Leading From the Front: Leadership Fitness Is Associated with Fire Station Crew Fitness

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether leadership fitness is associated with firefighter fitness within station crews. METHODS: Annual fitness testing data from firefighters in a large urban fire department were analyzed. Leadership fitness was defined as the mean composite fitness score of captains and lieutenants assigned to each station-shift crew. Multilevel linear modeling evaluated whether mean crew leadership fitness and leadership composition were associated with firefighter fitness, adjusting for years of service and sex. RESULTS: The sample included 838 firefighters nested within 99 station-shift crews. Mean leadership fitness was positively associated with crew firefighter fitness in units staffed with both a captain and lieutenant (β=0.116, 95%CI:0.005-0.228; p=0.045), but this association was attenuated in captain-only crews. CONCLUSIONS: Leadership fitness was associated with firefighter fitness, particularly when fire station crews have a more complete leadership structure.