Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Roanoke County firefighter/EMT Tim Schumeyer, shown here working out with fitness and wellness coordinator David Jones, has lost about 30 pounds since participating in the program. He said his appetite had once led to quite a bit of teasing around the station. It also put him at a higher risk for a heart attack.

Roanoke County fitness and wellness coordinator David Jones, who is also a paramedic/firefighter, shows Roanoke County firefighter/EMT Tim Schumeyer how to use the station's new multi-gym. A recent grant helped fund new workout equipment for Roanoke County fire stations.

Prospective Roanoke County Fire and Rescue candidate John Gillespie of Salem (center) carries multiple tools during a physical ability test Wednesday afternoon at the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Center in Salem. Roanoke County's multi-pronged fitness and wellness program includes this test that must be completed in 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

Two digital timers are stopped after a prospective Roanoke County Fire and Rescue candidate finished a physical ability test. A prospective candidate must finish the test within 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

Kathy Shaw of Real Life Nutrition explains dietary principles at Roanoke City Fire and EMS Station No. 2. Some of the firefighters have already lost 10 pounds, said 1st Lt. David Bocock, the fire department's wellness and fitness coordinator.

Roanoke County firefighter Tim Schumeyer was an occasional exerciser with an appetite that made him a candidate for eating contests.

Or at least that's what his buddies at the station say when they joke with him.

But with a little push from a physical trainer, he's shed his old lifestyle and almost 35 pounds since March.

"I'm to the point now, that the day doesn't feel the same unless I run," he said.

Schumeyer is just one of the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department's success stories.

Since 2004, the department has had a mandatory fitness and wellness program that requires its staff to exercise under the guidance of a certified trainer. It also provides firefighters with annual medical and physical evaluations.

For firefighters, the program is about more than just being in shape for the job. It's also about a having a healthy heart.

Firefighters are at an increased risk for heart disease, and experts say that fitness programs lower that risk. The Roanoke County fire department has been a trailblazer locally, and nationally, for its use of the mandatory fitness program. And other localities are beginning to catch on.

In January, the Salem Fire & EMS Department implemented the same program that the county uses. And the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department is two months into creating its own pilot program with the help of a physical therapist and dietitian.

It was the high number of line-of-duty deaths caused by heart problems that prompted the departments to shape up.

From 1995 to 2004, about 44 percent of on-duty firefighter fatalities nationwide were caused by sudden cardiac death, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

"We don't want Salem to be a part of that number," said Capt. John Prillaman with the Salem fire department.

A close call last year involving a Roanoke firefighter also raised the level of awareness of the risks that firefighters face.

Scott Hetherington went into cardiac arrest in November while he was inside a burning house. He survived, and after months of rehabilitation, he was able to return to work in May.

But his cardiac arrest stunned the department; Hetherington, who was 39 at the time, was known for his 40-mile bicycle rides.

Research has shown that even healthy firefighters have an increased risk for heart disease because of the physical demands of the job and the gases they are exposed to during fires.

"These guys are sort of the ticking time bombs," said Dr. Thomas Hales, who investigates firefighter deaths for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He'd like to see departments do more to help firefighters maintain their level of fitness throughout their career.

Only about 10 percent of career fire departments in the country have mandatory fitness programs, Hales said.

"There is a lot of room to improve," he said. "The departments need to create a culture where they are conditioned athletes."

While career fire departments have the resources and the authority to put fitness programs in place, most volunteer departments don't.

They lack the money for exercise equipment and annual physicals. And they can't place fitness mandates on volunteers, who have full-time jobs and may have little time for exercise.

But there are preventive measures that volunteer firefighters can take, Hales said.

He suggested that volunteer paramedics could take firefighters' blood pressure.

He also pointed to the National Volunteer Fire Council, a nonprofit association that among other things, provides heart-healthy recipes and tips to assess heart risks.

Helping one another

Roanoke County's and Salem's programs were created by the International Association of Fire Fighters and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

In addition to providing annual medical and physical evaluations, time to exercise and nutritional information, the localities have taken their fitness programs a step further.

Several firefighters from each department have been certified through the American Council on Exercise to serve as peer fitness trainers.

They help their fellow firefighters learn which fitness routine is best for them and can help people applying for a job with the department get in shape for the physical test, another part of the fitness and wellness program. Roanoke uses the same test for firefighter candidates and has certified trainers.

The county recently was recognized for its program with a $100,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The fire department used the money, which was earmarked for fitness, to buy treadmills, weights and other equipment that was installed in the stations in June.

The department mandates that firefighters, medical personnel and even the chief exercise at least twice a week.

Each year during the evaluations, the peer trainers check blood pressure, body fat, flexibility, muscle strength and endurance. The results are charted so firefighters know how their current evaluation stacks up against previous tests.

The evaluations have helped firefighters detect health problems before they became serious, said Division Chief Steve Simon.

One evaluation detected that a young firefighter had high blood pressure, Simon said. He was able to lower his blood pressure with medication and exercise.

Another firefighter discovered he had the early stages of diabetes. He, too, was able to reverse the symptoms by getting into shape, Simon said.

Treading new ground

In Roanoke, firefighters at Station No. 2 on Noble Avenue are testing out a fitness program designed by Brenda Via, the city's nurse practitioner, and 1st Lt. David Bocock, the fire department's wellness and fitness coordinator.

The city has contracted with a dietitian, who is showing firefighters how to cook more healthful meals and read food labels, and a physical therapist, who works one-on-one with firefighters to develop workouts that suit their specific needs.

The firefighters had a physical evaluation in June, when the pilot program started, so their progress can be recorded.

Already, some firefighters have lost more than 10 pounds, said Bocock, who works at Station No. 2 and is a certified trainer.

"We're cooking better, we're eating better, we're more active," he said. "If you want to feel better, do your job better, then it's something you're going to do."

Schumeyer, who has been a firefighter in the county for three years, said he now feels more confident about himself and his ability to do the job.

He's running six to seven miles every other day and started lifting weights.

He's also discovered that he can feed his appetite without consequences.

"With the 6-mile run, it's amazing how much you can eat," he said.