This confidential, free service is available for all active volunteer, paid-on-call, part-time and full-time Minnesota firefighters.
Three vital health resources are now available to all active Minnesota firefighters for free.
We’re now offering MnFIRE logo’d apparel and masks!
The Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) is dedicated to providing Minnesota’s firefighters with the tools they need to prioritize and protect their health by focusing on the three health problems most commonly experienced by those in the fire service: cardiac, emotional trauma and cancer.
Heart disease is the number-one killer of firefighters nationwide and is by far the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service. Cardiac distress is not limited to overweight or out-of-shape firefighters; in fact, even young and healthy firefighters suffer from hardened arteries and impaired heart function after just three hours of prolonged firefighting.
An abundance of recent research pertaining to firefighter health shows that those in the fire service experience much higher rates of emotional distress than the general population – particularly in the areas of sleep disorders, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation/action.
The rate of line-of-duty deaths from cancer-related illness is rapidly increasing and is on pace to overtake heart disease as the leading killer of firefighters nationwide. According to the National Fire Protection Association, more than 68 percent of all firefighters will develop some form of cancer in their lifetimes.
Your financial, volunteer or in-kind support of MnFIRE helps Minnesota firefighters and their families.
