Dan Quick scrunches his face in mock disgust.

Exercise physiologist Karlie Friesen is about to reveal the results of his flexibility text. Quick, a lieutenant in the Corvallis Fire Department, knows the results won't be pretty.

Sure enough, Friesen tells him there's room for improvement, but Quick welcomes Friesen's feedback and suggestions.

It's a major improvement from how Corvallis Fire Department previously conducted fitness assessments.

"Before, we would call a hotline and they would ask us questions about our fitness and we'd answer them," Quick said. "I don't think any of our guys lied but there wasn't much behind it."

Receiving more feedback is the main reason the Fire Department is now working with Friesen, who created the department's wellness program. She has been contracted by the department to run the program for four years. The program started running in July.

Friesen, 27, is working on a doctorate in exercise physiology at Oregon State University. She earned a bachelor of science in exercise sports and science from OSU in 2004.

While working on her master's degree in exercise science at California State University Long Beach, she worked as a exercise physiologist at Santa Ana College.

"We assessed about 3,000 firefighters from 30 cities," Friesen said. "What was great about it was all the different personalities that you got to work with."

And so far Friesen appears to be a hit in Corvallis, despite subjecting 67 firefighters to testing in July, which included push-ups, sit-ups, vertical jump and a treadmill stress test.

All but one firefighter, who's injured, is participating in the department's wellness program. That response exceeded her expectations, as well as the department's. The program is not mandatory.

"It's been fantastic," said firefighter Jason Dennis. "We get more feedback and it's personally directed. We all know where we stand."

Dennis, who worked with Friesen to start the wellness program, said some firefighters initially had concerns about the program; that's part of the reason why he was surprised by the high participation rate.

He said some firefighters might have worried the tests would reveal that they were physically unfit to perform their jobs. But that's not really the goal of the program: Instead, the theory is, fitter firefighters are less likely to suffer injuries.

Which is not to say that firefighters haven't had to swallow their pride at least a bit when Friesen reveals the results, Dennis said.

"Personally, I was disappointed with my upper-body strength," he said. "But the main goal of this program really is to reduce on-the-job injuries."

Friesen just wrapped up reviewing results from the tests with the firefighters, as she did with Quick on Sept. 24. If they wanted, she suggested exercises to help them improve or developed workout plans for them. But for the most part the program is individual-driven.

"I tell them I am always a resource for them," Friesen said. "They can call me, e-mail me. I'm here to help them."

There's also a nutrition component of the wellness program in which firefighters tracked their diet over a three-day period. However, Friesen said it's difficult for firefighters to change their eating habits due to the unpredictable hours of their job.

While Friesen isn't required to visit with the firefighters for another six weeks, she will hold various workshops. For example, she plans to hold one that deals with strengthening the back and preventing back injuries.

"I really enjoy the work I am doing," Friesen said.

And she sees the possibilities of spreading the program to other departments: "I'm hoping that Albany will see what I am doing here and hire me. They don't have a wellness program. I know I want to keep doing this, from city to city."