Many would miss this on a trivia quiz, but the skin is the human body's largest organ. And the importance for firefighters to protect their skin also goes largely unrecognized.

With a huge surface area and critical biological functions, the skin is key to providing a barrier to toxins and regulating temperature.

For the latter, the skin changes dramatically to provide thermoregulation and ensure proper cooling. It needs to function correctly for you to know when the heat is too much.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is beginning a study to help determine how wildfires spread through a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). Many studies have found that structures are primarily ignited during a wildfire by burning embers that are lofted into the air and then land on or near buildings.

One North Carolina fire dept is getting more tech-savvy in the way it trains to fight fires. New technology, sold by BullEx, is allowing firefighters to virtually do their job, without battling a real fire.

The Attack Digital Fire System puts firefighters in an environment where the conditions of an actual fire are being mimicked. Smoke, flames and fire hoses are all there to help firefighters get the training they need– but without having to worry about the heat of a real fire.

Between fighting fires and responding to other emergencies, fire fighter personal protective equipment (PPE) is exposed to a wide range of toxins, chemicals, micro-chemicals and blood-borne pathogens. It's well recognized that these contaminant exposures can pose significant risks to fire fighters' immediate and long-term health, but knowing what's needed to adequately remove them from PPE has yet to be fully determined.

The US DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), have announced proposed regulations for Oil Spill Response Plans and Information Sharing for High-Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFTs) to improve oil spill response readiness and mitigate effects of rail incidents involving petroleum oil.