IAFF releases second course on workplace violence prevention  

Learn how to protect yourself from workplace violence in a new online course that is free to members.

January 28 • 2025

Ben Vernon and fellow San Diego, CA Local 145 member Alex Wallbrett will never forget what happened June 24, 2015. They both were stabbed on what should have been a routine call to assist an intoxicated male. 
 
“We were trying to treat the patient when a bystander came at us. Alex was stabbed when he tried to subdue him, and I got stabbed trying to help Alex,” Vernon told multiple news outlets. “Both of us were injured badly.” 

Vernon told his story as part of the IAFF’s first course on violence in the workplace in 2021. And he serves as a guide in the follow-up course released this year.  
 
The Practical Strategies for Safety course provides approaches that can be used to prevent workplace violence. 

The course module includes workplace violence prevention solutions, examples, and resources that will help IAFF members be safer on the job.  

It is available free to all members. 
 
Washington, DC Local 36 and DC Fire and EMS provided access to their EMS training facility and helped demonstrate situations and solutions to complement the course material.  
 
“Violence, on some level, happens in the workplace in our response area every day. It might be anything from a verbal attack to people discharging firearms during a domestic dispute call,” Local 36 President David Hoagland said. “We all need to be prepared for when these incidents occur. This course will help. It emphasizes the importance of situational awareness and strategies for staying safe on the job.” 

“Violence, on some level, happens in the workplace in our response area every day. It might be anything from a verbal attack to people discharging firearms during a domestic dispute call. We all need to be prepared for when these incidents occur. This course will help. It emphasizes the importance of situational awareness and strategies for staying safe on the job.

Local 36 President David Hoagland

The first course, Workplace Violence Prevention for First Responders, remains available. The course and its just-released follow-up course were a collaborative effort between the IAFF and the Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST Center) at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health. 

It introduces concepts of workplace violence and focuses on prevention policies. Mitigation strategies, such as de-escalation, are covered for scenarios when prevention is not an option, and the training concludes with steps to take after a violent encounter, such as reporting and seeking help.