Marty Thone left a meeting at the Parkway Plaza in July 2005 and noticed smoke billowing from Poor Boys Steakhouse.

"It was 100 degrees," said Thone, with the Casper-Natrona County Health Department. "There was not a breath of wind. I was amazed at the firefighters in their heavy garb. I was sitting there in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and I was dying."

That was when the health department identified a problem it could help solve.

Thone, others in the department and volunteers began the Fire Rehabilitation program in the summer of 2006 to "protect those who protect us." Most of those involved are also members of the Natrona County Medical Reserve Corps, a volunteer group that helps out in emergency situations.

As responders to larger, more intense fires or other extreme emergency situations, the Fire Rehabilitation crew shows up to scenes in a Dodge Durango full of coolers of water and Gatorade, snacks, misting fans and special cooling chairs.

Their primary goals include reducing the core temperatures of firefighters coming out of the fire and checking firefighters' vital signs to make sure they are OK to return to the fire.

Thone said when the body is hot, it stresses the heart and decreases the amount of blood being pumped out to other organs. Also, the physical exertion put forth by firefighters makes the heart rate go up and firefighters' loss of fluids makes the blood thicker.

All of these factors can contribute to a heart attack, Thone said.

Instead of just having the firefighters take off their hot jackets and hats to rest, Thone said firefighters need active cooling.

"The quicker you take the stress off the heart, the better," Thone said.

Active cooling occurs when firefighters sit in a special chair and immerse their hands and forearms in pockets of cold water, Thone said. While the firefighters sit for about 30 minutes, volunteers hand them water and snacks and take their blood pressure, temperature and pulse.

Thone carries a radio so the fire department can reach him whenever they have a big fire or emergency, even if it is at 1:30 in the morning.

Since its inception, the rehab program has been on the scene of about 10 fires and emergencies including the Wyoming National Bank fire last July.

For Capt. Patrick McJunkin of Casper Fire-EMS, having the rehab team at a scene is a reminder to him to take a break after he has gone through two bottles of oxygen, a standard that has been in place for years, but is not always practiced.

"It's given us a much greater awareness of this," said McJunkin, a firefighter with Fire Station No. 3. "We have to watch what our firefighters are doing and not place them at risk."

McJunkin was impressed with how much research Thone and others at the health department had done.

He said they have identified red flags and dangers for firefighters as well as set fairly realistic limitations for what the firefighters can and cannot do.

"Somebody who is at risk at that moment won't be out back in," McJunkin said. "They might even be taken to the hospital."

Reach Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or at allison.rupp@casperstartribune.net.