First Responder Wellness Week is dedicated to providing resources, support and community to help public safety personnel better understand the mental and physical health risks that come with the job.
Join Lexipol, FireRescue1 and our partners from March 23-27, 2026, to focus on your health and promote the wellness of your personnel. Each day we’ll focus on a different topic, providing shift briefing videos, webinars, articles, podcasts and more, all within the overarching theme of being “Total Wellness. True Readiness.”
Join us for a week of daily sessions focused on strengthening wellness across your agency — everything from healthy habits and smart recovery to building a program that puts firefighter health front and center.
Practical strategies for injury, aging, and long-term performance.
Start here to create a restoration routine.
Why wellness is a need to have, not a nice to have.
How to weave wellness into your agency’s mission and culture.
Real first responder wellness questions, real answers.
Track the daily habits that support operational readiness, performance and long-term health.
Better Every Shift: Health Focus
Berkeley Captain Chris van Luen now helps other firefighters understand their prevention, detection and treatment options
Firefighter Philip Clark talks career changes later in life, health hurdles and wins, and passion for the job
The Charleston, S.C., chief reflects on his journey from the trauma of the Sofa Super Store fire tragedy to finding – and living – his growth-focused mission
Health & Wellness Resources
We have to support each other and be willing to give help — and not just through dark humor or a slap on the back with a “you good?”
Emily Hitchings and Greg Friese analyze the wellness impact of the West Metro Fire Department changing shift change to 9 a.m.
How to lean into a customer-focused approach to modern fire service delivery
With the right training and direction, rapid intervention should never be a dull assignment
The Center serves fire service leaders looking for credible insight to inform policy, strategy and organizational change
Choose a “culturally competent clinician” who uses standardized, solutions-focused treatment protocols to treat duty-related PTSD
Are you ready to take the plunge? Learn how ice bath therapy can benefit firefighters in their everyday lives as well as on duty
Chronic inflammation is driven by sleep disruption, poor nutrition, limited exercise and unresolved trauma
The shift from the 12 MET benchmark to age- and sex-adjusted percentiles is reshaping how departments define fitness, risk and readiness
Research shows the physiological impacts of training in realistic conditions to prepare the body for the job
How to face, not fear, emotions in order to bolster your mental health
Make the commitment, evaluate your situation, set goals, create a healthy environment, and size-up the plan as you go
It’s vital for chiefs, company officers and firefighters alike to help members manage both immediate and cumulative trauma
A simple checklist can help you stay on track at the station
Warriors Heart finds alcohol abuse is the most common addiction in veterans and first responders
Firefighters are more susceptible to sleep disorders and their inherent dangers and health implications
