ASHI and MEDIC First Aid Blog

Each year on May 4, firefighters around the world pause to pay their respects to those fallen in the line of duty with the annual International Firefighters Day Sound Off.

As the IFFD website explains:

Often communities remember human sacrifice through observing a minute’s silence. For International Firefighters’ Day in 2002 the inaugural “Sound Off” was conducted to reflect on the commitment and sacrifices of firefighters’ worldwide in a truly poignant manner for emergency service workers.

On the first Sunday in May at noon local time let us sound off our fire sirens for 30 seconds followed by a minute’s silence in memory of, and respect for, all firefighters who have been lost in the line of duty or passed on before us.

At HSI, we’re proud to support the brave men and women of the fire service, and offer our deepest thanks for everything you do to help keep our workplaces and communities safer.

Firefighting Research: Where to Learn More

It was great to see so many of you at FDIC earlier this month. This year’s conference featured fascinating research from the world of firefighting science technology such as addressing the challenges of today’s modern high-rises, making firefighting safer with artificial intelligence, and the role and application of unmanned aircraft systems in firefighting. Attendees can access notes and materials from those presentations when they log in to the conference’s website at the link above. If you haven’t attended a conference yet, be sure to check it out next year!

For publicly accessible information on topics of interest to the fire service community, the CDC and NIOSH offer information and resources on topics such as job hazards, fighting wildfires, PPE, and cancer and other illnesses. (For details on our own 24-7 course, Emergency Responders, Fire, and Cancer, click here.)