About Us

In his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush announced the creation of the USA Freedom Corps, which is an effort to foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility, building on the generous spirit of the American people. One of the initiatives of USA Freedom Corps is Citizen Corps. Citizen Corps programs share the common goal of helping communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies of all kinds.
 
One of the Citizen Corps partner programs is Fire Corps. Fire Corps is a partnership between the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Volunteer & Combination Officers Section (VCOS), and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). The program's ultimate goal is to support and supplement resource-constrained fire and emergency service departments at all levels, volunteer, combination, and career. This is accomplished through the use of citizen volunteers involved in non-emergency roles. The program educates departments on how to implement or expand Fire Corps programs. Input to the program is provided through the Fire Corps National Advisory Committee which provides strategic direction and important feedback from the field to Fire Corps.
 
The foundation of this national initiative to help local fire/EMS departments is the Fire Corps website located at www.firecorps.org. This website serves as a gateway to a compilation of information, various resources, and extended networking opportunities for both fire/EMS agencies and also citizens interested in volunteering in fire/EMS programs.
 
Through Fire Corps, the NVFC, the IAFC, Citizen Corps, and the National Advisory Committee seek to:
 
  • learn about promising practices being used in existing non-operational volunteer programs;
  • share this information with departments that want to expand or improve their programs;
  • increase the use of non-emergency volunteers in existing programs;
  • help citizens learn about and get involved in Fire Corps programs in their communities;
  • help agencies without a program to get one started.