Rural Muskogee County Firefighters Treated For Heat Related Injuries

Almost a hundred firefighters were called out in the sweltering heat to battle wildfires in Muskogee County on Tuesday. <br/><br/>As you can imagine, the heat makes their jobs even more dangerous. Eight

Wednesday, August 2nd 2006, 10:19 am

By: News On 6

Almost a hundred firefighters were called out in the sweltering heat to battle wildfires in Muskogee County on Tuesday.

As you can imagine, the heat makes their jobs even more dangerous. Eight firefighters near Warner in Muskogee had to be treated for heat-related injuries.

News on 6 reporter Jennifer Loren talked to one of those firefighters.

When Warner volunteer firefighters were called-out Tuesday it was already closing in on 100 degrees outside. They knew their day was going to be tough. But one firefighter never thought he'd end up in the hospital. "Just pure chaos." Warner Fire Chief Tobey Hadley says firefighters had an early wake-up call. It included raging wildfires and already sweltering temperatures. It reached 102 degrees in the afternoon, but to them it felt like 200 degrees. â€œIt was pretty scary. The heat was intense."

Because of the dangerous heat and surrounding the fires Muskogee County EMS sent three ambulances to be on standby. Rebecca Smith with Muskogee County EMS: "You know we worry about our medics being in and out of the heat. But the firefighters, itâ€™s just brutal on them." Sure enough, eight firefighters needed them. Paramedics had to use IV's to rehydrate them.

Volunteer firefighter Paul Amos: "You feel it. You get light-headed, nauseous. You quit sweating. For me the biggest thing was my legs got weak." Amos was taken to the hospital with heat exhaustion. "We hear about heat stroke all the time. But till you experience it you don't know what its like." When firefighters are out here you have to remember they're in full bunker gear and they're not just standing here. They're working hard. "We're pulling hoses. We're grabbing rakes, flappers, blowers. You put a 40-45 pound blower on your back, plus your gear, walking to the woods."

Amos actually feels lucky. Had he not recognized the symptoms and had paramedics on standby, his heat exhaustion could have turned to heat stroke.

There were about 100 firefighters from more than 15 fire departments fighting those fires by the end of the day. An EMS spokesperson says they are not surprised they had to rehydrate eight of them. They say they're just happy they only had to take one of them to the hospital and that he is now okay.