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Fire Corps is a partnership between the International
Association of Fire Chiefs' Volunteer Combination Officers Section (VCOS),
the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Volunteer
Fire Council (NVFC), and the White House's USA Freedom Corps Office. The
program's ultimate goal is to support and supplement resource-constrained
fire departments at all levels, volunteer, combination, and career. This
will be accomplished through the use of civilian advocates for non-operational
related activities. The program will educate fire departments on how to
implement a non-operational citizen advocates program, or improve existing
programs. Fire service input to the program is provided through the Fire
Corps National Advisory Committee which gives strategic direction and
important feedback from the field to Fire Corps.
The foundation of this national initiative to help local
fire departments is the Fire Corps website located at www.firecorps.org.
This website serves as a gateway to information for fire and emergency
services and citizens interested in volunteering in fire department programs.
Through this program, the NVFC, IAFC, IAFF, and USA
Freedom Corps Office seek to:
- Learn about promising practices being used in existing non-operational
volunteer programs;
- Share this information with fire departments that want to expand
or improve their programs;
- Increase the use of citizen advocates in existing programs;
- Help citizens learn about and get involved in Fire Corps programs
in their communities; and
- Help agencies without a program to get one started.
In the near term several resources will become available
for fire departments and citizens to use to help kick-off and sustain
Fire Corps programs. They include:
- Summaries of existing programs and examples of their organizational
material (i.e., policies and procedures, liability waiver forms, training
materials, volunteer applications, etc.)
- A Resource Guide on Fire Service Non-Operational Volunteer Programs
– a manual to assist in the implementation or enhancement of a
fire department volunteer program;
- An on-line directory of existing programs that potential volunteers
can search to connect with a program in their community;
- Technical assistance; and
- Training
For additional information regarding the Fire Corps program,
please refer to the links below:
Download
the Fire Corps Brochure
Fire Corps website: www.firecorps.org
Volunteer Today:
Local Fire Corps Contact Information
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