National Public Safety Agenda

NOTE: This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.

The NORA Public Safety Sub-Sector includes corrections, emergency medical services, fire fighting and law enforcement.

The NORA Public Safety Council produced the National Public Safety Agenda to address occupational safety and health issues for public safety workers after evaluation of surveillance data, expert and practitioner input and public comments. The NORA Public Safety Sector included over 3.5 million employees and volunteers in 2011.

On any given day, public safety workers may respond to emergency calls including criminal acts, structural fires, and traumatic injuries. In some cases, they enter uncontrolled environments to rescue potential victims. These duties increase their risks for traumatic injuries and fatalities and place them in contact with biological, chemical, physical and psychosocial hazards that are associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic disorders.

Over 30 stakeholders from throughout the United States developed a series of goals relating to wildland fire fighting. The Council added these goals in this revision. Comments on the Agenda are always welcome; they will be considered in future updates. Information on wildland fire fighting is of particular interest to the Council. You may submit correspondence by email to noracoordinator@cdc.gov.