Strengthening the Health and Wellbeing of our Wildland Firefighters

Wildland fire personnel work in incredibly stressful environments that can have significant impacts on their health and wellbeing, including their mental health. To meet this challenge, together, the Interior and Agriculture departments are implementing a comprehensive Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Program, directed by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to provide support tailored to the unique experiences and needs of our firefighters.  

We are taking a holistic approach to the needs of our workforce with a focus on three key program areas: behavioral health, environmental and occupational health and physical health and readiness. 

Behavioral Health 

This program increases access to services that build resiliency, improves mental preparedness, underscores the importance of self-care, and addresses the effects from cumulative stress.

Behavioral health includes not only mental health but also behaviors that affect a person’s overall wellbeing and ability to function well at work and in their personal life.  

As part of our efforts to expand resources for federal wildland fire personnel, behavioral health officers from the U.S. Public Health Service are being assigned to the departments to provide additional prevention and education services in support of the Joint Wildland Firefighter Behavioral Health Program.  

Behavioral health officers will support federal wildland education programs and provide resources to help prepare firefighters for the traumatic events they may encounter and help to mitigate the impacts those events after they occur. They will improve stress management and resilience through increased education, connect wildland fire personnel with behavioral health resources and services, and advise local units on supporting health and wellbeing.  

Developed with input from a wide range of wildland fire personnel and mental health experts, the Joint Wildland Firefighter Behavioral Health Program is addressing not only the unique experiences and mental health challenges of wildland firefighters but also behaviors that can affect a person’s wellbeing and ability to function, such as substance use, isolation and cumulative stressors associated with working in wildland fire. The program augments existing services, such as critical incident stress management and casualty assistance programs.  

Environmental and Occupational Health 

This program will reduce exposure and address hazards in the wildland fire environment that have the potential to impact short- and long-term health. 

Image

The departments are working together to better understand how exposure to hazards in the workplace affects the health of wildland fire personnel and are seeking solutions to reduce exposure and mitigate potential health impacts. In the wildland fire environment, this includes exposure to smoke, dust, and ash; injury from falling debris; noise exposure; and injuries from strenuous exertion. 

Physical Health and Readiness 

Physical health and readiness ensures that firefighters are physically prepared for the demands associated with various assignments to minimize the risk of injury. 

Wildland firefighters perform rigorous tasks as a regular part of their job. To minimize the chance of injury or fatigue, they must maintain good physical health to ensure that they are physically prepared for the demands they will encounter. This includes physical fitness, endurance, medical qualifications, proper nutrition, training and immune function.

This aspect of the program will address physical fitness and nutritional needs through training, studying fatigue management and exploring how to balance physical and mental health so firefighters can meet the demands of their jobs. 

Facing the Future Together 

We know this program has been a long time coming. It is one of many efforts led by the Interior and Agriculture departments, with support from the Biden-Harris administration, to make historic improvements for our federal wildland firefighting workforce. These improvements include increasing pay, creating a new occupational series to better define the unique duties and career progression of this profession, improving the availability and affordability of housing, streamlining hiring processes and converting to a more permanent workforce.

Together, we remain committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our wildland firefighters. For more information and resources about the program, visit the Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing website.

Resources for physical and mental health and wellness are available to all federal wildland fire personnel right now through the Employee Assistance Program.