Tactical Athletes in Fire Services Turn to Nix Biosensors for Personalized Hydration and Heat Stress Management

July 10, 2025

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and 211 Performance Therapy adopt Nix Biosensors' real-time hydration technology to monitor fluid and electrolyte loss, improve safety, and enhance performance in high-stress environments.

BOSTON, MASS (July 10, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Nix Biosensors, the leading provider of cutting-edge hydration monitoring technology, today announced new partnerships with South Kitsap Fire and Rescue (SKFR) and 211 Performance Therapy to bring advanced sweat-sensing technology to the fire service for the first time. Both organizations are leveraging Nix to monitor fluid and electrolyte loss in real time in order to support safer, smarter hydration strategies for firefighters working in some of the most extreme and unpredictable conditions.

The Nix Hydration Biosensor is a wearable patch that tracks fluid and electrolyte loss through sweat in real time. When paired with the Nix Solo or Nix Pro dashboard, it provides personalized hydration recommendations based on each individual’s physiology and environmental stressors. Originally built for endurance athletes, Nix is now expanding into tactical and industrial use cases where the stakes are critical.

“Firefighting is physically and mentally demanding, and hydration plays a critical role in our ability to perform and stay safe,” said Scott Hiskey, SKFR Paramedic and Firefighter. “Our firefighters can lose more than 1.5 liters of sweat in just 30 minutes, especially when operating in full bunker gear or on extended wildland deployments. But because every individual sweats and loses electrolytes differently, it’s impossible to apply a one-size-fits-all approach. With Nix we hope to build personalized hydration protocols based on real-time data to protect and optimize each firefighter whether they’re responding to a structure fire or working a 24-hour shift on the wildland line.”

SKFR has already begun rolling out Nix devices and Nix Pro software in training scenarios, including wildland pack tests and live-fire evolutions. Leaders are using the data to monitor hydration needs across both structural and wildland teams, and plan to implement department-wide protocols by the end of 2025.

Similarly, 211 Performance Therapy, a Canadian-based performance and rehab organization supporting firefighters and tactical athletes, is using Nix to guide individualized hydration planning across pre-service students, instructors, and active first responders. The initiative is led by Anthony De Benedictis, a career firefighter, performance specialist, and associate instructor at the Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute (FESTI), a private career college located at Toronto Pearson International Airport and one of Canada’s most advanced firefighter training academies.

In addition to 211’s live fire training use, Nix is currently being used in the Physical Therapy and Fitness portion of the program and De Benedictis is working on incorporating Nix further into FESTI’s teaching program to allow students to monitor their personal hydration metrics during tactical fitness training and live fire scenarios. This marks a significant innovation in firefighter education, and makes Nix the first hydration monitoring technology to be integrated into a formal firefighter qualification program.

“As a firefighter, I spent years unknowingly pushing through the negative effects of dehydration without realizing just how much it was limiting my performance,” said De Benedictis, owner of 211 Performance Therapy and Associate Instructor at FESTI. “Once I began digging into the science of hydration, I became obsessed with finding a tool that could give me concrete data to train and recover smarter. That’s what Nix provides. Now, using Nix Pro with our pre-service students and active firefighters, we’re able to personalize hydration strategies based on fluid and electrolyte loss and even skin temperature. By integrating Nix into our curriculum at FESTI students get real-world insight into how their bodies respond to heat and stress, something we’ve never been able to do before.”

By embedding hydration science directly into firefighter education, FESTI and 211 Performance Therapy are leading the way in preparing recruits not just to survive the job, but to thrive in it.

“As first responders, firefighters face extreme physical stress in unpredictable environments and, until now, they’ve had no way to truly understand or manage their hydration on a personal level,” said Meridith Cass, CEO and Founder of Nix. “We’re proud to support organizations like SKFR, 211 Performance Therapy and FESTI, who are leveraging technology to ensure health and safety in the fire service and training. Together, we’re bringing a new level of science and precision to first tactical athletes.”

For more information about Nix Biosensors and how it is being implemented in the fire service, visit nixbiosensors.com.

Media Contact

Mackenzie Lynch
mackenzie@igtstudio.com
360.319.3833

About Nix Biosensors:

Nix is changing the way humans manage health by empowering consumers to access, understand, and act on their personal biology in real time. Nix’s first consumer product is a sweat patch that provides athletes, soldiers, and laborers with hydration data in real-time, helping them optimize safety and performance. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Nix is founded by CEO Meridith Cass, a graduate of Harvard Business School, former VC, and 9-time marathoner. Advisors include Tom Fowler, Former President of Polar; Dr. Bob Murray, Founder and former Director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute; Shalane Flanagan, 4x Olympian, Silver Medalist, and 2017 NYC Marathon Champion; and Tatyana McFadden, the 5x Olympian and 17x Medalist. Learn more at nixbiosensors.com.

About South Kitsap Fire and Rescue:
SKFR serves the citizens of Kitsap County, Washington, with a commitment to innovation, preparedness, and firefighter wellness. Their teams respond to structure fires, wildfires, and all-hazard emergencies across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

About 211 Performance Therapy:
Founded by firefighter and performance specialist Anthony De Benedictis, 211 Performance Therapy delivers training, rehabilitation, and physiological education to tactical athletes across Canada. Their mission is to improve the safety, resilience, and long-term health of those who serve.