For the last 3 years Dr. Adrian Pujayana has been volunteering his occupational specialty as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist to the South Pasadena Fire Department to help train, maintain and improve the strength and conditioning of the fire fighters.  During the year he would meet with Captain Paul Riddle and discuss the areas of conditioning and strength training that was needed and donate his time to develop the SPFD’s strength and conditioning program in order to prevent injuries.

On Saturday May 12, the SPFD invited Dr. Pujayana to a ride-along, and also put him through various training routines and drills.  “The training included the setup of a main supply of water to the truck and carrying the weight of a bundled fire hose up 3 stories wearing full gear (boots, pants, jacket, helmet, mask, and an oxygen tank)”, explained Dr. Pujayana.  “I had roughly 30 pounds of gear on my body, which I learned was extremely light compared to the 45-60 lbs of gear carried by a typical fire fighter.”

The next training routine was to continue with the full gear and learn to systematically search an unfamiliar room while blindfolded to perform a rescue on a down firefighter.  “It took some time getting used to maneuvering with the full weight of gear on my body” stated Dr. Pujayana.  “Having to search for a fallen comrade added another level of stress, which is surely to be exponentially intense in a real situation.”  Once making contact with the unconscious fire fighter, his partner (fire fighter / paramedic Randy, the newest member of SPFD as of January 2007) secured straps on the fire fighter (Chris, Fire Engineer) in order to pull him out of the danger zone.  “All of this was done on our hands and knees, and blindfolded.” 

Following the training, Dr. Pujayana learned more about the daily activities and preparation each fire fighter has to make in order to respond to an alert. As a result of my short time with the SPFD, Dr. Pujayana feels that “I could design a more specific methodology for strength training and conditioning that will simulate more of the SPFD’s intense physical demands required in the real world.”

Dr. Pujayana recapped the event:  “It was amazing to experience the bonding and camaraderie of the  firefighters even after just 5 hours as they train and live with one another on a daily basis.  I also appreciated all the hard work that they put into training so that they are prepared to handle emergency situations.  They take our lives seriously and want to be trained and prepared to help the public in any situation.”  Kudos to the South Pasadena Fire Department!

SPFD Fire Men Randy, Eric, Dr. A, Cpt. Paul, Chris, Steve, and Rocky.