Ove 100 firefighters from across NY attended the symposium
UTICA, NY — Over 100 firefighters and emergency services personnel from across New York are in Utica this weekend for a Fire and Emergency Services Health, Wellness, and Safety Symposium.
The symposium is taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton and is designed to address the daily risks first responders encounter. The goal of the weekend is to enhance health, wellness, and safety knowledge among emergency responders.
Speakers focused on showing personnel how to keep themselves safe during and after a response.
Tim Graves, a Fire Protection Specialist with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and control, says a firefighter’s mental health is just as important as their physical well-being.
“On the fireground, firefighters know how to react to situations. We train on that,that muscle memory, but off the fireground, we have to prepare physically, mentally, make sure that our health and wellness is topped off. They’re out on long duration calls, stress levels high, they have emergencies in their communities they are responding to, in addition they have emergencies happening at their house. So, they have a lot on their plate”.
The symposium wraps up Sunday.