WASHINGTON, DC — Hoisting a sweaty 45-pound weight vest over your head, popping in earbuds with your favorite tunes and hoping to avoid shin splints from the three-mile power walk is a pre-season ritual for firefighters. Fire positions with an arduous duty fitness requirement know the drill. But very soon, preparing to take the pack test will involve one more step to ensure arduous duty employees are safely meeting the OPM-approved Federal Interagency Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards.

Starting Aug. 30, some arduous duty employees will be required to complete a medical history questionnaire and have a physical examination every 3 years with a short self-certification questionnaire and blood pressure check in alternate years. Light and moderate duty positions will continue using the current Health Screening Questionnaire/OF-179 process.

This is what arduous duty firefighters need to know:

• Clearance for the Work Capacity Test will still happen through the eMedical system.
• The Forest Service has a national contract with Acuity International/Comprehensive Health Services to schedule and pay medical providers for physical exams.
• Employees can use a non-contracted medical provider, but the provider must have an eMedical profile and be willing to enter information into the eMedical system. Reimbursement to the employee for the cost of the exam is authorized.
• There are no automatic disqualifying questions on the medical history portion of the exam or the self-certification statement. Waivers and mitigations are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• The new medical clearance processes will be implemented by region over the next three years using the following tentative schedule:
  • August 2023: Regions 8 and 9
  • December 2023: Regions 6 and 10
  • September 2024: Region 5
  • November 2025: Regions 3 and 4
  • November 2026: Regions 1 and 2

Before you sign up for your annual refresher and pack test, make sure you talk to your training specialist or eMedical coordinator and give yourself a minimum of a month lead time to get a physical exam. Seasonal employees can start the eMedical process as soon as their tentative selection notice is received. Get cleared early and you’ll be happily power walking into another season. More information is available online.