It is a sad situation across this big country of ours, I was at a state wide meeting today for the mcvfa and discussed improving the health of our FF's and find it to be slow going.

E4, You say 20 yrs in the field, do you get out and see how things are changing across the country it is slow coming however staying fit and healthy is taking priority in many departments. The goal is to reduce the LODD. The passed practice of doing just what you describe is just that " passed practice ". If your dept doesn't support the new practice then it's time to take another look.