Fire stations working to ensure better night’s sleep for firefighters

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Getting woken up many times in the middle of the night can be taxing. For firefighters, it’s the nature of their business and can lead to exhaustion and sleep disorders, according to Dr. Sally Abraham, a sleep specialist at University Hospitals.

But fire departments are making changes to help firefighters stay healthy and sane.

“You’re waking up and going from zero to 100 miles an hour (in) a couple seconds,” said Dan Grimm, lieutenant with Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department.

Firefighters at his station used to get woken up at least six times a night with alarms at over 100 decibels, but that’s changed.

Alarms and lights in the firehouse now get gradually louder and brighter. They are less jarring.

“It’s trying to break you out of your sleep slowly, so that your heart rate doesn’t skyrocket as much,” Grimm said. “It helps you keep longevity in your career.”

Abraham explained when people sleep, heart rate and blood pressure both decrease. The more continuous sleep someone has, the more heart rate and blood pressure stay low. 

“Disrupt that sleep, that heart rate and blood pressure are going up and down all night, and that can translate to next-day elevated blood pressure,” Abraham said.

It used to be that all the stations within the department would get woken by an alarm, even if they weren’t assigned to the call.

“If it’s a busy night, if a storm rolls through, it could be a couple dozen. You were constantly tired,” said Chris Martin, fire chief of Cuyahoga Falls Fire.

Now, stations that need to respond are alerted after 7 p.m.

“There has been a dramatic increase to the quality and amount of sleep for our responders. We want to send you home as healthy as you showed up to work,” Martin said.