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.
Danbury Fire Department’s new progressive alerting system gradually increases alarm volume and uses voice announcements, part of a growing effort to reduce firefighter stress
FITNESS IN FOCUS
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
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
COMPLETE COVERAGE
Firefighters in South Carolina’s Lowcountry are pushing for better mental health support, saying financial strain, sleep loss and job stress continue to take a heavy toll
The shift from the 12 MET benchmark to age- and sex-adjusted percentiles is reshaping how departments define fitness, risk and readiness
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
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
Medford Fire’s hydration policy identifies triggers for administration of IV fluids — part of a three-pronged approach to rehab
MOST POPULAR
- Hazmat cleaning ordered after alleged lewd acts by Md. paramedic inside firehouses
- U.S. Forest Service reverses course, issues masks to wildland firefighters but keeps ban in place
- Miss. firefighter extricated from fire engine rollover
- Father’s Day Fire: Lessons and legacies emerge from tragedy
- 8 Md. firefighters injured when car strikes apparatus during interstate EMS call