Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety will participate in the 2010 Fire/Emergency Medical Services Safety, Health and Survival Week or Safety Week.

The event is scheduled for June 20-26. Safety Week is sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

This annual event aims to improve firefighter safety and health to give all a better chance of survival in emergencies and in the long term. Fire departments across the U.S. and Canada will take time during the week to go over the messages and resources that will help achieve that goal.

“We are looking forward to participating in Safety Week,” said Terry Brown, Training, Health & Safety Chief. “This gives us a chance to focus an entire week on health and fitness related issues that are so critical to the well being of our firefighters”.

The theme for Safety Week this year is “Fit for Duty,” which encourages all fire/EMS personnel to focus on health and wellness issues. With more than 50 percent of firefighter line-of-duty deaths caused by health and fitness-related issues, it’s imperative that there be a concentrated effort in implementing wellness and fitness programs.

Maple Valley fire has recently partnered with Oregon Health and Science University to implement the PHLAME program. This provides a health and fitness program centered on the team approach and will provide OHSU with valuable data for their ongoing study of firefighter fitness.