August 2018 1

Here at Hotshot Fitness, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to help firefighters achieve optimal performance on the fireline. Which is why we wanted to bring the following study to our readers attention.

The University of Montana is currently running an anonymous study on Wildland Firefighter health and behaviors. The wildland firefighting community has not attracted nearly the same amount of interest from the academic community as the structural world has, and this is an opportunity to correct that. But in order to do that – they need data. The survey covers not just physical health but mental health as well. It was designed by a former wildland firefighter, and is supported by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. So it is as legitimate as they come.

So if you are an active (or former) wildland firefighter, please take some time to respond to the survey. The more data we can gather, the healthier and safer we will be. But more importantly, we can aid in the discovery of insights that will make the profession safer for the next generation of firefighters. And that’s an important cause.

To do your part, here’s the link to the survey.