Joel M Billings

Title
Assistant Professor, College of Arts & Sciences; Program Chair, B.S. in Emergency Services
Email
Department
Department of Security and Emergency Services
College
College of Arts & Sciences

Areas of Expertise

Firefighter Sleep and Health

Fire Department Shift Schedules

Fire Department Alerting Systems

Joel M Billings

Joel M. Billings, PhD is an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is the Program Chair for the undergraduate degree program in Emergency Services teaches courses in fire and emergency services.

Dr. Billings’ research expertise focuses on firefighters’ sleep and health. Specifically, he studies firefighter sleep process and sleep-wake cycles, fire department shift schedules, and the cardiovascular and sleep impacts of firefighter alerting systems. His research is funded by NIH/NHLBI and DHS/FEMA. His goal is to improve health, safety, and performance of members in the fire and emergency services profession by bringing together research and practice. He has former experience as a volunteer firefighter and EMT-Basic in Michigan. Dr. Billings serves as a member of the Science Alliance, council member for the Healthy Work Design & Well-Being cross-sector program at NIOSH, and serves on the Council of Governors at the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress.

  • Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Fire and Emergency Management Administration, Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
  • M.S. - Master of Science in Fire and Emergency Management Administration, Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
  • First Instructor I - Oklahoma State University
  • Prevention Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents Awareness Level Training Course - New Mexico Tech
  • Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings Awareness Level Training Course - New Mexico Tech
  • Standardized Awareness Authorized Training Program, Indirect Delivery - Emergency Management Institute - FEMA
  • HAZWOPER (29CFR1910.120) 4-Hour General Hazard Awareness Program - New Environment, Inc.
  • HAZWOPER (29CFR1910.120) 40-Hour Worker Program - New Environment, Inc.
  • HAZWOPER (29CFR1910 .120) 4-Hour Basic Safety Training Program - New Environment, Inc.
  • IS-00804 Emergency Support Function (ESF) #4 Firefighting - Emergency Management Institute - FEMA
  • IS-00700.a National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction - Emergency Management Institute - FEMA
  • IS-00200.a ICS For Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents, ICS-200 - Emergency Management Institute - FEMA
  • IS-00100.a Introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS-100 - Emergency Management Institute - FEMA
  • EMT - Basic - National Registry Emergency Medical Technicians
  • Fire Fighter I & II - Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council
  • Hazmat First Responder - Operations - Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council
  • Hazmat First Responder - Awareness - Michigan Fire Fighters Training Council
  • ESVS 201: Fire-Related Human Behavior
  • MSES 530: Statistics in Public Sector

MSES 530 Statistics in the Public Sector

ESVS 201 Fire-Related Human Behavior
ESVS 301 Community Risk Reduction for the Fire and Emergency Services
ESVS 303 Fire Protection Systems and Structures
ESVS 400 Analytical Approaches to Public Fire Protection
ESVS 401 Application of Fire Research
ESVS 403 Disaster Planning and Control
RSCH 202 Introduction to Research Methods
HLDS 110 Introduction to Homeland Security

Refereed Manuscripts

  • Billings, Joel, Sara A. Jahnke, Christopher K. Haddock (2024) “Daily variation in sleepiness among firefighters while working the 24/48 and 48/96 shift schedules.” Safety Science 169(1): 106335, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106335
  • Billings, Joel, Christopher K Haddock, Sara A. Jahnke. (2022) “Intra-Tour Variation of Firefighter Sleep Duration and Sleep-Wake Cycle within the 24/48 and 48/96 Shift Schedules.” Behavioral Sleep Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2021.2021912
  • Billings, Joel. (2022) “Firefighter sleep: a pilot study of the agreement between actigraphy and self-reported sleep measures.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 18(1): 109-117, https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.9566
  • LeNoble, Chelsea, Joel Billings, Janel Ingraham, Ray Chang, and Allison Kwesell. (2020) “Social Science Considerations for Integrating Aviation Technology, Emergency Services, and Human Resilience.” Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research 29(3):1-16, https://doi.org/10.15394/jaaer.2020.1848
  • Billings, Joel, and Will Focht. 2016. “Firefighter Shift Schedules affect Sleep Quality.” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58(3):294-298, DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000624

Refereed Abstracts

  • Billings, Joel. 2023. “0283 Firefighters’ Sleep Changes After Switching Shift Schedules: A Longitudinal Study” Sleep 46(Supplement_1):A125-126 https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad077.0283
  • Billings, Joel. 2022. “0143 Firefighters' Sleepiness and Total Sleep Time Varies Throughout Their Shift Schedule”, Sleep 45(Supplement_1):A64. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac079.141
  • Haynes, Patricia, Caitlin Fung, Darlynn Rojo-Wissar, Candace Mayer, David Glickenstein, Joel Billings, 2022. “0139 Work Duration Affects How Prior-Night Sleep Predicts Next-Day Energy Expenditure in Emergency Response System Telecommunicators,” Sleep 45:Supplement_1(A62-63), https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac079.137

Non-Refereed Articles / Creative Works

  • Billings, Joel and Allison Kwesell. 2021. “A Full Toolbox” International Fire Service Training Association, Fire Protection Publications, Oklahoma State University, https://www.ifsta.org/speaking-of-fire/a-full-toolbox
  • Sleep Series, Title: 1 Sleep Physiology, FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series1.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 2 Sleep Recovery, FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series2.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 3 Acute effects of Sleep Deprivation, FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series3.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 4 Chronic effects of Sleep Deprivation, FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series4.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 5 Treatments (part 1), FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series5.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 6 Treatments (part 2), FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series6.html
  • Sleep Series, Title: 7 Conclusion, FDSleep.com http://info.fdsleep.com/p/sleep-series7.html
  • Practitioner Summary, Title: Firefighter Shift Schedules affect Sleep Quality, United States Fire Administration, August 2017

Sleep Research Society

Science Alliance