Fire departments are being asked to do more to protect firefighter health while balancing staffing, apparatus, training and other operational demands. The key challenges: deciding where to start, which investments will have the greatest impact, and how to sustain meaningful programs when money, time and personnel are limited.
In this on-demand webinar, our panel of fire service leaders offer a practical discussion on how departments can support firefighter health and wellness without waiting for unlimited resources. The conversation addressed the full spectrum of firefighter health, including cancer prevention and exposure reduction, behavioral health, cardiovascular health, fitness, sleep and overall wellness.
Panelists explored how departments can:
- Identify their most pressing health and wellness needs using data and member feedback
- Implement low- and no-cost strategies using existing personnel, programs and partnerships
- Decide where limited health and wellness dollars can have the greatest impact
- Find support beyond the fire department budget through unions, risk management, health plans, community partners and grants
- Make the case for health and wellness as an investment in operational readiness
- Build programs that remain sustainable despite staffing and budget pressures
- Measure whether health and wellness initiatives are actually working
The panel will also share lessons from their own departments — including what worked, what did not and what they would prioritize if they were starting over with limited resources.
Whether your department already has a formal wellness program or is trying to determine what it can realistically accomplish with the resources it has today, this webinar provides practical ideas for moving firefighter health initiatives forward.
Watch a clip from the webinar:
Meet the panelists
Scott Figgins is a captain and paramedic with the Mesa (Arizona) Fire & Medical Department and president of IAFF Local 2260. He has more than 20 years with MFMD and served as the department’s wellness captain from 2018 to 2022. Figgins has worked to support cancer legislation, cancer screenings and cancer victims, as well as improve cancer education and prevention strategies, including preliminary exposure reduction, clean cab practices, rehabilitation sector operations and MFMD’s Recharge Rooms.
Eric Tade is the assistant chief for the Denver Fire Department, where he has served for 34 years. He rose through the department in assignments spanning operations, dispatch, airport/aircraft rescue and firefighting, and administration. Tade is a graduate of the IAFC Officers Leadership Program and holds the Chief Fire Officer designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
Moderator: Greg Friese is a contributing editor for FireRescue1.