Injury Risk Reduction Programs for Firefighters—A Case Example

Injury prevention, or more specifically, musculoskeletal injury (MSI) prevention is often a topic of discussion for senior command in professional fire departments, and with good reason. MSI can account for 57% of all injuries suffered by firefighter personnel, on and off the fireground (9). Furthermore, MSI can affect the personnel pool, burdening the fiscal solvency of a department, which must either backfill these positions or send crews out at dangerously low staffing levels (8). In the example used for this article, from 2013 – 2015, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) spent over 19 million dollars on MSI treatment, rehabilitation, and backfill.

This article originally appeared in TSAC Report, the NSCA’s quarterly, online-only publication geared toward the training of tactical athletes, operators, and facilitators. It provides research-based articles, performance drills, and conditioning techniques for operational, tactical athletes. The TSAC Report is only available for NSCA Members. Read more articles from TSAC Report