International Public Safety Data Institute

09/03/2026

💙 Supporting Our Own: September is National Recovery & Su***de Prevention Month—a time to reaffirm that behavioral health, recovery, and su***de prevention are fundamental to firefighter safety, health, and survival.

Know your people. Check on your people. Support your people.

🔗 Read more about supporting firefighter behavioral health: https://www.iafc.org/blogs/blog/iafc/2026/08/25/national-recovery-su***de-prevention-month-supporting-firefighter-behavioral-health

08/24/2026

Every crew should have a plan before violence happens, not during.

Part of that plan is recognition. Dr. Jim Augustine makes the point that not every combative patient is a criminal one. Hypoglycemia and dementia both present as uncontrolled behavior, and safely managing that patient is still our job. Knowing the difference changes what happens next for everyone on scene.

The other part is process. A code word your dispatchers recognize, radio discipline your crews have practiced, defensive posture that is trained rather than improvised.

Worth watching with your crew.

08/24/2026

Get evidence-based EV battery fire response tactics covering thermal runaway, toxic exposure, and reignition risks.

08/20/2026

⏱️ Deadline approaching: IPSDI is seeking a vendor to define what it takes to extend the IPSDI Exposure Tracker into disaster response — which incident types to address, which exposure data points matter, how to model them, and what privacy and security safeguards the data demands for disaster response.

Responses due 8/24/26.

IPSDI has issued a Request for Quotation to extend the IPSDI Exposure Tracker to support disaster response.

The Exposure Tracker currently empowers firefighters to record their occupational exposure history. We continue to improve the app so it supports the reality firefighters face, including disaster response and extended deployments such as mass-casualty events and large-scale multi-agency response that goes beyond day-to-day exposures.

We are looking for a vendor to help define what tracking these responses requires: which incident types to address, what exposure data points matter, how to model them, and what privacy and security safeguards disaster-response data demands.

Quotations are due August 24, 2026. 🔗 Link to RFQ in the comments.

08/20/2026

More than 1,300 firefighters answered FireRescue1's fifth annual survey. This year the subject was , and the results say something most of the already suspected.

The motivation is there. Nine out of ten respondents earned a certification in the past five years. The system around that drive is where it breaks down — scheduling, staffing, facilities, and no consistent way to tell whether the drill actually made anyone better.

Every training officer who has stood in front of a budget committee knows how hard it is to fund a feeling. It's much easier to fund a number.

Bring this report to your next funding request. 🔗Link in the comments.

08/14/2026

IPSDI has issued a Request for Quotation to extend the IPSDI Exposure Tracker to support disaster response.

The Exposure Tracker currently empowers firefighters to record their occupational exposure history. We continue to improve the app so it supports the reality firefighters face, including disaster response and extended deployments such as mass-casualty events and large-scale multi-agency response that goes beyond day-to-day exposures.

We are looking for a vendor to help define what tracking these responses requires: which incident types to address, what exposure data points matter, how to model them, and what privacy and security safeguards disaster-response data demands.

Quotations are due August 24, 2026. 🔗 Link to RFQ in the comments.

08/11/2026

: We are seeking qualified vendors to assess the integration of wearable data into the IPSDI Exposure Tracker, to help firefighters build a more complete record of their occupational exposure to carcinogens and hazardous conditions. Scope includes an environmental landscape, technical feasibility, data modeling, and privacy/HIPAA considerations.

Questions due: Aug 14, 2026
Quotations due: Aug 24, 2026
Project target: Sept 1 – Nov 13, 2026

If you​ have experience with consumer wearables, health-adjacent data pipelines, or public safety/occupational health work, this could be a great fit!

Full RFQ: https://i-psdi.org/rfq/wearable-technology-exposure-tracker?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wearable_rfq

08/03/2026

👀 Did you know? using the IPSDI can opt in to share de-identified exposure data with the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer. Open your profile, add your NFR #, and opt in to contribute to the research: 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2p9snxnu

Is your fire department ready for the Gold Helmet challenge? NIOSH is recognizing U.S. fire departments that enroll at least 50% (or 300+) of their active firefighters in the National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer as Gold Helmet Departments. This is your chance to lead the way and help reduce cancer in the fire service. Accept the challenge and start enrolling your crew today: https://bit.ly/4jFT20G

07/24/2026

For decades, the has focused on the risks we could see: burns, injuries, cardiac events, and more recently, cancer.

Now research is revealing another area of concern: .

Studies have found firefighters may face increased risks related to fertility, miscarriage, preterm birth, and pregnancy complications, and researchers are also exploring how occupational exposures affect male reproductive health and the health of future children.

But there are still very few firefighter-specific clinical guidelines on exposures and reproductive health. Even OB/GYNs have said they don't always know how to advise on the risks tied to firefighting during pregnancy or family planning.

Here's the problem underneath all of it: nobody's logging the exposure when it happens. A firefighter can tell her doctor she "probably" hit a bad fire two years ago. She can't tell her which fire, what she was wearing, or whether she decontaminated.

Memory fades. Documentation doesn't.

The IPSDI Exposure Tracker gives firefighters a way to build that record, one incident at a time.

Read the full breakdown of what the research shows, and why your own exposure history matters more than you think. Link in the comments.