The Wellness Fitness Initiative - the framework for our Department FFL program and fitness bonus is getting a makeover!  Twenty-five years ago, Chief P. Michael Freeman took LA County into a meeting with the ten original task force member Departments and Unions to establish a joint IAFF / IAFC commitment to member health.  Four years later, President Gillotte joined Chief Freeman on the task force. Now, with our third Fire Chief, Chief Marrone, LACoFD and Local 1014 continue our commitment to help lead the nation to better firefighter fitness and injury prevention through the WFI.  

The WFI is a comprehensive wellness program that emphasizes physical, mental, and emotional well-being must be made available to recruits, active fire fighters, and retirees.
 
For the past 25 years, the Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative (WFI) has guided departments in this pursuit. Ultimately, any wellness-fitness program must be comprehensive, inclusive, accessible, and focused on behavioral change.

Over the last 25 years, the IAFF has become the world’s leading authority on firefighter health, wellness, and fitness. Through tireless efforts and a singular vision to improve the lives of firefighters and their families, the IAFF has developed, implemented, supported, and advocated for numerous initiatives that directly target the most important issues affecting the health and well-being of members of the fire service. In this spirit, the IAFF continues to invest in strategic partnerships that will drive innovation in support of the physical, psychological and social well-being of every firefighter.

In 1997, the IAFF and IAFC launched the Wellness-Fitness Initiative (WFI) and committed to leading an innovative charge to improve the health and wellness of all uniformed fire department personnel. Since its inception, the WFI has become the principal most comprehensive resource in support of fire fighter wellness and fitness, largely because of the efforts made by the union leaders, fire chiefs, subject matter experts, and local champions from the 10 task force cities (FDNY, Fairfax County, Calgary, Seattle, Indianapolis, Phoenix, LA County, Austin, Miami-Dade, and Charlotte) who have worked collaboratively to identify best practices. But there is also recognition that updates are needed to address the evolving demands of the profession and emerging trends in health, wellness, and fitness research.  

In addition to highlighting what is important, we must prioritize the implementation process (i.e., how to make things work) so that departments are provided with the necessary support to improve the health and well-being of their members. Central to this mission are guidelines to define, pursue, support, restore, and promote wellness and strategies to target the specific behaviors (e.g., exercise, diet, sleep) known to influence fire fighter health, fitness, and overall well-being.

The IAFF was recently awarded a FEMA grant to restructure and refocus the WFI to better serve the unique wellness-fitness needs of the fire and EMS by placing a larger focus on best practice guidelines and program implementation. This new resource will be branded as, “The IAFF/IAFC Wellness-Fitness Initiative – Igniting Change,” to better reflect the aims and scope of the revision, and it will be structured in such a way that any department regardless of constraints or circumstances can use the WFI to outline a path for themselves to follow. The WFI will be organized as a repository of evidence, a collection of best practice guidelines, and an actionable implementation roadmap that compliments federal and local standards using the newly established wellness-fitness framework. 

Local 1014 looks forward to completing the work and the new standards for behavioral health and physical health care being implemented in the initiative. Items like our Behavioral Health check-in with our annual physicals begin to be a reality and in service, as well as the continued cancer testing projects we are involved in.  

Check out all the resources for the FFL and WFI program, including the Fit to Thrive and Nutrition Components at https://www.iaff.org/wellness-fitness/

MEDAL OF VALOR AWARDS 

Local 1014 Members were honored at the LACoFD Medal of Valor Awards Dinner.  Our members humbly serve the communities of LA County with acts of heroism and bravery occur every day.

This event recognizes some of the calls and the work of our members in the most intense conditions. We congratulate and honor our recipients and also thank ALL members who serve each and every day in our stations. We are truly one of the best Departments in the world with the most humble and skilled members in the profession. 

Among the recognitions was the prestigious Medal of Valor, presented to firefighters Jacob Merrill and Cody Starbird, who entered a burning home to save an unconscious blind patient.

A posthumous Medal of Valor was also presented to the wife of Brother Dustin Roberto. In January of last year, Roberto was in a vehicle accident while responding to a 911 call in Palmdale and managed to extricate himself and his injured fellow firefighter. 

Local 1014 Honored by LA Democratic Party with Miguel Contreras Leadership Award

President Gillotte was joined by Local 1014 Executive Board members as our Union - Local 1014 was recognized by Labor Democrats, who have been so supportive of our membership and our issues.  

Most notably, the LA Democratic Party led by Mark Ramos from UFCW worked hard to help us get Measure E across the finish line. We are grateful for the alliance and continued help in our funding, health and safety, and contract work.  The partnerships with voters and our small business community continues to be a cornerstone in our work to keep our amazing department not only funded and stable, but also high in esteem with those we serve in our communities for the amazing work our members do in the heat of battle.  

The Local 1014 produced video Resilience was shared and our love of community was felt.   Our elected leaders from the Local and State offices are now logging in to support our work to get our contract done as well. We look forward to bringing that to a finish as we bargain each week closer and closer to a deal. We’ll update you as we get things finished up as we did recently with our Fringe Benefits contract.   

Help Ava the Fire Dog Heal: Support Her Surgery and Recovery

Ava, the beloved peer support dog for Los Angeles County Fire, needs our help.

Ava recently suffered a torn ACL in her left knee—a painful injury that requires surgery and extensive rehabilitation. Without it, her mobility and ability to continue her important work will be severely limited.

Paws for Life K9 Rescue, a nonprofit committed to helping animals in need, has stepped in to support Ava's recovery. But they can’t do it alone. The cost of surgery and follow-up care is significant, and every donation makes a difference.

DONATE THROUGH THE LINKS BELOW AND
BE SURE TO SAY THIS IS "FOR AVA LACOFD"

www.pawsforlifek9.org/donate

PayPal: Info@PawsForLifeK9.org

Venmo: @PawsForLifeK9Rescue

Together, we can ensure Ava gets the care she needs to get back on her paws.