By Maria Kupier
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
WATERLOO, Iowa – Technology to page Waterloo’s firefighters will now be up to par with the rest of Iowa’s major cities, all while improving the crew’s health.
Currently, every fire station and firefighter carrying a portable radio is alerted when a dispatch call comes in, even if their station is not needed to assist. After unanimous approval from the Waterloo City Council on Tuesday night, the department will switch to station-specific alerts.
Waterloo is the only city in the state with more than three fire stations without this technology. Fifteen other cities, including those in the Des Moines metro, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Dubuque, the Quad Cities, Sioux City and Council Bluffs, have had such systems for years, according to firefighter engineer Jon Eastman. He, along with Lt. Jon Kieler and Fire Chief Bill Beck, presented the idea to the council in August.
The approved cost for the technology is $558,135 and is expected to be operational in early spring.
“It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it in the long run,” Beck said.
Firefighters said switching to the system will reduce sleep disruptions – which can be linked to health problems – and provide better service to the community.
Waterloo’s six stations hear about 37 calls a day and 10 calls overnight. Eastman said with station-specific alerts, stations would hear only two overnight calls on average.
“Calls for service continue to increase at a rate of about 5% per year, increasing the number of alerts heard by our crews by the same amount,” he said. “At that rate, we would expect calls for service and overnight disruptions to double within 20 years.”
Kieler said the increased call volume has “devastating” impacts.
“The CDC lists sleep deprivation as a carcinogen,” he said. “This puts our health in serious jeopardy.”
He said sleep deprivation also can lead to workforce injuries, medical malpractice and is already affecting recruitment and retention. He said two of their best paramedics left Waterloo to work in places with better technology.
The men said being woken suddenly disrupts the circadian rhythm, or the body’s internal clock, which can weaken the immune system. They also said inadequate sleep could result in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, irritability, depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Eight crew members have been diagnosed with job-related cancers in the past few years, forcing two people into retirement, according to Eastman. He said in the past decade, an active-duty firefighter died from liver cancer and another battled brain cancer, dying months after his retirement.
A firefighter or EMT’s sleep deprivation could also affect residents. A crew member could administer the wrong amount of drugs, accidentally stick someone with a needle or just make poor decisions overall. For truck drivers, there is an increased risk of accidents. The men said fatigued healthcare workers can have a cognitive impairment similar to someone having a blood-alcohol level that is above the legal limit.
“If we can prevent a single case of debilitating cancer or if we can prevent one major collision, this system will have paid for itself,” Eastman said.
The new technology also will automate alerts and can shave off 10 seconds to a minute in response time due to less reliance from a dispatcher.
This, along with more well-rested paramedics and firefighters, will give the community better and more consistent care, according to Eastman.
“This system will help ensure that the service rendered at 3 a.m. is just as good as the service rendered at 9 a.m. when the firefighter has just begun the shift,” he said.
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