How is the Department Funded?

Funding from the following federal agencies enables the IAFF to deliver no cost recruit and direct training when emergency responders and their departments demonstrate a need:

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety) The primary focus of all IAFF training under the NIOSH Cooperative Agreement is at the first responder operations level. First responders are trained to meet all competencies at the operational level per 29 CFR 1910.120 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response; 29 CFR 1910.146 Permit-Required Confined Spaces; and various National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The following chart details the IAFF’s grant history with NIOSH.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
The IAFF has partnered with NIEHS on four separate projects: Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWT); HazMat Disaster Preparedness Training Program (HDPT), DOE Training Program; World Trade Center – Worker Health and Safety Training Cooperative Agreement (WTC).

NIEHS/HWWT (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences--Hazardous Waste Worker Training) This funding provides all levels of emergency response training to fire fighters with primary and secondary response duties at and around the Environmental Protection Agency’s “National Priorities List” sites. The following chart details the IAFF’s grant history with HWWT.

NIEHS/HDPT (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences--HazMat Disaster Preparedness Training) This funding provides for integration of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and safety management in an emergency response training program. The IAFF's new curriculum, entitled Frontline Safety, will help ensure that all responders - federal, state, tribal and local - will be able to coordinate and conduct safe operations during all phases of emergency response.

NIEHS/DOE (National Institute of Environmental Health & Sciences--Department of Energy) This funding provides all levels of emergency response training to fire fighters with primary and secondary response duties within a 150 mile radius of ten identified DOE labs and other facilities.

NIEHS/WTC: The WTC Cooperative Agreement provided additional HazMat Technician training and chemical protective clothing and decontamination training for the New York City Fire Department.

DOT (Department of Transportation) The goal of this program is to increase the training available to emergency responders along major transportation corridors by offering instructor training programs, providing training materials, and increasing the overall competence of emergency response trainers in those areas. This program is based on the Train-the-Trainer (TtT) model. Once trained, these individuals return to their communities and train others. This provides for a cost-effective use of funding. The following chart details the IAFF’s grant history with DOT.

DHS (Department of Homeland Security) In 1999, the IAFF partnered with DHS (formerly Department of Justice’s Office for Domestic Preparedness). Since then, the IAFF has received a total of $9.76 million in funding. Initial funding was awarded to develop and pilot-test a safety and health oriented operations-level training program for first responders. Additional supplemental awards allowed the IAFF to continue its work with DHS to deliver direct training and (TtT) classes nationwide. Beginning with the IAFF’s second grant, training centered on conducting classes in 15 cities identified in the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici (NLD) Domestic Preparedness Plan. The following chart details the IAFF’s grant history with DHS.