The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) convened researchers, industry representatives, and NFFF Fellows (active firefighters and officers from across the country) for an in-person Community Engagement Project Meeting on September 21, 2026. Alex Fisher, Director of the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s Center for Innovation (CPSE CFI), attended the meeting on behalf of the organization.

The Core Question

At the heart of the project is a critical assumption that shapes firefighter culture and, ultimately, firefighter survivability: the belief among many fire service members that the public expects them to risk their lives in every situation, even when there is no savable life.

The NFFF’s Community Engagement Project aims to challenge that assumption through a coordinated education campaign targeting both the public and local government leaders. The fundamental question is straightforward but far-reaching: When is it acceptable for a firefighter to risk their life?

Building on Previous Work

This in-person meeting marked the second convening of the group, following an earlier virtual session. Because community engagement is integral to the process, we offered to crosswalk potential survey questions with what CPSE collects from fire and emergency services agencies seeking accreditation from the Commission for Fire Accreditation International at the virtual kickoff meeting. The goal for this meeting was to narrow the scope of what “community” means and represents in the context of the project and to identify actionable next steps.

“The Community Engagement Project is about creating a shared understanding between the fire service and the communities we serve about risk, capability, and the responsibility to protect firefighters while protecting others” said Dr. Danny Kistner, Director of the Institute for Firefighter Survivability at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

What Does the Public Need to Know?

Much of the conversation explored what the community needs to understand about fire service operations to hold more accurate perceptions. Participants raised a number of pointed questions:

  • Does the public understand how their local fire department is funded?
  • Do they know if there responding department is career, volunteer, or combination and how that may impact its capabilities, staffing, and response?
  • Does the public know what the fire service actually does and what types of emergencies they respond to?
  • Does the public understand what they’re seeing on scene? When community members see firefighters who appear to be “standing around,” those crews may be conducting a scene size-up, serving as a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), or fulfilling another essential role. Without context, public perception can diverge sharply from operational reality.
  • How have media portrayals shaped expectations? Certain television shows have embedded dramatic and often unrealistic images of firefighting into the public consciousness. Countering those portrayals with accurate information is a significant communications challenge.

Notably, the CPSE community of accredited fire and emergency service agencies already has established mechanisms for engaging the public on these very issues. Through the Community-Driven Strategic Plan and the Community Risk Assessment–Standards of Cover (CRA-SOC) processes, accredited agencies actively solicit and incorporate community expectations into their planning, resource allocation, and service delivery. These processes represent a proven framework for structured community dialogue.

Beyond the Fireground

The group also grappled with an important scoping decision: Should the project focus exclusively on the risk and loss of firefighter life on the fireground, or should it expand to address other leading causes of line-of-duty death, such as cardiovascular events and cancer? Statistically, these health-related causes claim more firefighter lives than fireground incidents.

This question opened a conversation about the role of local government in firefighter health and safety. Participants discussed how public policy could be used to mandate protections like annual physicals that may catch adverse health conditions early. From our perspective, this intersection of public policy and firefighter well-being is exactly the kind of systems-level thinking that can drive meaningful, lasting change.

The Challenge of Variation

One of the most practical challenges the group identified is the sheer diversity of fire service operations across the country. Departments vary widely in structure, funding, staffing models, and community context. Creating educational materials that are universal enough to be broadly useful while still resonating locally will require careful design and messaging.

While challenging, we have experience doing exactly that. The CPSE accreditation model demonstrates that a common framework can be adapted to vastly different local contexts and the community engagement principles embedded in the Community-Driven Strategic Plan and CRA-SOC are designed to be scalable and locally relevant.

Our Perspective

As an organization committed to evidence-based innovation in the fire and emergency services, we were glad to be invited into this conversation. The NFFF’s Community Engagement Project aligns closely with the kind of work we believe is essential; bridging the gap between perception and reality, grounding decisions in data, and fostering collaboration across the industry.

The NFFF is a valued member of our Industry Advisory Council, and participating in this meeting reinforced the importance of the cross-organizational partnerships that make projects like this possible. The questions being raised about risk tolerance, public understanding, and the role of local government are relevant not only to the fire service but to the broader public safety and local government ecosystem.

Looking Ahead

The conversation is ongoing, and we look forward to continued engagement as the project evolves. As the NFFF and its partners work to define next steps, we’ll be following the progress closely and contributing where we can.

About CPSE CFI

The CPSE Center for Innovation serves as a catalyst for innovation in the fire and emergency service. A wholly owned 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary of CPSE, CPSE CFI highlights innovative solutions developed by CPSE-accredited agencies and credentialed professionals and addresses an industry-wide gap in evidence-based decision making. Learn more at https://www.innovationcpse.org.