The firefighters stood in the center of the dark computer lab at Merrimack Valley High School as Mark MacLean motioned to the projection screen at the front of the room. Some students listened to MacLean and watched the firefighters' reactions, while others clicked away at their computers, making last-minute adjustments to their final projects: computer programs that will create individual nutrition plans for Concord firefighters.

The project was the brainchild of MacLean, a computer programming teacher at the high school, and Lt. Aaron McIntire, a firefighter and union representative to the city's wellness team. The two met at the gym a couple of years ago and kicked around ideas for a wellness training program for firefighters, who studies show are at an alarmingly high risk of dying of heart attacks while on the job.

McIntire hopes the nutrition program, coupled with a structured fitness regimen, will increase overall department wellness, push down insurance costs and demonstrate to their insurance carrier that Concord firefighters are serious about getting healthy. As for MacLean and his students - they're just thrilled that the school work will actually be used outside the classroom. They presented their final projects to a group of firefighters last week.

McIntire found that 45 percent of firefighters who died in the line of duty in the past 10 years suffered heart attacks, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. The National Fire Protection Association standard on physical fitness says firefighters face "unpredictable emergency requirements for prolonged periods of extreme physical exertion without benefit of warm-up, scheduled rest periods, meals, access to medication or hydration." Those circumstances require firefighters to be in top physical shape, but providing them the support to do that has been tough, McIntire said.

Nutritionists have held classes for the department before, and cardiovascular equipment is available at each of the city's fire stations. But McIntire said schedules can be so unpredictable that finding time to exercise is often difficult. As for nutrition, leaving the men and women to their own devices has proven somewhat ineffective.

When asked if any of them are already on a diet, the firefighters all answered yes. "A seafood diet," one of them deadpanned; the others smirked. (As the saying goes, if they see food, they eat it.)

But McIntire hopes the programs will encourage them to take a more informed approach to their eating habits.

Each student spent about 25 hours on his or her own version of a program that will let firefighters create personal nutrition plans based on their body type, wellness goals and the type of diet they want to follow. The programs will be transferred to computers at each of the four fire stations and three administration buildings, and every student's program will have a chance to be tested by one of more than 100 department employees, McIntire said.

The first step is to enter a personal profile, with information about gender, height, weight, age and activity level.

The program calculates each firefighter's daily caloric needs based on his or her personal profile. But if firefighters want to lose or gain weight, the program allows them to select a particular diet to help them reach their goal. They can choose from about 15 diets, including the American Heart Association diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach and the Atkins Diet, to find out how many calories they should have at each meal (and how those calories should break down among protein, carbohydrates and fat).

Students also included links to other websites, such as the American Heart Association and a body mass index calculator.

Jim Pratt, a firefighter and EMT at the Manor Fire Station in Penacook, said he tries to work out at the station when he can and avoids eating processed foods to stay healthy. The men and women at the Manor Station cook together - usually balanced meals with meat, pasta and vegetables - instead of ordering takeout, Pratt said.

When they can, the group runs together at the track at Merrimack Valley High School.

"It all depends on the day," Pratt said. "The other night, this station did 17 calls."

Lt. Thomas Freire said it's even harder for the night shift, which usually responds to more calls and never exercises as a group. Having nutrition programs available on firehouse computers can't hurt, Freire said.

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