Editor’s note: Join Lexipol, FireRescue1 and our partners for First Responders Wellness Week, March 23-27, 2026. Each day we’ll focus on a new health topic, providing shift briefing videos, webinars, articles, podcasts and more, all within the overarching theme of being “Total Wellness. True Readiness.” Learn more and register for the webinars today.
As fire service leaders — chiefs, administrators, company officers — our responsibility extends far beyond responding to calls. Our primary mission is to ensure our people work stronger and safer and return home safely, not just after every shift but over the course of their entire careers.
When I returned to Brighton Fire Rescue as fire chief, one of the first numbers that caught my attention wasn’t on an incident report or a budget spreadsheet; it was our workers’ compensation experience modification rate, or “experience mod.” That number is a simple indicator used by workers’ compensation insurers to measure how an organization compares to industry averages. A score of 1.0 means you’re right at par. Anything below 1.0 means your organization is performing well and preventing injuries. Above 1.0 means the opposite — you’re hurting people more often and more seriously than average.
Historically, we had a strong record of safety, hovering around 0.7. But upon my return, I learned that our experience mod had climbed to nearly 1.8. That wasn’t just a number — it was a warning light flashing on the dashboard of our culture.
A high experience mod doesn’t just represent physical injuries; it often signals something deeper. There’s a strong psychological connection between injury frequency, employee morale and organizational trust. When people are regularly getting hurt and nothing changes, it sends a message that leadership isn’t paying attention. And that message corrodes satisfaction, engagement and belief in the system.
For too long, we were doing exactly that — hurting people and then doing nothing to modify the behavior, the conditions or the strategy behind those injuries. It became “business as usual,” and that’s never acceptable in an organization whose mission is to protect and serve.
Learning from industry: Stretching as injury prevention
Outside the fire service, many industries with physically demanding work (e.g., construction, logistics, manufacturing) have embraced a simple but transformative practice: team stretching — 15 minutes at the start of a shift, spent together as a crew, preparing both the body and mind for the day’s work.
The results are remarkable. Organizations that implement structured stretching programs see dramatic reductions in slips, strains, sprains and falls — injuries that make up the majority of workers’ compensation claims. The injury rates in those industries often drop so low that they’re practically negligible.
But the benefits go beyond the physical. Morning stretching serves as a psychological reset — a time to get the mind focused, to build camaraderie and to connect before the workday begins. It also gives supervisors a natural opportunity to brief their teams: What’s happening today? What weather or operational factors should we be aware of? What can we do to make sure everyone goes home safe?
Invitation, not ultimatum
At Brighton Fire Rescue, we’ve chosen to approach this not through mandates but through invitation. Our more fitness-focused members helped design a morning stretching program that’s easy to follow, practical and team-oriented. The routine happens before rig checks, before the first cup of coffee and before the first call.
Here’s the 10-15-minute routine we encourage members to follow daily:
- Neck rolls: 5 slow rolls in each direction (10 seconds total).
- Shoulder shrugs and circles: 10 shrugs up and down, followed by 10 forward and 10 backward arm circles.
- Arm swings: Swing arms across the body 10 times each side, then overhead swings for 10 reps.
- Torso twists: Standing twists, 10 each side, with arms extended.
- Hip circles: Hands on hips, 10 circles each direction.
- Leg swings: 10 forward and 10 side swings per leg.
- Calf raises: 15 raises, holding for 2 seconds at the top.
- Hamstring stretch: Forward bend with slight knee bend, hold for 20 seconds.
- Quad stretch: Standing quad pull, 20 seconds per leg.
This is a simple change that any organization can make, and it doesn’t require complex systems or expensive technology. It’s about taking 15 minutes to invest in the people who carry the weight (literally) of the organization every day. The simplicity of stretching is what makes it powerful. It costs almost nothing, it builds trust, and it immediately improves how your people feel both physically and mentally. Small changes, done consistently, have the power to shift the entire culture toward health, safety and care.
We’re also investing in this the right way. Rather than waiting to fix people after they’re hurt, we brought in a performance and resiliency officer (PRO) to help prevent injuries from happening in the first place. He leads our fascial stretching routines, ensures our weight room and exercise spaces meet proper safety standards, and guides our members in building flexibility and functional strength tailored to the job.
The business case for caring
Even from a financial standpoint, the math speaks for itself. At our higher experience mod, our workers’ compensation premiums were around $320,000 annually. Reducing that mod from 1.8 to 0.7 would drop those premiums to $200,000 per year. That’s enough to fund a wellness professional’s salary.
It’s a simple equation: When you stop hurting people, you stop wasting money. But more importantly, you start building a culture that values the longevity and wellbeing of every member.
Retirement as a new beginning
Our goal isn’t just to prevent the next injury; it’s to protect the future. We want our firefighters to retire with their bodies and minds intact, ready to enjoy the next half of their lives. Retirement shouldn’t feel like a finish line for a broken body; it should be the halfway point in a full, healthy journey.
Through this stretching initiative, combined with a broader health and wellness focus, we’re not only lowering our injury rates and improving morale, we’re reaffirming a core value of our organization: to take care of the people who take care of our community.
At Brighton Fire Rescue, our mission is simple — work stronger, safer, live fully and serve well. And part of that mission is to make a positive impact through professional service. Sometimes, that impact starts with something as small — and as powerful — as a good stretch.
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