2009-2018

The IAFF re-launches its campaign to enact a national collective bargaining bill for all fire fighters and emergency medical personnel.

The IAFF takes advantage of a new federal consultation on Canada’s pension retirement systems to emphasize the need for flexibility in rules and proposed rule changes that would affect fire fighters’ Registered Pension Plans and Canada Pension Plan benefits.

A major political action initiative developed jointly by the IAFF and the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association (OPFFA) helps Ontario’s 80 affiliates take political action to a new level in advance of municipal elections that take place across the province in October.

The IAFF publishes a 2010 election scorecard, presenting the results of IAFF- and FIREPAC- supported candidates in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate races, governors races and IAFF member public office races.

The IAFF develops, delivers and evaluates all aspects of hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction training for emergency responders through 10 program offerings.

As part of the IAFF/IAFC Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative, the IAFF, the IAFC and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) develop the Peer Fitness Trainer certification program for IAFF members to become certified fitness trainers to address the health and fitness needs of the fire service throughout the United States and Canada.

The IAFF publishes an article on suicide prevention in the International Fire Fighter and provides resources to assist fire fighters.

IAFF members raise $27.8 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during the Labor Day Telethon.

MDA and the IAFF →

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announces the first round of grant awards through the SAFER program for Fiscal Year 2009. The first round represents $55 million of the $210 million and funds a total of 49 fire departments. Several more grant awards for SAFER are announced throughout Fiscal Year 2009.

The IAFF introduces a new tool to help affiliates fight station closures and staffing cuts. The web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) Coverage Area Assessment Tool is designed for affiliates to produce GIS reports quickly when hit with the threat of station closures, layoffs and other public safety threats.

With economic conditions around the country continuing to negatively impact fire department staffing and services, the IAFF expands its resources to assist affiliates and their fire departments in writing and submitting SAFER grant applications. The IAFF’s efforts to reform and promote the SAFER grant program puts thousands of fire fighters back to work protecting the public.

The IAFF launches the Frontline Blog designed to communicate with members on news, commentary and updates on issues important to the fire service.

Thomas H. Miller is elected General Secretary-Treasurer.

The IAFF establishes a new FIREPAC donor club level, the Chairman’s Council, for members who contribute $750 or more per calendar year. FIREPAC sets a record for the amount raised in a two-year election cycle: $4.9 million.

A landmark study by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that the size of firefighting crews and arrival times have a substantial effect on fire fighters’ ability to protect lives and property at residential fires.

Six IAFF members are awarded the Public Safety Medal of Valor from Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder in a White House ceremony.

IAFF membership in the United States and Canada reaches 297,000.

The National Institute of Environmental Safety and Health (NIESH) asks the IAFF to send its HazMat instructors to assist with training workers to clean up the Gulf Coast from the BP oil disaster.

The IAFF, under contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), selects global safety equipment manufacturer MSA to build a prototype of a new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The SCBA prototype relies on pressure-vessel technology that promises to make firefighting breathing apparatuses smaller, lighter and more efficient than SCBA currently in use.

The IAFF works to protect fire fighter pensions from public officials who are intent on replacing traditional defined benefit plans with defined contribution plans.