Contribute to IFA Memorial expansion project
Greetings to all fellow firefighters with a welcome into the fall season. I hope all of you had a good and enjoyable summer with your families and friends. We are heading into the fall weather changes; it is time to prepare for unpredictable weather. Please be safe in your family’s travel as well as your department call responses.
Since my last article I have been doing some traveling to county meetings and fundraisers. In September I went to the Linn County fire meeting and was able to share information on the LOSAP program and the Safer Grant information and answer questions on the programs. I experienced a new and out of the normal fund raiser at the Charlotte Fire Department as they held their first shrimp boil which was amazingly delicious. Also, in my travels while camping in Dike, we visited Traer and were lucky enough to be able to go to their departments pancake breakfast, which was a great start to our day!
I would like to keep you updated on the Iowa Firefighter Memorial in Coralville Ia. We have made good progress in funding the expansion as many of the board members and Past Presidents have been successful in keeping the fund growing. We still need to keep this going as it is for us to honor our fellow firefighters as this is dedicated to all Past Presents and Future Firefighters. Please help us spread the word; the memorial donation information can be found on the Iowa Firefighters Association page under Memorial https://www.iowafirememorial.org/
Reminder on the Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) to please check the web page on guidelines for the program. There is updated information on the website which includes a 3-year vesting period and IEDA is estimating to open the application period Dec. 2025 for registration, criteria and eligibility member list. As this program is in its infancy there will be updates and changes that can be found on the Iowa Firefighters Association website as well as emails sent directly to registered firefighters. A big call out to PLEASE REGISTER FOR LOSAP IF INTERESTED!
As I close, if you have any question on any program, please give one of the board members a call and we will answer your questions. I also want to say we are going into some of the most stressful months for mental health with all our holidays and gatherings I encourage you to talk and listen to each other as we need to stay strong physically and mentally to provide outstanding service to protect our communities. As we are a brotherhood and sisterhood of the fire service, so we must support each other to stay strong. So, take care of each other, if you have a concern for someone point it out to your leadership, as we are strongest when we take care of each other.