Firefighter (CPAT / NFPA 1580)

NFPA 1580 (2025) — Standard for Emergency Responder Occupational Health and Wellness · CPAT

Data updated: 2026-08-19 (verified vs primary service regulations)

How the screen works

There is no federal body-fat or WHtR standard for firefighters. The 2025 edition of NFPA 1580 consolidated the former NFPA 1581/1582/1583/1584 into one standard (Emergency Responder Occupational Health and Wellness). It replaces the old absolute VO₂max threshold (~42 mL/kg/min from NFPA 1582) with the ACSM percentile-based aerobic classification adjusted for age and sex — firefighter candidates and incumbents test at or above roughly the 35th percentile for their age/sex group (some departments use the 50th percentile). NFPA 1580 also defines 15 essential job tasks (e.g., climbing six+ flights of stairs in PPE, advancing a 150-ft hose line, search & rescue in PPE, patient movement) and requires baseline plus annual fitness testing for all firefighters. The separate 2022 editions of 1581–1584 remain in effect during the transition. Departments vary — confirm your department’s policy.

Physical readiness test

Stair Climb (with 25-lb high-rise pack)
Hose Drag
Equipment Carry
Ladder Raise and Extension
Forcible Entry
Search (crawling, low visibility)
Rescue Drag (165-lb mannequin)
Ceiling Breach and Pull
Aerobic capacity: ACSM age/sex percentile (replaces the fixed 42 mL/kg/min VO₂max line)

NFPA 1580 uses percentile-based aerobic classification (age/sex adjusted) and a single medical standard for candidates and incumbents. Confirm your department’s specific fitness test and medical requirements.

Reading the age-normed ladder

The table above is a ladder rather than a single number, and the width of that ladder is worth knowing before you compare yourself against a colleague. Across the 0 bands listed for Firefighter, the men's ceiling spans 0 percentage points and the women's spans 0. Because one band covers every age group here, age does not change the allowance for this service — the same figure applies to the youngest and oldest personnel alike.

DoD Instruction 1308.03 also sets an outer corridor: no branch may be stricter than 18% (men) / 26% (women), and none may be looser than 26% (men) / 36% (women). For Firefighter the tightest men's band is 0% and the most permissive is 0%, with women's bands running from 0% to 0%. Every band here sits inside the corridor rather than pressed against its limits.