BIOTONE Employees, San Diego Massage Therapists Give a Hand - and Heart - to Help Weary Firefighters

Over 12,000 firefighters and support personnel battled the recent Southern California wildfires, now being called one of the worst, if not the worst disaster, in the Golden State's history. By the time the fire was contained, some 750,000 acres were consumed; over 3600 homes destroyed, and 20 lives were lost.

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, a few days after the fires began to rage out of control, Lynn Gilbert, BIOTONE Professional Massage Therapy and Spa Products School Department Supervisor, decided to see what she could do to help. She had heard on the news that many of firefighters had been working up to 30 hours without sleep to battle two huge blazes in San Diego County in El Cajon and Viejas. She drove to the firefighter base camp at El Cajon and inquired at the medic station to see if anyone was doing massage.

There were just a few massage therapists on site who had responded once they heard the news. Gilbert jumped right in, working six hours straight to provide massage treatments for as many exhausted and aching firefighters as she could.

Firefighters getting massages at the base camp while others wait in line to receive a massage.

She soon realized that far more massage therapists were needed; the El Cajon camp alone had nearly 1800 firefighters. She decided to email all the massage therapists and schools throughout San Diego, asking them to enlist their students and alumni. This e-mail put Gilbert in touch with Sandra Golden, president of the San Diego American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) chapter, who had already begun to rally the organization's local members.

The response to this outreach was immediate. Over 100 massage therapists showed up to volunteer their time throughout the remainder of the week as the fire crews fought the blazes. Some therapists worked all day; others showed up when they could after their regular job. In addition to the massage therapists, other volunteers provided acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. In particular, the firefighters suffered from lower back pain from carrying up to 50 pounds of equipment and sore shoulders from carrying hoses.

Massage therapist Karen-Ann helped at both base camps and put in more than 12 hours daily for several days during the relief effort.

In support of the emergency effort, BIOTONE provided responding therapists with various massage lubricants and Face Favor Cradle Covers to use at the make shift therapy tent. Additionally, firefighters were provided with BIOTONE care packages that included Polar Lotion, Herbal Select Face Therapy Lotion and Herbal Select Foot Therapy Lotion to soothe their muscles and quench their heat-ravaged skin.

Lessons Learned

For many of the massage therapists, these fires were not the first time they had responded to an emergency situation. But every emergency is different, and most felt they learned something new from this disaster.

Helping the fire crews was near and dear to Midge Crockett, Holistic Approach Therapies, Santee, since two of her sons are firefighters in Abilene, Texas. As soon as she heard about the fires on the news, Crockett jumped in to help. She was familiar working in an emergency situation, having helped after a school shooting that took place in the San Diego area some time ago. She knew from her previous experience how helpful massage can be after a disaster. "In a stressful situation, it is so good to do massage and help folks settle down. The muscles start going into spasms," she said.

Crockett spent some 50 hours over five days helping out at both base camps and also at the citizen evacuation centers at Santee. Crockett had both her chair and table with her, and said that the fire crews specifically like table massage, mostly because they were eager to lay on something soft after spending days sleeping on the ground. The chairs worked fine at the evacuation centers.

Crockett had nothing but praise for her fellow massage therapists who volunteered along side her. "We're a special breed," she said. "When something happens, we jump in to help."

Donna Mills of Newport Therapeutic Massage in San Diego, CA, who assisted at the Viejas base camp, believes that the volunteer effort also helped promote the message about the therapeutic value of massage. Mills noted that despite their exhaustion and aching muscles some of the firefighters were at first reluctant to have a massage. But once treated, and after even just a few hours sleep and a hot meal, they were rejuvenated and ready to tackle the blazes again. In fact, many of the firemen have now become Mills' customers.

Golden pointed out that the experience underscored the need for a more coordinated effort that can be deployed in emergencies such as this one. As a result of the crisis, she said, efforts are now underway to establish a formal massage therapist's emergency response team in the San Diego area. She said that the group would be represented by local massage therapy schools and other massage therapists who will be meeting in San Diego after the first of the year to draft a program.

Major Contributors reunite at Biotone for a day of shared memories and photo's from Viejas and Gillespie fire camps.

Therapists Express Their Gratitude

Gilbert is extremely pleased and grateful that the team of massage therapists was able to mobilize so quickly to provide much needed relief to the firefighting teams. They seemed as delighted as she was to help. Here's what one of them emailed Gilbert.

"Thank you for thinking of me to help with the firefighters. I went there on Saturday and had such of lovely time. It was an incredible experience. I learned so much from observing, massaging and listening to all those firefighters. Once again thanks so much for thinking of me. I am very happy to have been able to help! Every one there was so helpful and grateful it was worth it!"

Mills strongly seconds that sentiment. She said, "Helping out in the San Diego fires was one of the best experiences I have had in my five years as a licensed massage therapist."

Southern California has a long way to go to rebuild homes and infrastructure after these devastating fires, but that's not the case when it comes to the spirit of the community. As evidenced by the selflessness of local massage therapists, the community spirit is alive and well should another emergency arise.

Get Involved In Massage Emergency ResponseGetting involved early is key to making this type of response team work. You can prepare for disaster response by joining the National MERT team or organizing one in your local area. The American Massage Therapy Association maintains a National Massage Emergency Response Team (MERT) in many cities. If you are interested in learning more about MERT, including establishing a local group in your city, contact Andrea Brady at AMTA, phone: 847-864-0123.