E-update: March 21, 2005
Welcome to the Fire Corps E-Update. Fire Corps is a locally-driven Citizen Corps program that allows community members to offer their time and talents to their local fire and EMS departments in non-operational roles. Fire Corps serves as a gateway to information for and about fire and EMS department programs and meets a citizen's desire to serve as well as a departments need for support.
In this issue:
- Fire Departments Encouraged to Join Fire Corps
- Fire Corps to Attend Major Fire and EMS Trade Shows
- Fire Corps to Hold Seminar at National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner
- Visit Fire Corps at JEMS Booth 944
- Fire Corps Growth Continues
Kicked off in December of 2004, Fire Corps is the newest Citizen Corps initiative and a partnership between the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Volunteer Combination & Officers Section and the International Association of Fire Fighters. Fire Corps is an exciting new program that's ultimate goal is to support and supplement volunteer, combination, and career fire departments through the use of citizen advocates for non-operational related activities. These activities include fund raising, life safety education, bookkeeping, and much more. The citizens advocates help relieve the burden of these tasks from the front line providers which allows them to concentrate more on their front line duties.
From King County Fire District 40 in Renton, WA to the Troutville Volunteer Fire Department in Troutville, VA, departments from coast to coast are signing up to be listed on the Fire Corps website so citizens can fine and join them. 227 programs have registered in just three months. The program will only work if a majority of fire departments join, helping supplement their providers and giving as many opportunities as possible to the citizens who want to help.
"Across this nation, we are keenly aware of people with a strong desire to serve their communities and contribute their time and skills to support homeland security, and in particular their local firefighters," Chief R. David Paulison, U.S. Fire Administrator said. "When firefighters can stand side by side with citizens in promoting fire prevention and general safety efforts, and are able to invite citizens to assist with non-emergency responsibilities, the overall security and safety of their community is greatly enhanced."
Log on to www.firecorps.org today. There you can learn more about the program, see what departments have already joined, and sign your own department up. There is no cost to join, and all we ask is that you keep your information up to date. Join and make a new connection to your community while helping your organization.
Fire Corps representatives will be attending several major fire and EMS trade shows during 2005. They will be available to answer your questions and learn more about what Fire Corps is and how to implement a Fire Corps program in your department. Fire Corps will be exhibiting at the following trade shows:
| JEMS | Philadelphia, PA | 3/19-3/21 |
| FDIC | Indianapolis, IN | 4/14-4/16 |
| Fire Expo | Harrisburg, PA | 5/20-5/22 |
| Firehouse Expo | Baltimore, MD | 7/28-7/30 |
| Fire Rescue International | Denver, CO | 8/11-8/ |
Please stop by, meet the Fire Corps staff, get your questions answered and sign up. We look forward to meeting you!
Fire Corps to Hold Seminar at National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner
Fire Corps is pleased to announce that it will be holding a seminar at the 17th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner sponsored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) highlighting Fire Corps and our Citizen Corps partner program Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
The seminar will give a perspective of the mission of Citizen Corps, the goals, objectives, and an operational perspective of Fire Corps. It will also include an overview on CERT and ways that CERT can help the fire service during a disaster.
For more information on the dinner and for a schedule of events, logon to www.cfsi.org
Fire Corps will be in attendance at JEMS EMS Today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 19-21. Located in booth 944, Fire Corps representatives will be available to answer your questions, give ideas how to start or improve a Fire Corps program and sign up new programs.
"The JEMS show is our first opportunity to reach out to the EMS agencies and rescue squads and introduce them to Fire Corps, therefore it is very important to us" said Shawn Stokes, Director of Fire Corps. "Because EMS is an important part of the Fire Corps concept we are excited to have the opportunity to meet so many leaders from the field and introduce them to Fire Corps."
Please stop by and meet us. The Fire Corps staff will be waiting to answer your questions about Fire Corps and how it can work for an EMS agency or rescue squad.
With 227 programs, utilizing 3298 citizen advocates, signed up in the first 90 days of the program's existence, Fire Corps has gotten off to a strong start. Enthusiasm for the program has been outstanding, with interest coming from all sectors of the fire and emergency services.
"We have been contacted by departments all over the United States, with 29 U.S. states and Guam having registered programs already and an average of 2 programs joining a day" said Shawn Stokes, Director of Fire Corps. "With our upcoming trade show schedule, increased public relations activities, and additional resources being offered on our website we expect even more interest in the program as we move into the Spring"
View a list of Fire Corps programs



