In early October, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, launched a new Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being.
The new center was announced during the U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control held Oct. 8.
“Firefighters are vital to the safety of our communities, risking their health and safety to protect our own,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being allows NIOSH to bring together our research and knowledge in a way to better protect firefighters from both immediate and long-term risks from their jobs.”
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The center provides a central point for partners to engage with NIOSH on the broad spectrum of firefighter-related research and services (such as fatality investigations, National Firefighter Registry for Cancer) at the Institute. The center model will facilitate faster responses to new and emerging hazards through its coordinating teams and help refine the priority research and service activities where NIOSH should focus its resources.
NIOSH supports our nation’s firefighters by conducting fatality investigations, health hazard evaluations, managing the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, researching hazardous exposures to materials including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), evaluating personal protective equipment, and studying the unique working conditions and hazards found in wildland firefighting environments.