Safety Stand Down 2026 will be held June 14-20 with a focus on firefighter fitness. The theme will highlight the foundations of physical fitness, how they can continue to be met throughout the years, and sustainable strategies for long-term success. Stay tuned in January for the official theme announcement! In the meantime, use this site to revisit information from the 2025 Safety Stand Down.
The 2025 Safety Stand Down will focus on the critical topic of behavioral health, asking departments and responders to help break the stigma and RESET their approach to behavioral health through the following daily focus themes: Recognize, Educate, Strategies, Empower, and Training.
Behavioral health affects every aspect of an emergency service department, from safety and retention to productivity and engagement. Use the week of June 15-21 to focus department activities on gaining an understanding of behavioral health challenges and how to support team members struggling with these challenges to prevent negative outcomes such as burnout, injuries, anxiety, leaving the department, or suicide.
Safety Stand Down takes place the third full week of June each year to highlight critical safety, health, and survival issues for fire, EMS, rescue, dispatch, and other emergency services personnel. Departments are asked to suspend all non-emergency activities during the week to focus their attention on safety and health education efforts. A week is provided to ensure that all duty shifts can participate.
Note: If you need immediate support with a behavioral health issue, call 988 for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. More resources for where to get help can be found under the Empower section on the Resources page.