Thought Leadership Essay Contest
firefighter health, wellness, and safety?
Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from concept to everyday tool in the fire and rescue service, touching everything from incident reporting and staffing to immersive training, wildfire modeling, roadway operations, and fire-based EMS and technical rescue work. Taking inspiration from the NFL’s “Digital Athlete” platform with AWS, which uses data, AI simulations, and predictive models to spot injury risks and design smarter training for players, this essay contest asks: how can artificial intelligence be used to improve firefighter health, wellness, and safety?
This year’s Thought Leadership Essay Contest invites fire and rescue personnel to explore practical ways AI can improve firefighter health, wellness, and safety over roughly the next two years, not in a distant future. Authors might examine AI-enabled training such as virtual and augmented reality staff rides, predictive analytics for wildland and all-hazard incidents, roadway incident risk forecasting, or decision-support tools for complex fire, EMS, hazmat, and technical rescue operations. Other promising areas include AI-assisted fatigue and workload tracking for crews whose primary call volume is EMS, exposure and injury trend analysis, or mental health and resilience resources that support members before, during, and after critical events.
We encourage essays that connect these ideas to real operational needs across suppression, EMS, and rescue; address persistent risks such as roadway struck-by incidents and wildland deployments; draw from line-of-duty lessons; and align with the 12 NFFF Fire & Life Safety Initiatives so that technology clearly supports behavior change and reduces injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Submissions should show how AI can help departments strengthen a culture of safety and wellness while recognizing the realities of staffing, budgets, and fire and rescue service culture.
At the same time, meaningful innovation must be grounded in responsibility, critical thinking, and our professional values. For this contest, we follow a “Tier 3” style AI standard used in academia: you may use generative AI tools to brainstorm topics, organize your thinking, refine your outline, or get feedback on clarity, but all sentences in the final essay must be written by you in your own words. You may not paste AI-generated paragraphs into your submission, and essays may be screened with AI-detection tools; any use of AI must be disclosed, and factual claims or statistics should be supported with citations or footnotes when possible. By submitting an essay, authors certify that AI tools were used only within these guidelines and that they take personal responsibility for the originality and accuracy of their work. Just as the NFL keeps human coaches and players in charge despite the tech, we want your human judgment, experience, and voice at the center of your essay.
Supporting Links:
● NFFF Fire & Life Safety Inititaives
● NFL Player Safety
● AI usage standard
Prizes
- 1st place – $3,000
- 2nd place – $2,000
- 3rd place – $1,000
Recognition on Inside Darley video series, Darley Times newsletter, Darley media distribution, partner publications, and the InService Podcast
Essay Format
- Length: 3 to 4 pages (not including cover page).
- Format: 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins.
- File Format: Submit as a PDF.
- Naming Convention: Save as LastName_ FirstName_ Essay2025.pdf
- Cover Page: Include name, title, and contact information (not counted in page total).
Prompt
How can artificial intelligence improve firefighter health, wellness, and safety?
Grading Rubric
There are four criteria for essay grading. Ranked and weighted in importance.
- Specific Solutions Offered – Do you present specific recommendations for change? How innovative, impactful, and viable are the proposed solutions?
- Potential Impact on the Fire Service – Can this impact the fire service in the short and long term? Can this concept move the fire service forward in a positive manner?
- Quality of Writing – How is the essay structure, vocabulary, readability, and overall authorship?
- Intangibles – Is this exciting? Does it challenge preexisting assumptions? Does it invoke a thought-provoking discussion? Is the core message courageous?
Judges
Dr. Burton Clark
National Fire Academy (Retired)
Management Science Chair, American Fire Culture
Nick Russo
FEMA (Retired)
Assistant Director-Office of Federal Disaster Coordination
Vincent B Davis
Feeding America, Senior Director of Disaster Services
LaRae Smiley-Sliger
LaRae Smiley-Sliger, Women in Fire, Emergency Management Director at Hardin County Fire/EMA
Dr. Lindsay Judah
NFFF Fellow, 2023 Essay Winner
Kerry Henderson
James City County Fire, Battalion Chief
2022 Essay Winner
Demond Simmons
Oakland Fire, Deputy Chief
Dr. Danny Kistner
Fire (Retired), Fire Chief
Anthony James
Pasadena Fire Department, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal
Bertral Washington
San Bernadino County Fire, Deputy Fire Chief
Jamie Howarth
Anne Arundel County Fire Department, Battalion Chief
2024 Essay Winner
Terri Reid
Baltimore County, EMS Shift Commander
Kory Pearn
Editor in Chief CRACKYL Media
Judge's Quotes
“Darley Essay contest is one way to bring out critical thinkers who will examine specific issues and challenge the fire service to do something that might upset the status quo. The nominees are all practitioners who may actually be working through some of the issues identified by the papers. Each of the authors did complete significant research to validate their paper in a very limited time.”
– Judge John Buckman
“This year’s topic choices were challenging. After reading through numerous essays it is clear that the solutions to hiring, retaining, and ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace are complex. Anecdotal evidence will no longer suffice and agencies must start relying on research and data to find out what is truly working/not working in our industry to make sure we retain our best employees.”
– Judge Kerry Henderson
“Reading these essays provided me proof that there are several thoughts and ideas developing across the country toward building firefighter workforces that reflect the communities we serve. As these strategies are implemented by fire service leaders, we will begin to see continued improvement of our services and our people that provide them.”
– Judge Bertral Washington
Thought Leadership Essay Contest Winners
We would like to congratulate everyone who dared to submit an essay, and especially spotlight the top 3 winners for 2025. Enjoy reading these essays, and please share your thoughts on the insights they provide.
1st Place
Marc Wysocki
Captain
Sheffield Volunteer Fire Department (MA)
Essay
Behind the Mask: Uncovering the Root Causes of
Mental Health Challenges in the Fire Service
2nd Place
Marc Revere
Fire Chief, Retired
Mountain View & Monterey Park Fire Department (CA)
Essay
What Doesn’t Kill You Will Haunt You
3rd Place
John Murphy
Deputy Fire Chief, Retired
Eastside Fire and Rescue
Fire Commissioner (WA)
Essay
“Why” Behind Mental Health Challenges in the Fire
Service:
Are Firefighters So Unique?
Sweepstakes/Contest Disclaimer
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C, you must be 18 years and older. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Entry in the Sweepstakes or Contest constitutes your full and unconditional acceptance of these Official Rules.
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CONTEST ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS: During the Contest Period, you may submit one entry, and one entry only.
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