New NIOSH Center Focuses on Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being

Today the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, launched a new Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being. Building on decades of experience working with firefighting organizations to understand and protect firefighters from the unique work-related hazards they face, the establishment of the NIOSH Center builds on that foundation while looking ahead at how to better serve this critical community of workers.

“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.”

The Center provides a central point for partners to engage with NIOSH on the broad spectrum of firefighter-related research and services (e.g. 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.

Learn more about the Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-being and NIOSH’s diverse programs that support firefighters and first responders.

NIOSH is the federal institute that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. For more information about the work visit www.cdc.gov/niosh.