Firefighter Wellness-Fitness

Expansion and Quantification of Effectiveness of The Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative

The overall focus of this project is for USFA to partner with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to support the expansion of use of the IAFF/IAFC Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative to additional fire departments. USFA is supporting the expansion of the use of this initiative that has been successfully implemented in many fire departments throughout the United States. The Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative was developed by the IAFC and the IAFF as a non-punitive approach to enhance firefighter wellness, health and safety.

The expansion of this effort now includes many fire departments that were not previously part of the Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative program development process. USFA continues to support research to determine the effectiveness of the implementation and the overall results of this program in departments throughout the country.

At the start of this project partnership, the IAFC worked with eight U.S. volunteer and combination fire departments of different sizes and geographical areas selected by IAFC divisions to participate in the development of innovative pilot programs aimed at enhancing firefighter wellness and fitness. This pilot effort examined potential best practices in several areas of firefighter wellness and fitness.

The eight participating fire departments selected by the IAFC were:

Based on lessons learned from the above effort, the current focus of the USFA partnership with the IAFC is to continue to educate the fire service on the importance of wellness and fitness, primarily through outreach and educational sessions at national conferences.

The IAFC conducted workshops on wellness-fitness related topics at Fire-Rescue International (2004-2007), Wildland Fire (2004), Fire-Rescue Med (2004, 2006), and at the International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference (2004-2006).

The third edition of the Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative will be released in late 2007 and the IAFC will be working with the IAFF to produce and market this valuable model program. The IAFC is currently developing a guide that will highlight the differences between the prior edition and the new edition and will offer implementation recommendations to assist fire departments with the transition to the new program. This guide is expected to be available in late 2008.

USFA's project partnership with the IAFF includes a peer-credentialing program for fire department Peer Fitness Trainers that is recognized by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the largest non-profit fitness certification and education provider in the world. To date, over 1000 fire department Peer Fitness Trainers have been certified through this program. Quantification of the effectiveness of the peer-credentialing program for fire department Peer Fitness Trainers will be accomplished with the departments and union locals who have already chosen to certify a percentage of their firefighters as Peer Fitness Trainers.

These efforts will contribute to the reduction of the leading cause of firefighter fatalities - stress related cardiac deaths, which historically has accounted for 50 percent of firefighter fatalities. Reduction of this type of death alone would positively impact USFA's goal to reduce fatalities of firefighters by 50 percent within ten years.

Volunteer Fire Service Fitness and Wellness Program

This partnership effort between USFA and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will involve researching and developing effective example health and wellness program(s) aimed at the needs of the volunteer firefighter.

This USFA and NVFC partnership developed the Health and Wellness Guide for the Volunteer Fire Service which is available free of charge as a download as well as in printed format from the USFA Publications Center. A CD-ROM of this document is available from the NVFC. The guide provides information on how volunteer fire departments can enhance compliance with appropriate National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Firefighter Health and Safety Standards such as NFPA Standard 1583 - Health Related Fitness Programs For Fire Fighters, as well as addressing fitness and exercise (aerobic, flexibility, strength training, etc.); diet; smoking cessation; and other areas that will have a positive impact on the volunteer fire service community.

This partnership will work to mitigate the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the volunteer fire service; stress related Cardiac deaths, which historically have accounted for 50 percent of firefighter fatalities. Reduction of this type of death alone would provide a positive impact in USFA successfully meeting its goal to reduce fatalities of firefighters by 50 percent within ten years.

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