Every five years since 2001, NFPA has conducted a massive research project known as the Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service. It's a survey that goes out
to about 30,000 fire departments across the country with questions aimed at finding
out whether the fire service has the resources it needs to accomplish the enormous job we've asked them to take on. The next survey, which is the Sixth Needs Assessment, was sent to departments via mail and email in October, and is due back by February 15.

Today on the podcast, we are joined by an all-star panel featuring the president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the president of the Metro Chiefs, and NFPA's director of research. We discuss the ins and outs of this critically important survey and dive into the "pain points" facing the modern fire service, from skyrocketing EMS call volumes and firefighter burnout to the emerging threats of lithium-ion battery fires and AI implementation.

LINKS:

Learn more about the Sixth Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service survey, and to see reports from past surveys.

Questions about participating, email nasurvey@nfpa.org, or call 800-343-8890.

About 80 percent of female firefighters say that their personal protective clothing doesn't fit right, and studies show that ill-fitting gear puts women at greater risk of being injured on the job. In this podcast from 2023, Jesse talks to two textile researchers working on multi-year project to better understand the issue and to gather the data needed to design female-specific turnout gear.

Before the episode, Jesse gives a quick update on the project, which has now moved onto a crucial second phase. Researchers are now gathering measurements from thousands of women in the fire service, which they will use to design the first prototypes of female specific personal protective clothing. Researchers are looking for female firefighters who are willing share their measurement data. This can be done by yourself with an app on your phone and takes only a few minutes. Visit, nfpa.org/femaleppe to learn how to help.

Links: 

Visit the research page to learn more about the project and how to submit measurement data

Read and NFPA Journal feature story about the project to understand and solve the problem of ill-fitting PPE for female firefighters.

Watch a webinar presentation with researchers Cassandra Kwon and Meredith McQuerry

Myriad new tools have emerged in recent years that claim to help firefighters safely contain and extinguish electric vehicle fires. However, few of these tools have been independently tested, until now. This year, researchers burned dozens of EV battery packs and four full-sized vehicles to assess the effectiveness of these tools and the tactics required to use them.

Today on the podcast, we talk to one of the project's lead researchers to learn about how the study was done and what insights emerged. We also discuss some promising new tactics that could significantly reduce the time and water it takes for crews to put out an EV fire.

Links:
Read the recent NFPA Journal article on this study and its findings

Watch a Fire Protection Reserach Webinar on the project and its findings

See and learn more about NFPA resources and training for firefighter EV tactics