Our General President

Harold A. Schaitberger is General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, representing more than 297,000 professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel in every state in the U.S. and in Canada. President Schaitberger is the ninth president in the IAFF’s 90-year history, and was the first to have been elected by acclamation in 2000. He was re-elected to another four-year term in August 2008. Read more...

Current message from the General President:

SAFER Grants Bring Relief...at Last
March-April 2010 International Fire Fighter Magazine

My initial reaction when I heard that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the first round of Fiscal Year 2009 SAFER grants on March 31 can be summarized in one word: Finally.

Many of you probably felt the same way.

I know how hard it’s been the past two years for our locals across North America as the recession has skewered public budgets, led to widespread layoffs and jeopardized public safety and the safety of our members. Numbers don’t lie — the fact that DHS received 2,128 applications for nearly $1.25 billion in grant requests for Fiscal Year 2009 underscores that this unrelenting recession has left many of our locals with staffing shortages.

For the 49 fire departments fortunate enough to be included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) first round of grant recipients last month, I know the funding comes at a crucial time (see story on page 16).

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