NVFC Share The Load — Free 24/7 Firefighter & EMS Peer Helpline
The National Volunteer Fire Council’s Share the Load program offers free, confidential behavioral health support to firefighters, EMS personnel, and their families — including a peer-staffed helpline available 24/7 at 1-888-731-FIRE (3473), a directory of behavioral health professionals specifically trained to work with first responders, peer support resources, and educational programming designed for the volunteer and career fire service. The Share the Load program is one of the most established peer support resources for the fire service in the country.
What to Expect
Share the Load’s flagship offering is the Fire/EMS Helpline at 1-888-731-FIRE — a confidential, free helpline staffed around the clock by trained peer counselors who themselves come from the fire service. Callers can talk about anything affecting their mental health and wellbeing, get connected to fire-service-aware clinical providers through the program’s vetted directory, and access ongoing peer support. The program also publishes the Yellow Ribbon Report (an annual look at firefighter behavioral health), online courses, and resources for departments wanting to build their own peer support teams. NVFC’s Combat Challenge wellness initiative and other programs complement the Share the Load work.
Who This Group Is For
Share the Load is built for the U.S. fire service — career firefighters, volunteer firefighters, EMTs and paramedics affiliated with fire departments, fire department chaplains, and family members. The peer counselors on the helpline are themselves fire service personnel, making the conversation immediately recognizable to callers. Volunteer firefighters in particular — who make up the majority of U.S. fire personnel but often have less access to departmental behavioral health resources — are explicitly served by NVFC’s national-scale programming.
Why Peer Support Works
The fire service has its own culture, calls, and stresses — and firefighters consistently describe peer support from other fire service personnel as more impactful than support from civilians, including civilian clinicians who haven’t worked with the population. Share the Load’s commitment to fire-service-staffed peer support means a caller hears from someone who has run the same kinds of calls, sat in the same kinds of fire houses, and understands what brings someone to the line. Combined with the vetted clinical referrals when needed, the program creates a smooth path from peer call to longer-term support.
How to Join
Share the Load resources are free. Call the Fire/EMS Helpline at 1-888-731-FIRE (3473) anytime, 24/7. Visit nvfc.org/programs/share-the-load-program for the behavioral health professional directory, online courses, and information about building departmental peer support teams. The NVFC also publishes the annual Yellow Ribbon Report and other firefighter behavioral health resources.