CHICAGO — The Fire Department didn't properly medically clear at least 20 firefighters, and two of them died off-duty, according to the city's Inspector General.
The firefighters had not been medically cleared by a department doctor before starting work, which is against national and the department's standards, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General. Instead, the firefighters were evaluated by an outside company and were "administratively cleared" by the department, according to the report.
But two of those firefighters "suffered serious medical events" while off-duty and died not long after beginning work, according to the report.
The Fire Department said its doctors "fell behind" in reviewing the outside medical examinations of the firefighters, according to the report. After the first firefighter died off-duty, the department asked an outside doctor to review the medical files for the 19 other firefighters.
That review found six of the firefighters, including the one who had already died, shouldn't have been cleared without more examination of medical conditions, according the report. Later, a second firefighter — who had also been part of the six — died while off-duty. Of the four surviving firefighters from that group, three later "experienced a medical issue" and were re-evaluated by the department before returning to duty.
The final firefighter of the six has not been evaluated by the department's medical staff, according to the report, but the department said the information from his medical examination "posed no serious health or medical issues."
The Fire Department discussed conducting medical exams on the firefighters, according to the report, but was advised by outside lawyers that the exams could be improper or could violate the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The Fire Department said it has revised its policies and a department doctor will now have to medically clear applicants, according to the report.
Read the full report here:
Inspector General January 2016 Report
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
