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Protocols and equipment for protecting firefighters exposed to heat during wildfire response and rescue operations.

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Fire & Rescue

US Fire Departments Adopting Cold Water Immersion: The 2026 Roundup

From Oklahoma City to rural Indiana, five US departments show how cold water immersion is moving from pilot program to standard equipment in 2026.

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Fire & Rescue

NFPA 1584 and International Rehab Standards: How the US, UK, Australia, and France Compare

A comparison of firefighter rehabilitation and cooling standards across the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, and France.

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Fire & Rescue

A Rural Indiana Department Shows Cold Water Immersion Isn't Just for Big Cities

Northwest Allen County Fire Protection District equipped crews with rapid cooling gear in July 2026, proving cold water immersion scales to small and rural departments too.

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Fire & Rescue

Oklahoma City Fire Department Puts Cold Water Immersion on Transport Crews

OKCFD transport crews are among the first in Oklahoma to carry cold water immersion for heat emergencies, a shift that reflects a national move in fire-based EMS.

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Fire & Rescue

Phoenix Fire Department's Mountain Rescues Show Why Wilderness Cooling Is Different

Phoenix Fire Department's 2026 mountain rescue numbers are up more than 50 percent, and each one exposes what cold water immersion needs to look like away from a road.

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Fire & Rescue

France's 2026 Gironde Wildfires and the Hidden Heat Stroke Risk After Five Nights on the Fire Line

What five consecutive nights fighting the 2026 Gironde and Landes wildfires reveal about exertional heat stroke risk among French firefighters.

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Fire & Rescue

Spain's 2026 Wildfire Season: 100,000 Hectares Burned and the Firefighter Heat Stroke Crisis Behind the Headlines

What Spain's 2026 wildfire season reveals about exertional heat stroke risk among firefighters, and what fire services elsewhere can learn from it.

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Fire & Rescue

Why French Fire Departments Choose Kollder as Their Cold Water Immersion Supplier

Across French SDIS, SAMU and event medical services, Kollder has become the preferred cold water immersion supplier. Here is the specification that got it there.

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What US and UK Fire Departments Can Learn From the French SDIS Cooling Tub Model

French SDIS departments treat cold water immersion as standard-issue equipment. Here is what changes when a fire department makes that same shift.

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How French Fire Departments Made Cold Water Immersion Standard Equipment

France runs cold water immersion through its SDIS network as standard practice, not a pilot program. Here is how that happened and what it looks like on the ground.

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Fire & Rescue

Cold Water Immersion in Fire Departments: Operational Barriers

Fire departments know cold water immersion is the standard of care for exertional heat stroke, yet adoption on apparatus remains inconsistent. Here is why.

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Fire & Rescue

Firefighter Rehab and Exertional Hyperthermia

Rehab sectors at structure and wildland fires exist to catch exertional hyperthermia before it becomes exertional heat stroke.

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Fire & Rescue

Heat Action Plans for Fire Departments: Covering Your Own Personnel

A community heat action plan and a fire department's internal heat response share a name but not always the same scope.

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Fire & Rescue

In-House Medical Service Training for Fire Department Heat Response

A fire department's own medical staff can know general first aid thoroughly and still be underprepared for exertional heat stroke if training has not kept pace with the evidence.

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Incident Commander Decision-Making for Exertional Heat Stroke on Scene

The officer in charge on scene makes the call that decides whether a heat stroke patient gets immersion cooling in time or not.

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Junior Firefighter Cadet Programs and Exertional Heat Stroke Risk

Cadet programs put teenagers through many of the same physical drills as career firefighters, and that means the same exertional heat stroke risk applies.

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Fire & Rescue

Medical Service Validation of Cooling Equipment for Fire Departments

Before a cooling tub reaches an apparatus, a fire department's medical service has to validate it against clinical and operational criteria.

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Fire & Rescue

Paris Fire Brigade Deploys Multiple Cooling Tubs at Maisons-Alfort Running Event

On May 24, 2026, the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP) responded to multiple heat strokes at a running event in Maisons-Alfort, deploying several field immersion tubs on site. A real-world confirmation of the Cool First Transport Second protocol.

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Fire & Rescue

The Phoenix Experiment: How One Fire Department Proved Prehospital Cold Water Immersion Works at Scale

In 2024, Phoenix Fire Department treated over 300 heat stroke patients with prehospital cold water immersion. Despite the hottest summer on record, heat deaths dropped. The peer-reviewed data and lessons for every EMS agency.

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Fire & Rescue

Wildfire season 2026: protecting your firefighters from heat stroke in the field

Wildfire seasons are getting longer and more intense. Heat stroke is one of the leading preventable causes of firefighter death. Here is what every fire service medical officer needs to know before summer.

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