Fire Department & Family Resources
Fire Department & Family Resources
The CFFF has tremendous resources and support available for fire departments and families. The information below and the Pre-planning List to Prepare for a LODD document (which can be accessed by clicking on the name) both have lots of ideas and links to resources.
For significant help and advice contact the first resource below (LAST). You can also call the second resource (NFFF), or have a CFFRT team member do that for you. The Colorado team will keep the NFFF and the third changed to second resource below (CFFF) in the loop.
Local Assistance State Team (LAST)
Aka: Colorado Fallen Firefighters Response Team (CFFRT)
Through the NFFF the Department of Justice has established a team in every state to support the nation’s fire service survivors and fire departments that experience a LODD. Each state team consists of trained specialists available to help departments take care of a LODD and apply for state and federal benefits. There are roughly 20 things that need to be done within the first 24 hours following a LODD. The team will only respond if requested. The team does not come to take charge, only to assist as requested. The team’s goal is to be on the ground within six hours and to be prepared to stay for a few days as needed.
https://www.cofff.org/local-assistance-state-team
LODD Hotline (24 hours) 1-866-736-5868
Fax: (301) 447-1645
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF)
Email: firehero@firehero.org
P.O. Drawer 498
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Phone: (301) 447-1365
Colorado Fallen Firefighters Foundation (CFFF)
P. O. Box 470097
Aurora, CO 80047-0097
Phone: 720-989-2527 (Voicemail only)
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)
https://icisf.org/emergency-hotline/
Hotline to arrange for firefighter stress help 410-313-2473, Fax 240-644-6203 or call Ken Rice,
24/7, at 970-262-9212 or cell 970-418-0724
The Secret List
To be alerted about LODDs (almost anywhere) and receive fire safety news and information, join the Secret List at the following website: https://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/category/secret-list/
The COLORADO Daily Dispatch (Missouri Valley Division of the IAFC)
Subscribe at the following website for daily state and national fire news:
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program
Bureau of Justice Assistance
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531
Submit benefit application forms online at: https://www.psob.gov
Benefits can be found at: https://www.firehero.org/resources/family-resources/benefits/
Phone 888-744-6531 or 202-307-0635
Fax 202-616-0314
United States Fire Administration – USFA
16825 S. Seton Ave.
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Phone: (301) 447-1272 or (301) 447-6771
The USFA provides an autopsy protocol at: www.ncosfm.gov
The Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) regulations do not require that an autopsy be performed, however, the overwhelming majority of those for which claims were denied involved cases where no autopsy was performed.
The USFA Publications Center can be reached at 800-561-3356. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS-FEMA) and the National Fire Academy (NFA) share the USFA website and are housed together at the above address and phone number.
Lighthouse Uniform Company
http://www.lighthouseuniform.com/
“Any Firefighter, killed in the line of duty, will be provided, for burial purpose, at the request of the immediate family, a Class ‘A’ Dress Uniform. There is no charge for the uniform, rank striping or Maltese Crosses. The only cost involved is for freight, which we will bill to the affiliated department.”
1532 15th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
Phone: 800-426-5225, 206-282-5600
Dignity Memorial Public Servants Program (Free/Reduced Funeral Services)
https://www.sci-corp.com/about/responsibility/military
Recognizing the courage and selflessness of those who serve the public, Dignity Memorial network providers created the Public Servants Program for emergency service personnel. This program offers dignified and honorable tributes, at no cost, for career and volunteer law enforcement officers and firefighters who fall in the line of duty. In addition to providing burial services, the program offers extended counseling services to family members who experience this unsettling change in their lives, as well as the opportunity to create an Internet tribute to memorialize their fallen hero. Call 1-800-344-6489 for assistance.
Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado (FPPA)
5290 DTC Parkway, Suite 100
Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
Phone: (303) 770-3772 (FPPA) In the Denver Metro area
Or toll free nationwide 1(800) 332-3772 (FPPA)
Fax (303) 771-7622
For questions about general benefits, email
For questions about the Statewide Death and Disability process
Wildland Firefighter Foundation (For wildland LODDs)
2049 Airport Way
Boise, ID 83705-5104
Phone: (208) 336-2996
Fax: (208) 336-2995
Email: info@wffoundation.org
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/default.html
4676 Columbia Pkwy
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Phone: (800) 356-4674
Fax: (513) 841-4488
International Association of Firefighters – IAFF
(Recommended protocol for LODDs)
1750 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 737-8484
Fax: (202) 737-8418
International Association of Fire Chiefs – IAFC
For LODD downloads, look under Health & Safety at:
https://www.iafc.org/topics-and-tools/safety-health
Email: dirmic@ichiefs.org
4025 Fair Ridge Drive, Suite 300
Fairfax, VA 22033
Phone: (703) 273-0911
Fax: (703) 273-9363
National Volunteer Fire Council – NVFC
1050 17th Street NW, Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036
202.887.5700
202.887.5291 (fax)
1.888-275-6832
Fellowship of Christian Firefighters International
P.O. Box 901
Ft. Collins, CO. 80522-0901
1-800-322-9848
(970) 416-9076 (Fax)
OSHA
Office of Public Affairs – Room N3647
200 Constitution Ave. Washington, DC 20210
Phone: (202) 693-1999
Federation of Fire Chaplains
Route 1, Box 155B
Clifton, Texas 76634
(254) 622-8514
Email: ffc.chaplain@gmail.com
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Email: wdc@nfpa.org
1 Batterymarch Park
PO Box 9101
Quincy, MA 02269
Phone: (617) 770-3000
Fax: (617) 770-0700
National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)
Phone: (888) 382-3827
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms – ATF
Phone: (800) 788-7133
Workers Compensation Board
Phone: (800) 394-2767
Veterans Affairs Office
Phone: (800) 827-1000
Social Security Administration (SSA)
www.ssa.gov
Underwriters Laboratories
www.ul.com
American Petroleum Institute
www.api.org
Supporting Literature
Chaplain’s Manual: Fire Department Funerals
Federation of Fire Chaplains, 1994
Download from: https://www.firehero.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/chaplainsmanual.pdf
E-mail: chapdir1@aol.com
Federation of Fire Chaplains
Route 1, Box 155B, Clifton, Texas 76634
(254) 622-8514
Funeral Procedures for Firefighters
National Volunteer Fire Council, 1991
Contact: NVFC at https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Funeral-Procedures-brochure.pdf
E-mail: nvfcoffice@nvfc.org
NVFC
1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 887-5700/1-888-ASK-NVFC/FAX: (202) 887-5291
IAFF Recommended Protocol for Line-of-Duty Deaths
(NOTE: The IAFF will provide this protocol at the request of the IAFF District Vice President or local IAFF affiliates.)
International Association of Fire Fighters
1750 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 737-8484 / FAX: (202) 737-8418
A Procedural Guide in the Event of Death in the Line of Duty of a Member of the Volunteer Fire Service
National Volunteer Fire Council, 1987
Contact: NVFC at: https://www.nvfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Funeral_Procedures_Guide.pdf
Email: nvfcoffice@nvfc.org
NVFC
1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 887-5700 / 1-888-275-6832 / FAX: (202) 887-5291
Final Farewell to a Fallen Firefighter: A Basic Fire Department Funeral Protocol
Fire Engineering Magazine, 1993
Fire Engineering Magazine
Park 80 West, Plaza Two, 7th Floor
Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
(201) 845-0800 / FAX: (201) 845-6275
For Those Who Gave So Much: Planning, Preparation, and Officiation of Funerals and Memorial Services for Public Safety Officers.
Dwaine Booth, 1993
Booth/Taylor Publishing
2579 Surrey Drive
Clearwater, FL 34615
(727) 789-3816
An Honorable Farewell
Warren L. James, Fire Chief Magazine, October 1998
Fire Chief Magazine
35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60601-2198
(312) 726-7277 / FAX: (312) 726-0241
Guide for Investigation of a Line of Duty Death, International Association of Fire Chiefs
Available online at: https://www.iafc.org/topics-and-tools/resources/resource/line-of-duty-death-resourcesInternational
Association of Fire Chiefs
4025 Fair Ridge Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033-2868
(703)-273-0911
NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Programs and Reports
Firefighter Fatality Investigation Program
Contact: NIOSH at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/
1-800-356-4674
Firefighter Fatality Reports
A list of and links to all the periodic NIOSH reports on firefighter fatalities are available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/investigations/investigations.html
The Aftermath of Firefighter Fatality Incidents: Preparing for the Worst.
United States Fire Administration, Technical Report Series, Report 089.
Contact: United States Fire Administration at www.usfa.fema.gov
USFA Publications Center
16825 S. Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
1-800-561-3356
A Guide to Help the Fire Service Prepare for a Line of Duty Death.
Paul J. Antonellis, Jr., 1995
FPS Books and Videos
577 Main Street
Hudson, MA 01749
1-800-522-8528 or (978) 562-3554
Standard Operating Procedures for Line-of-Duty Deaths
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has copies of Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines developed by fire departments across the country.
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
P.O. Drawer 498
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
301-447-1365 / Fax: 301-447-1645
NFFF Grief Brochures: https://www.firehero.org/resources/lending-library/grief-brochures/request/
NFFF Lending Library: https://www.firehero.org/resources/lending-library/
Other Grief Resources: https://www.firehero.org/resources/family-resources/support-resources/grief-resources/