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.
The shift from the 12 MET benchmark to age- and sex-adjusted percentiles is reshaping how departments define fitness, risk and readiness
FITNESS IN FOCUS
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
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
COMPLETE COVERAGE
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
Vehicle-mounted systems extend protection beyond the bay, addressing cancer risk, space constraints and long-term maintenance challenges
Medford Fire’s hydration policy identifies triggers for administration of IV fluids — part of a three-pronged approach to rehab
Modern fire apparatus may meet emissions standards, but diesel exhaust can still linger inside stations – and firefighters’ lungs
Wichita firefighters reported burning eyes and throats after mold was discovered during remediation at Station 15
Officials say the NIOSH-led registry is now the nation’s largest firefighter cancer cohort, using service histories linked to state cancer data to better track risk and guide prevention
Closing the hood-to-mask and hood-to-collar gap helps reduce heat stress and contaminant exposure at a critical interface in the turnout ensemble
With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games underway, check out these first responders who served both locally and on the international stage
Cooper died in June from occupational lung cancer after decades of service, and his family will receive $100,000 in state death benefits
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