FirefightersWeightLoss.com

You have in your hand or on your computer screen a booklet, “Chappy’s Weight Loss

Solution”: written for the benefit of firefighters with weight issues. This booklet was

written for three purposes: 1) to bring hope to firefighters that a solution is possible for

weight and obesity issues. 2) to encourage this vital group of workers to investigate our

website (FirefightersWeightLoss.com) and 3) to introduce Chaplain Richard S. Phelps

as a “fellow traveler” on the path toward weight and fitness health.

Chaplain Dick Phelps, the Chaplain at Indialantic Fire Rescue in Indialantic Florida since 2005, founded a non profit corporation (Supporting Fire Fighters Inc.) in 2013 to support the work that would bring relief to firefighters with weight and obesity issues. The initial idea to begin this work came to Chaplain Phelps on January 19, 2012 while driving 2 1/2 hours from home for an extended weekend in St Augustine, Florida. The vision Chappy, as he is called, received was so detailed and so dramatic that he was compelled to write it down immediately on his arrival in St. Augustine.

The initial idea on that January night was limited: to start a website that would give resource information and inspire firefighters with weight and obesity issues to make a

consistent effort to find a healthy alternative to the problem. In those early days Chappy shared his vision with several leaders in the fire service and was advised to investigate

further before proceeding. In the time since January 2012 Chappy has met with many

fire chiefs and commanding officers and union leaders in six states and the District of Columbia inquiring about the extent of the problem and seeking advice for how to proceed.

The advice that Chaplain Phelps received with every interview was that the problems of

weight and obesity in the fire service are epidemic just as they are in the rest of the

United States population. He was encouraged to consider a wider effort than a web site

and the result of all this investigation led to the formation of a non-profit corporation,

Supporting Fire Fighters Inc., the creation of firefightersweightloss.com, a Facebook

page (firefightersweightloss), this booklet “Chappy’s Weight Loss Solution”, and an “In

Station” training also titled “Chappy’s Weight Loss Solution”.

Chaplain Phelps had no idea of starting anything new at 72 years old. He had been

forced for medical reasons to retire from a full time schedule of ministry and was

enjoying his volunteer service as Chaplain to the small combination department that he

had been serving for 7 years.

However, Chappy has himself been struggling with weight and obesity issues for 50 years and the vision for bringing resources and inspiration to firefighters with weight and obesity issues has become the focus of his life. He had been told that “the problem” was like “the elephant in the living room” and a problem that was very resistant to many efforts made over the history of the Fire Service.