From Book's Introduction: Firefighting continues to be one of the nation's most dangerous and hazardous jobs with heart attacks, high physical stress levels, and sprains and strains all too common. In the past five years, the fire service has focused its attention on overcoming these issues by working to change the service's culture. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has spent much time redeveloping and revamping their health and wellness standards, while career departments have been working with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) on a wellness initiative that began in 1997. Volunteer personnel also face similar risks when it comes to health and wellness. The nature of member time constraints and tight departmental budgets in the volunteer service often inhibits the creation of comprehensive health and wellness programs. Implementing a comprehensive health and wellness program could overwhelm the resources of many volunteer departments. Time, lack of program leadership, and insufficient funding pose serious challenges to most departments, which often struggle to deliver basic fire suppression capabilities. This guide provides the rationale and suggestions for successfully implementing a health and wellness program volunteer service. It also addresses many common roadblocks.

Of all firefighters in the U.S., 73% are volunteers. Firefighting is one of the nation's most dangerous & hazardous jobs, with heart attacks, high physical stress levels, sprains, & strains all too common. This guide provides the rationale & suggestions for successfully implementing a health & wellness program in the volunteer service, & addresses many common roadblocks. Chapters: State of Health & Wellness in the Volunteer Fire Service; Importance of Health & Wellness in the Volunteer Fire Service; Volunteer Programs from across the Nation; Step-by-Step Guide for Developing a Health & Wellness Program for Volunteer Fire Departments; & Implementing a Health & Wellness Program. Illustrated.

Each year in the U.S., approx. 100 fire fighters die in the line of duty. In 1998, Congress appropriated funds to NIOSH for a fire fighter safety initiative. NIOSH developed and implemented the Fire Fighter Fatality Invest. and Prevention Program (FFFIPP), the goal of which is to reduce the number of fire fighter fatalities. NIOSH conducts investigations of line-of-duty fire fighter deaths to identify contributing factors and to generate recommend. for prevention. This document is a synthesis of the 1,286 individual recommend. from the 335 FFFIPP investigations conducted from 1998 to 2005. The fire service should use this document to develop, update, and implement policies, programs, and training to prevent fatalities among fire fighters. Charts and tables.