Mental Health Subcommittee

MHSC header graphic. Decorative. Images of firefighters overlaid on a forest fire in background. On the left positive words reflective of healthy mental state such as confidence, teamwork, friendships. On the right words indicating unhealthy stressors that may lead to poor mental health such as stress, time, expectations, no sleep, etc.

Mission Statement

The Mental Health Subcommittee (MHSC) provides national leadership in wildland firefighter mental health and wellness. The MHSC promotes and facilitates a national interagency approach to proactively identifying and addressing firefighter mental health.

Primary Objectives

Photo of a line of wildland firefighters walking away, single file, down a path.

Develop NWCG guidance that enables firefighters and fire managers to recognize hazards to mental health and wellness and take effective prevention and mitigation actions.
Standardize processes for collecting and analyzing data on wildland firefighter mental health and wellness.
Use this data to inform development of NWCG wildland firefighter mental health and wellness guidance.
Provide a forum for all firefighters and managers to increase their knowledge of wildland firefighter mental health issues and contribute to improvements in this area.

Hot Topics

National Suicide Prevention Week
September 10-16, 2023

As members of the wildland fire community, we can each take steps to support the wellbeing of fellow wildland firefighters and wildland fire support personnel. Together, we can prevent suicide by increasing awareness, decreasing stigma, and taking steps to care for ourselves and others.

In recognition of National Suicide Prevention Week, the NWCG Mental Health Subcommittee has created seven days of messaging to support wildland firefighter health and wellbeing.

We challenge you to use these materials to start a conversation about maintaining mental health and wellness with coworkers and to learn new ways of caring for yourself and others throughout the year. Each short piece takes only a few minutes to read but could provide information that makes a difference for you or someone else.