National Junior Firefighter Program

Is your “tween” or teen interested in helping others, the community? Are they curious about emergency medical services or the fire service? The National Junior Firefighter program was created by the National Volunteer Fire Council to introduce young people to the first responder community. Junior firefighter programs give young people the chance to learn about the emergency services in a safe, educational and fun way, while also providing youth participants exposure to leadership and teamwork experiences and instilling a sense of responsibility to the community.

The National Junior Firefighter Program is a way for local emergency services departments to begin cultivating life-long relationships with their community members. Through the National Junior Firefighter Program, both career and volunteer departments, have access to a variety of resources for developing a robust program of fire and life safety education, an opportunity to receive national incentives to keep students engaged in the program, a listing of camps for additional training and an online volunteer hour tracking tool.

Seventy-five percent of our U.S. first responders are trained volunteers. Unfortunately, the number of volunteers is declining, but the number call volume for emergency response is up. In addition, Emergency Services departments are finding it difficult to attract younger volunteer members, particularly in an economy where many must work more than one job to support their families. The National Junior Firefighter Program raises the profile of volunteer emergency services within the community, and provides vital, non-emergency support activity for departments in need of volunteers.

For more information on the NVFC National Junior Firefighter Program visit nvfc.org/juniors or call 1-888-ASK-NVFC (275-6832).