National standards for emergency response policies and procedures should be developed and championed.
Many in the fire service have long argued the need for uniform response standards as a means to increase fire service operational effectiveness, and to give credibility to the observation that the fire service is a bona fide profession in the sense of education, credentialing, training, and execution. Success has been limited at best due to competing opinions from fire service organizations categorized as volunteer, combination, or career. Unification in the fire service has also been difficult due to geographic demands which drive local priorities and response policies. Unlike many other fire service systems internationally which are organized, trained, and funded at the national level, the U.S. fire service has developed into over 30,000 idiosyncratic and separate systems. Undoubtedly, this is the source of much pride, but it also has led to massive system inadequacies.
The 11th Initiative calls for a minimum set of activities that are universally recognized and understood to assure life safety at every fire—regardless of organizational composition, or geographic location. Common standards provide the added benefit of allowing multiple responding agencies to operate with similar strategic and tactical considerations, regardless of the complexity of the event.
Initiative 11 Resources
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Latest Initiative 11 News
- FireRescue1 launches What Firefighters Want 2024 survey – FireRescue1 launched its annual What Firefighters Want survey, with this year’s theme focused on strengthening fire department leadership at all levels, plus how firefighters are taking ownership of their career development even amid a perceived lack of leadership at their agency.
- NFFF Announces 4th Firefighter Life Safety Summit – This important gathering builds on the advances from previous Life Safety Summits in Tampa (FL) and Truman Fire Forums (2019 and 2022) to move firefighter health and safety strategies forward. A keynote speaker for the event is Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, whose in-depth work on command decision-making revolutionized the British Fire Service’s approach to incident command.
- National Fire Service Research Agenda Report Released – Researchers and fire service practitioners met virtually last year for the 4th National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium resulting in the National Fire Service Research Agenda Report with nearly 300 recommendations.
- National Firefighter Life Safety Summit 2022 Postponed – The National Firefighter Life Safety Summit 2022 Planning Committee has postponed the Summit due to the current impact of the coronavirus pandemic on fire departments across the country. A new date for the Summit will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
- Fire Hero Learning Network Reaches New Milestone – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is excited to announce that the Foundation’s online learning platform, the Fire Hero Learning Network (FHLN), has reached a milestone of over 130,000 registered users.
- National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Launches “Legacies in Leadership” Website – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is proud to announce the “Legacies in Leadership” website, which contains thoughts and advice from the past and present fire service leaders to the next generation of fire service influencers.
» Visit www.legaciesinleadership.com - Help Shape the Future of the Fire Service – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will host the National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium virtually in February and March to prioritize research that promotes firefighter safety, wellness, and efficiency.
- Help Make Responders Safer on Our Nation’s Roadways – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is conducting a survey to gather data on responder fatalities, injuries, near misses, and struck-by incidents that have occurred during emergency response on our nation’s highways. The survey will be open until December 15, 2020.
» Take the Survey Now - Promoting a Better Safety Climate for the Fire Service During Global Pandemic, Civil Unrest, and Wildland Fires – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the First Responder Center for Excellence (FRCE), once again, collaborated with Firehouse® and published the 2020 Fire Service Health & Safety Report. The 32 page report, which appears in September’s issue of Firehouse®, includes 13 articles written by respected leaders, authors and experts, covering a diversity of topics, including women in the fire service, the power of podcasts in promoting safety and health and changing the very culture of safety among the nation’s fire departments.
- Fire Hero Learning Network Registered Users Surpasses 100,000 – Since Fire Hero Learning Network went live, registered users have earned over 130,000 online learning certificates of completion. The knowledge gained from the modules better positions firefighters and officers as leaders in health and safety training in their respective departments.
