Health & Wellness
FireRescue1’s Health and Wellness resource center provides practical, evidence-informed guidance to support physical fitness, mental health and long-term career resilience. Coverage includes injury prevention, nutrition, sleep, stress management, cancer awareness and behavioral health to help fire service professionals remain healthy, capable and mission-ready on and off duty.
Are you ready to take the plunge? Learn how ice bath therapy can benefit firefighters in their everyday lives as well as on duty
FITNESS IN FOCUS
The bill would shield registered fire and rescue employees from employer penalties for legal, off-duty medical cannabis use, while opponents warn the lack of an impairment test could create public safety risks
The shift from the 12 MET benchmark to age- and sex-adjusted percentiles is reshaping how departments define fitness, risk and readiness
Wellness screenings and fitness programs act as risk management tools for firefighter health
Scrolling can’t save you — but a conversation might
Make recovery your secret weapon for peak performance
In Sterling Heights, new weekday EMT units and a color-coded dispatch system are easing paramedic burnout and targeting rising EMS calls
Try one (or all) of these ideas and make movement a priority — together!
The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department will now have a permanent location to provide annual physicals, cardiac stress tests and cancer-related screenings
Wichita Station 15 will stay closed for at least two more weeks, and city officials say stations 11, 3 and 13 could also be taken out of service
First Responder Wellness Week 2026 focuses on total wellness for true readiness
COMPLETE COVERAGE
Captain Marc Wysocki: It’s time to treat mental health like any other readiness standard
Leaders set the tone for agency culture across the board — including when it comes to wellness
Achieve peak performance through foam-rolling, active warm-ups, deadlifts, functional dumbbell exercises, and high-intensity interval training
From family outreach to increased counseling access and more understanding from supervisors, firefighters are looking to leadership to step up in this area
The Behind the Shield podcaster outlines the simple formula that makes a fourth shift work
Tucson Station 14 features individualized alerting, on-site decontamination and upgraded living and fitness space
As CAL FIRE transitions from a 72-hour to a 66-hour workweek to improve firefighter well-being, overtime is reaching nearly a quarter of the department’s payroll
There has been a broad decline in protective garment composite thermal protective performance levels recently
After a 2025 motorcycle crash led to the amputation of his left leg, Merced Firefighter Rhett Avant chose a below-the-knee amputation to improve his prosthetic options
Vehicle-mounted systems extend protection beyond the bay, addressing cancer risk, space constraints and long-term maintenance challenges
MOST POPULAR
- National Firefighter Registry for Cancer goes offline following NIOSH layoffs
- Texas FD makes history in move to 24/72 shift schedule
- S.C. fire department tests ‘1323' shift to improve work-life balance
- Florida legislation recommends FDs limit standard firefighter shifts to 42 hours per week
- Mass. FD’s ‘PFAS-free’ gear fails lab test, shows high toxic levels