Newsletters

May 21, 2019

IAFC Releases Guide to Address Gap in Firefighter Physicals

Doctors, researchers and fire service experts team to create tool to promote firefighter health
October 20, 2016

FSTAR Health Shares New Guide to Improve Firefighter Physicals

The Healthcare Provider's Guide to Firefighter Physicals is coming soon to a fire department near you.
October 20, 2016

Physicals: Your Life Depends on Them!

"Thankfully, my fire department physical caught this disease early enough so it never affected my career and enabled early treatment of a potentially life-threatening problem."
July 28, 2016

Online Training Courses

Focusing on fireground challenges and re-thinking tactical choices. Increased Thermal Hazards in Wind-Driven Fires Fire Dynamics Terminology Structural Firefighting Research
June 15, 2016

Your Experience Getting a Firefighter Physical

FSTAR Health is collecting data on firefighter physicals. Please take this 10 minute survey to answer a series of questions on your experiences in getting a firefighter physical.
June 2, 2016

FSTAR Training Course: Increased Thermal Hazards in Wind-Driven Fires

Students will learn about research-based tactics and principles including flow path, size-up, and thermal hazards associated with structure fires. Students will also learn about the effects of wind on flow path and how wind affects the development of an Incident Action Plan (IAP).
June 2, 2016

President’s Letter: Fighting Fire Through Research

"Adapting our strategies and tactics to the modern fireground is no different; we must use science and research to educate every firefighter about the risks we face."
March 31, 2016

March Newsletter

FSTAR is one of several homes for fire service research. Another is the U.S. Fire Administration Library, located on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Md. The Library has one of the most comprehensive collections of materials in the United States for both fire and emergency-management research.
March 1, 2016

February Newsletter

The February newsletter contains new featured studies, website survey, FSTAR health, research agenda symposium, and upcoming events.
January 29, 2016

January Newsletter

Annual medical physicals and wellness programs continue to be a critical issue for the fire service. The growing body of research on issues such as cardiac health and exposures risks points to a need to conduct both incumbent and ongoing annual medical physicals for all firefighters.
January 15, 2016

December Newsletter

According to USFA, 59 firefighters died of heart attacks while on duty in 2014 (PDF). While research is continuing to tell us more about the effects of firefighting on the cardiovascular system, there’s a lot we know right now.
December 1, 2015

November Newsletter

This month, FSTAR took part in the National Fallen Firefighters’ Research Agenda Symposium. Since 2005, the fire service and researchers have come together to review and set priorities for research. Among the many outcomes of this meeting, the illustration of how much research has been completed is a significant takeaway for us. The Illinois Fire Service Institute’s Dr. Gavin Horn quantified what this means: 66% of fire service health research has happened in the last 10 years. It is critical to leverage this immense and growing body of knowledge into action.