MDC and MCID for the ADL subscale and
Sports subscale are 5.7 and 8 points and 12.3 and 9 points, respectively.

Hip
Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS)
A score of 80% or lower warrants communication between the athletic
trainer and battalion chief about altered job responsibilities.

Pelvis
Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ)
A score of 80% or below warrants communication between the athletic
trainer and battalion chief about altered job responsibilities.

Knee
KOOS Rating Scale
A score of 75% or below warrants communication between the athletic
trainer and battalion chief about altered job responsibilities.

Low Back
Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionarre
A score of greater than 20% disability warrants communication between
the athletic training and battalion chief about altered job responsibilities.
Appendix A
Pre-Participation Examination
Appendix B
Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-
Q+)
Appendix C
Physical Performance Standard

Canadian Physical Performance Exchange Standard

For Type 1 Wildland Fire Fighters (WFX-FIT)
The Test
There are five (5) components to the WFX-FIT: a screening component and four (4)
performance components.

1. Pre-Participation Screening

2. Carry Pump on Back

3. Hand Carry Pump

4. Hose Pack Lift and Carry on Back

5. Charged Hose Advanced

WFX-FIT is completed as a timed circuit. All performance components must be test

together. Fire fighters must be able to complete the test within 14 minutes and 30
seconds in order to be elegible for national exchange.

Who Administers the WFX-FIT?

WFX-FIT must be administered by individuals who have successfully completed
the CIFFC WXF-FIT Trainer and/or Appraiser Course or successfully completed a
WFX-FIT Appraiser Course delivered by a CIFFC certified WFX-FIT Trainer.
Some agencies may choose to have WFX-FIT administered by a Canadian
Exercise Physiologist Certified Exercise Physiologist (CEP). The CEP must have
successfully completed WFX-FIT Training delivered through CIFFC or through a
CIFFC member agency certified Trainer

Item Distance; # of times over ramp

Carry Pump on Back 160 metres; 4 X 40 metres over

ramp 8 times

Hand Carry Pump 80 metres; 2 X 40 metres over no

ramps
Hose Pack Lift & Carry on 1 kilometre; 25 X 40 metres over
Back ramp 50 times

Charged Hose Advance 80 metres; 2 X 40 metres over no

ramps