Water challenge helping Central PA firefighters beat the heat

(WTAJ) — In times of extreme or high heat, it’s important to remember that first responders like firefighters are constantly gearing up and heading into hotter conditions. That’s why one challenge in Central Pennsylvania is working to help fight the need for water in local fire companies.

Firefighters often wear nearly 45 pounds of gear , including things like helmets, gloves, boots, coats and pants. Once you tack on other equipment like tanks, radios and lights that number can quickly be doubled. So, imagine yourself walking around in 98 degrees carrying over 80 pounds and still needing to work.

While that may not sound like fun at any given time firefighters have to do this to help keep the community safe. In 2022, National Fire Protection Association found that overexertion and strain accounted for 32% of all injuries and thermal stress accounted for 7% of injuries.

One thing that local fire departments are always accepting is donations of water or Gatorade.

That’s why one Huntingdon County man is spreading the message of helping your local fire department. Joe Thompson started a bottled water challenge on Facebook last month which encourages people to donate a case or even a few bottles of water to volunteer fire companies for when they respond to calls.

“Our volunteer firefighters, especially put hours and hours and hours into fundraising to help keep these vehicles and others running and moving. I would hope that as a small gesture of gratitude from the community, from we in the public, that dropping off six bottles, 12 bottles, 24 bottles, 40 whatever someone could afford and whatever they are comfortable with, carrying and moving could show our thanks to the volunteers,” Thompson said.

The post has been shared more than 100 times and since then donations have been pouring in to volunteer companies across Central Pennsylvania.

“I don’t take credit for all of those donations, and that’s fine. If there are other efforts underway and people are getting the word to help support our local volunteer firefighters, that’s perfect. And that’s fine just so that we can show our gratitude and thanks for what these folks do all hours of the day and night,” Thompson said.

Now, a month later, it’s safe to say that the challenge was accepted. Fire companies, like the Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department , joined in and reached out to the community to see if they’d be willing to donate.

“I have friends in Huntingdon and I had happened to see a post that someone was issuing a challenge to drop off cases of water at their local fire companies because of how hot it has been, how hot and dry it has been this summer. So I thought we should do that here,” Beth Eastep, EMT and firefighter at the Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department said.

However, they took it a step further and used the donations as a way to show how much extra weight firefighters have to carry on a call.

“A firefighter going into a fire could have an extra easily 60 to 70 pounds on their body going into a building that could range anywhere from 1000 to 2000 degrees. So I thought I would take the number of active firefighters we have, which is 20 to 25, figure out how much weight that would be and see if we could get that much in weight in for water and Gatorade,” Eastep said.

So, they set a goal to college 1400 pounds of donations and in just a matter of time they had more than double that.

The Geeseytown Community Fire Department added that while companies push for water in the summer they also need it all year round.

“It’s the same way even in the cooler temperatures. You know, you’re still you’re still working. You’re still putting all of your exertion into getting the job done. So, I mean, it’s still important to get hydrated then, too,” Trevor Walls, Assistant Chief for the Geeseytown Community Fire Department, said.

Walls added that all fire departments in the county and surrounding area always need help and a case of water goes a long way.

“If you’re interested, feel free to drop a case off to the fire department, even if no one’s around. Just drop it off at the front door, and that’s everybody greatly appreciates it,” Walls added. “This isn’t, I would hope not a once and done challenge. I would hope that this idea continues and the momentum continues.”

You can find a full list of fire departments in each county, their addresses and phone numbers here . Reach out to them directly to see if they need donations and when and where you can drop them off.

2024 is guaranteed to be one of the five hottest year ever recorded, according to NPR . We’ve already seen a heat wave in Central Pennsylvania and it’s almost guaranteed that there will be more to come.

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Drinking lots of water regularly can help firefighters and everyday people avoid heat-related illnesses like heat cramps, heat strokes and heat exhaustion.

Signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses:

• Weakness/fatigue
• Heavy sweating
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Abnormal pulse
• Abnormal skin color or feel
• Muscle cramps
• Nausea or vomiting
• Syncope (temporary loss of consciousness caused by a drop in blood pressure)

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