Washington, D.C. – Charlie Dickinson, the Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator, has announced that the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s (CVVFA) Emergency Responder Safety Institute will work together to perform a study of effective recruitment and retention methods and techniques for Fire Service Traffic Control Volunteers, referred to in some areas of the United States as Fire Police.
“This effort will not only illustrate an effective use of citizen volunteers to support the fire service, it will also contribute to firefighter safety,” said Dickinson. “Effective roadway safety additionally supports the National Fallen Firefighters’ Foundation (NFFF) Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives to mitigate on-duty firefighter fatalities as firefighters have died in the line of duty from being struck by vehicles.”
This study will examine the recruitment of non-active fire service response support personnel (i.e. former firefighters and other emergency responders) as well as citizen advocates, especially those that would volunteer under the Fire Corps program, and examine the effective retention of members currently serving in this role. It will also illustrate the important function currently provided by these emergency support volunteers to some fire departments.
This study is supported by the Office of State and Local Government Preparedness and Coordination’s Fire Corps Program. As a program partner of President George W. Bush’s grass-roots initiative Citizen Corps, Fire Corps will work through local Citizen Corps Councils across the country to offer citizens education, training, and volunteer opportunities. 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 Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration and Office of State and Local Government Preparedness and Coordination.
Information developed from this study will be incorporated into a detailed guide on recruitment and retention of Fire Service Traffic Control Professionals. It would also illustrate the important function performed by these emergency support professionals currently provide to some fire departments.
More information on Fire Corps is available at http://www.firecorps.org.
Additional information on the NFFF’s Firefighter Life Safety Initiative is available at EveryoneGoesHome.com.
