Baltimore Fire Department plans fitness program -- baltimoresun.com

Baltimore Fire Department plans fitness program -- baltimoresun.com: "Responding to a federal report on the death of a fire cadet, Baltimore

Fire Chief James Clack said the department has no plans to resume training exercises in vacant structures and will pursue physical fitness programs for its members and cadets. But a union official cautioned that cutbacks at the Fire Department could present new safety problems.

The report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the most recent to examine the death of cadet Racheal M. Wilson, who died in February 2007 when she was trapped in a rowhouse that had been set on fire for a training exercise. Many of the changes recommended in the audit have been implemented, Clack said.

'As professional firefighters, this report gives us another opportunity to remember what happened that day and, more importantly, to learn from it,' Clack said. 'Our goal must be to never experience the death of another one of our members in training.'

Division Chief Joseph Brocato said 'live-burn' exercises in vacant rowhouses were not typical for the department even before Wilson's death. The department has a training facility on Pulaski Highway for such exercises, but it is in need of major improvements. The department now sends recruits to a state-of-the-art facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground.