Shoreline, WA. -- It was just another day on shift last November for Shoreline Fire Battalion Chief Jim Batdorf. Except that his employer was sending him to a local sports and wellness institute for a physical fitness evaluation. Batdorf is one of 85 firefighters at Shoreline. Every one of them is benefiting from a 74-thousand dollar U.S. Fire Administration grant that provides for comprehensive medical and fitness exams. The evaluation is meant to assure that firefighters are in shape for the demanding and stressful job they do and to help them maintain a high level of fitness. But Chief Batdorf found out rather suddenly that this was much more than a routine fit-for-duty evaluation. His visit to the Washington Institute of Sports Medicine that day saved his life.
