About Us

On behalf of the more than one thousand members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health, and Survival Section WELCOME to our website. The SHS Section has one clear mission: reduce the number of preventable line of duty deaths and injuries in our fire service. History should long remember that it was us in this time that did everything in our power to help bring our brother and sister firefighters home from every alarm.

Developed by SHS 2018

Safety, Health and Survival Section, there is a new and much greater opportunity for IAFC members to become involved in this important mission. Through an elected executive board, the membership will be empowered to guide and manage the operations of the new section to address issues on a timelier basis and provide more training and educational opportunities.

SHS Board of Directors 2020

Eric Valliere

Organizational Liaison

Fire Department Safety Officers Association

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association was established in 1989 as a non-profit Association, incorporated in Massachusetts. In 2013, the offices moved to Michigan. Its mission is to promote safety standards and practices in the fire, rescue and emergency services community. The Association is led by a volunteer Board of Directors and has a small staff to handle the day to day operations. It is the Association dedicated to the issues that affect your critical role as Safety Officer in protecting and promoting the safety and health responsibilities you have to your department, your community and yourself. In fact, so critical is the role of the Safety Officer in every department in the country, that in a very short time in order to be a qualified Safety Officer, certification may be required. FDSOA works to help you achieve proficiency, promote the recognition of your skills and secure your future.

NIOSH Row Firefighting Tactics Factsheet-Poster September 21, 2020
NIOSH in collaboration with the International Fire Chiefs Association, International Fire Fighters Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute, and the U.S. Fire Administration developed a fact sheet and poster that highlight tactics for fighting row house fires. In addition to the row house firefighting tactics, the fact sheet and poster highlight: […]
Carly Zoerb
Dangerous Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol July 15, 2020
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Takes Action to Warn, Protect Consumers from Dangerous Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol As part of continued action to protect the American public, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers and health care professionals about hand sanitizer products containing methanol, or wood alcohol — a substance often used to […]
FSTAR Admin
PPE CASE Notes Personal Protective Equipment Conformity Assessment Studies and Evaluation Notes: Firefighter SCBA Facepiece Sizing Issues December 17, 2019
PPE CASE Notes Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Personal Protective Equipment Conformity Assessment Studies and Evaluations (PPE CASE) Notes are fact sheets that provide a summary of findings from our post-market personal protective equipment tests, evaluations, and investigations. These fact sheets inform respirator users about common themes or trends we found […]
FSTAR Admin
National Firefighter Registry (NFR) October 17, 2019
National Firefighter Registry Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)external icon to create the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) How do I enroll? Enrollment is not yet open, but there will be an opportunity in the near future for all firefighters to enroll. NIOSH will keep this webpage updated as the enrollment period approaches. […]
FSTAR Admin
Mobile Emergency Routing Services for First Responder Vehicles June 6, 2019
DHS Science and Technology Directorate Quick-Route
FSTAR Admin
IAFC Releases Guide to Address Gap in Firefighter Physicals May 21, 2019
Doctors, researchers and fire service experts team to create tool to promote firefighter health
FSTAR Admin
FSTAR Townhall On Fire Dynamics and Health and Safety July 25, 2017 April 20, 2017
The townhall is a one-day training event focused on the health and safety based of modern fire behavior, incorporating the latest tactical considerations.
FSTAR Admin
FSTAR Health Shares New Guide to Improve Firefighter Physicals October 20, 2016
The Healthcare Provider's Guide to Firefighter Physicals is coming soon to a fire department near you.
FSTAR Admin
Physicals: Your Life Depends on Them! October 20, 2016
"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."
FSTAR Admin
8 Online UL Training Courses September 15, 2016
Find it here: http://ulfirefightersafety.com/courses/
FSTAR Admin

Current and former #firefighters are encouraged to participate in the #OSU study below. Click this link to get sta… t.co/AnG8WYp4w3 Time ago 1 Day via Twitter Web App
RT @bhollerb6: ATTN ALL FIREFIGHTERS. I want YOUR opinion! Tell me your thoughts on COVID protective strategies (masks, vaccines...). Click… Time ago 3 Days via Twitter for iPhone
RT @DrLoriUSFA: NIOSH announces #firefighter fatality investigation community meeting. Purpose: to request public comment from fire servic… Time ago 5 Days via Twitter for iPhone
RT @1stresponderctr: Join us June 10th for our latest FF Health&Wellness Seminar. Tysons Corner, VA. Registration is free, and we have a ST… Time ago 5 Days via Twitter for iPhone
RT @1stresponderctr: Does your physician know you’re a firefighter? Your entire healthcare team should know, and understand, what risks inc… Time ago 6 Days via Twitter for iPhone
RT @DanKerrigan911: Cardiovascular Disease in the Fire Service "When combined with a #firefighter's extreme physical workload & hot enviro… Time ago 6 Days via Twitter for iPhone

Follow @IAFC_SHS on twitter.

FIREFIGHTER HISTORY 5/18 May 18, 2022
On 5/18/1927 the Bath School disaster killed forty-five and injured fifty-eight people, 38 elementary school children, most children in the second to sixth grades, and 6 adults attending Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan. Bath was a rural village about ten miles from Lansing, the state capital. About 314 students from around the region […]
FIREFIGHTERS SHOCKED BY LIVE WIRES AT HOUSE FIRE – NEW YORK May 18, 2022
Rochester, N.Y. — A house fire that injured a firefighter on the city’s northeast side is under investigation. Crews responded around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to a home on Fifth Street and reported flames from the second story of a wood-frame home. Crews had to back off from their initial interior attack when several firefighters received electrical […]
FIREFIGHTER INJURED AT APARTMENT COMPLEX FIRE – CALIFORNIA May 18, 2022
A fire broke out at a housing complex in San Jose Tuesday morning, leaving three people, including a firefighter, injured and three units with significant damage, according to the fire department. The fire along the 1500 block of Fitchville Avenue was reported just before 10 a.m., San Jose Fire Department Capt. Sean Lovens said. Arriving […]
FIREFIGHTER INJURED AT HOUSE FIRE – CALIFORNIA May 18, 2022
A firefighter is expected to make a full recovery after being injured Monday while battling a blaze at a home in East Long Beach, authorities said. The fire broke out sometime around 5:45 p.m. in the 5600 block of Deborah Avenue, just north of the 405 Freeway near Bellflower Boulevard. When Long Beach fire personnel […]
FIREFIGHTER HISTORY 5/17 May 17, 2022
On 5/17/1923 a fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School in Sandy Mill, Kershaw County (Beulah) South Carolina left seventy-seven dead when “a lamp fell from the ceiling onto the stage of the second-floor hall where the play was being held causing the burning oil to ignite the straw and oilcloth used as […]