I’ve watched with admiration the response of the nation’s fire service these past three months. And, as always, I’ve also watched with concern for the safety of our men and women on the front lines. Whatever has been thrown your way — a pandemic, civil unrest, layoffs and furloughs – you’ve brought with you some of the deepest traditions of the fire service. You continue to put others before yourself in an effort to save lives and to protect property. Despite this unprecedented combination of challenges, your community knows they can count on you and your department.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is the one organization charged with caring for the families of all fallen firefighters. Our mission also includes a focus on keeping firefighters safe. We urge each of you and your department to remain ever watchful and do all you can to return to your families safe and healthy. With that in mind, we’ve put together some important resources that may help you in the coming days, weeks and months:

• Urban Fire Forum White Paper on Civil Unrest
• Civil Unrest SOP
• Model Procedures for Fire Department Response to Hostile Situations
• Any incident can become violent: Preventing firefighters from becoming targets
• Nine Questions You Should Ask
• Firefighter Life Safety Initiative 12 Final Report by Jerry Naylis (2013)
• Firefighter Life Safety Initiative 12 White Paper by John Oates (2007)
• Are you ready to respond to a violent incident? Nine Questions You Should Ask
• More Civil Unrest Resources Available on EveryoneGoesHome.com
• IAFC: Response Considerations: Incidents Involving Crowds During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Firehouse.com: Fire & EMS Response to Civil Unrest Events
• IAFC: Ballistic Protection in the Fire-EMS World
• NFPA Responder Forum on Civil Unrest
• Active Shooter Toolkit
• IAFC Position Statement: Active Violence and Mass Casualty Terrorist Incidents