FAQs for Departments

What is Fire Corps?

Fire Corps is a locally-driven Citizen Corps program that enables community members to offer their time and talents to their local fire/EMS department in a non-emergency capacity.


What is Citizen Corps?

Citizen Corps is an initiative under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. It provides opportunities for people to support first responders and participate in a range of measures to make their families, homes, and communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds.


Citizen Corps is comprised of five programs – USAOnWatch/Neighborhood Watch, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), and Fire Corps – along with several affiliate organizations. Citizen Corps activities are coordinated at the local level by Citizen Corps Councils. For more information about Citizen Corps, please visit www.citizencorps.gov.

 

How can Fire Corps benefit my department?

Fire Corps provides opportunities for community members to assist your department by performing non-emergency tasks and roles, enabling department members to focus on emergency response and training. Engaging citizens may also allow departments to increase the services they offer, such as enhanced fire safety education programs. In return, citizens gain a greater understanding of the fire and emergency services and become better prepared to handle their own emergencies as well as those of their neighbors. Fire Corps members also act as advocates for the fire and emergency services in the community.
 
The Fire Corps national office has created a myriad of resources to help you start, market, and maintain your department’s efforts to generate more community support through Fire Corps. These include resource guides, sample documents, training and evaluation materials, public service announcements, complimentary newsletters, and promotional materials.
As a registered member of Fire Corps, your department may also be eligible for increased grant opportunities through your local Citizen Corps Council and through the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

 

My department already has a citizen volunteer program in place. Does it qualify as a Fire Corps program or do we have to change it in any way? 

If citizens offer their time to support your department in a non-emergency capacity, it qualifies as a Fire Corps program. Registering your program with Fire Corps allows you to use the nationally recognized Fire Corps name, opens your program up to increased funding opportunities, and grants you access to using all of Fire Corps’ resources and materials without having to make modifications. Go to www.firecorps.org to register your program.
 

Is there funding available for Fire Corps progra? 

Yes. As a registered member of Fire Corps, your department may be eligible for grants through your local Citizen Corps Council. Contact your local or state Citizen Corps Council for more information or visit www.citizencorps.gov  will also have increased grant opportunities through other federal grant programs, such as the Fire Prevention and Safety grants available through the DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. Visit www.firecorps.org for more information.

 

My department would like to start a program. What help is available? 

The Fire Corps national office provides a number of resources to help you begin a new program or expand an existing one. Resources immediately available on our web site include:
 
  • Resource guides and kits that walk you through the steps of starting, implementing, managing, and marketing a Fire Corps program;
  • Sample documents, forms, policies, and other materials that you can use as-is or customize for your department;
  • Ready-to-use marketing and recruitment resources such as brochures, videos, public service announcements, press releases, ads, and a PowerPoint presentation;
  • A comprehensive database of existing Fire Corps programs in the United States and U.S. Territories.
 
You may contact Fire Corps at 1-888-FC-INFO1 or visit www.firecorps.org for more information and guidance.

 

My department already has a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. How would establishing a Fire Corps program in addition to CERT benefit my department? 

CERT and Fire Corps are complimentary programs that can work together to create a comprehensive citizen volunteer program.  By implementing both CERT and Fire Corps, it becomes even easier to meet a department’s diverse range of needs as well as keep citizen volunteers actively engaged both in times of crisis and in between. Fire Corps has produced a guide that outlines how Fire Corps and CERT can work together to benefit both the departments and the citizen volunteers as well as how to build stronger communities. This guide is available on the Resource Center of the Fire Corps web site at www.firecorps.org.