Assessing the Needs of the U.S. Fire Service
From The NFPA Podcast by National Fire Protection Association
January 8, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 129
About this episode
The episode discusses the Sixth Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service and the challenges faced by modern fire departments.
Every five years since 2001, NFPA has conducted a massive research project known as the Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service . It's a survey that goes out to about 30,000 fire departments across the country with questions aimed at finding out whether the fire service has the resources it needs to accomplish the enormous job we've asked them to take on. The next survey, which is the Sixth Needs Assessment, was sent to departments via mail and email in October, and is due back by February 15. Today on the podcast, we are joined by an all-star panel featuring the president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the president of the Metro Chiefs, and NFPA's director of research. We discuss the ins and outs of this critically important survey and dive into the "pain points" facing the modern fire service, from skyrocketing EMS call volumes and firefighter burnout to the emerging threats of lithium-ion battery fires and AI implementation. LINKS: Learn more about the Sixth Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service survey, and to see reports from past surveys. Questions about participating, email nasurvey@nfpa.org, or call 800-343-8890.
People in this episode
Guests: president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, president of the Metro Chiefs, NFPA's director of research
Topics covered
- U.S. Fire Service
- Needs Assessment
- firefighter resources
- EMS call volumes
- firefighter burnout
- lithium-ion battery fires
- AI implementation
Keywords
- fire service
- needs assessment
- fire departments
- resources
- EMS
- burnout
- lithium-ion batteries
- AI
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: National Fire Protection Association, NFPA
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