The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) and its award recipients have provided resources and training in support of wildfire response operations in the United States. The following resources are aimed at protecting the health and safety of those responding to wildfires. For a list of resources applicable to a variety of natural and man-made disasters, please visit our All-Hazards Resources page.

Training Resources

The National Clearinghouse creates training tools to aid in the development of awareness-level courses or other awareness-level materials. These tools provide health and safety guidance to those involved in disaster response and cleanup activities. Companion booklets are pocket guides that can be distributed with the training and used as a resource when workers are on a disaster site. To order hard copies of these booklets, please complete the Booklet Order Form.

Wildfire Response Training Tool

In English:

• Protecting Yourself While Responding to Wildfires: Safety and Health Awareness for Responders to Wildfires(6.7MB) Updated December 2021
• Protecting Yourself While Responding to Wildfires: Safety and Health Awareness for Responders to Wildfires(3.9 MB) Updated December 2021

En Español:

• Cómo protegerse al responder a incendios forestales: Sensibilización de salud y seguridad para participantes en la respuesta a incendios forestales(7.5MB)
• Cómo protegerse al responder a incendios forestales: Sensibilización de salud y seguridad para participantes en la respuesta a incendios forestales(4.4MB)

WTP Award Recipient Resources

• University of California, Los Angeles Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program
• Worker Protection from Wildfire Smoke
• Protección Para Trabajadores Contra El Humo De Incendios Forestales
• Wildfire Smoke and Worker Health

Other NIEHS Resources

• When Wildfires Hit Close to Home (podcast)
• Wildfires and Indigenous Populations (a 3-part podcast series)

Federal Links and Documents

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Natural Disasters and Severe Weather Page

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• U.S. Fire Administration: Skills Crosswalk – Wildland Training for Structural Firefighters(497KB)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• Climate Change and Occupational Safety and Health
• Fighting Wildfires Page

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

• National Geographic Area Coordination Centers Home Page

National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)

• NWCG Publications List

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Wildfires Page

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) The Exchange: Issue 10 on Wildfires

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)

• Bureau of Land Management Manual on Safety Policy and Program Direction
• Wildland Fire Science

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Natural Disasters Page
• Wildfire Guide and Fact Sheets
• Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires

State/Local Links and Documents

• Cal/OSHA Protection from Wildfire Smoke Training Videos

Please refer to your local and state Department of Health for additional state-specific guidance on wildfires.

Other Links and Documents

Research Articles and Reports – Health Effects

• Immediate Health Effects of an Urban Wildfire
• International Association of Fire Chiefs Report: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Fire Fighters and EMS Responders
• Wildland Forest Fire Smoke: Health Effects and Intervention Evaluation, Hoopa, California, 1999

Training Resources

• National Wildfire Coordinating Group Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR)