Following the death of a Virginia Beach firefighter last month, city leaders are moving forward with improving health screenings for city firefighters.
“What if we could have prevented us being at that event,” Virginia Beach Fire Chief Ken Pravetz, said. ” I’m here to tell you today that we have the power and opportunity to make some positive change for our firefighters.”
Watch: VB firefighter’s wife vows to fight for early cancer screenings in eulogy for husband at Harbor Park
VB firefighter’s wife vows to fight for early cancer screenings in eulogy for husband at Harbor Park
A month after the passing of master firefighter Matthew Gallina, Chief Ken Pravetz laid out to the city council the physical risks firefighters take when they are helping the community.
John Hood One of those risks includes cardiovascular illnesses.
He said the average age for a firefighter to have a heart attack is 49 and for the general public is 66.
“VBFD experienced two sudden cardiac deaths recently in 2020 and 2021,” Chief Pravetz said. “These employees were 54 and 63 -years old.”