Fire department leaders drive crew fitness, study finds

For firefighters, physical fitness is a matter of safety, survival and long-term health, and while past research has largely focused on dissecting individual habits, a new study has revealed that station leaders play a critical role in shaping firefighters’ physical readiness.

An international collaboration between researchers in the United States and Dr Lee Brown from the University of East London (UEL) examined the annual fitness testing data from 838 firefighters across 99 fire stations and explored whether the physical fitness of station crew leadership - captains and lieutenants - was linked with the fitness levels of the firefighters they supervised.

The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that crews staffed with fit, actively engaged captains and lieutenants, scored noticeably higher on physical readiness tests than those without. This result was significantly lower in crews staffed by a captain only, suggesting that a complete leadership structure creates better environments to instil healthy routines.

Co-author of the report, Dr Lee Brown, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at UEL, said:

These findings align with the concept of “leading from the front”. When station leaders actively maintain their fitness and participate in training alongside their crews, it helps establish shared standards of readiness and reinforce a culture of wellness.

While in the past health and wellness interventions in fire services primarily focused on individual behaviours, the research suggests that departments looking to improve operational readiness should consider targeting the individual crews and those leading them.”

The study is expected to have practical impact across the fire and rescue sector, with the findings being shared with Kent Fire and Rescue Service, presented to the National Fire Chiefs council and the Fire Brigade Union, and used to help develop an industry White Paper on firefighter tactical readiness for the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Dr Joel Martin, lead author of the study, said:

We already have strong evidence that physical fitness is critical for firefighter health, injury prevention, and occupational performance. The challenge has shifted from understanding why fitness matters to understanding how departments can successfully build and sustain a culture of fitness. Our findings suggest that the crew environment and leadership may be important pieces of that puzzle and provide a new direction for implementing fitness initiatives within the fire service.

I've repeatedly heard that crew culture and the attitudes of company officers play an important role in whether physical training becomes part of the daily routine. While our study did not measure those behaviors directly, it provides quantitative evidence that leadership fitness is associated with firefighter fitness and highlights the need to better understand how leadership influences implementation of fitness and wellness initiatives.”