$600 scholarships to be gifted to volunteer, rural area firefighters
Contributed Article
PHOENIX – For the 52nd consecutive year, the Arizona Fire Training Committee will host its annual fire school from Sept. 3-7 across Metro Phoenix, providing rural area firefighters with crucial training they may not otherwise receive. Thanks to generous donations from APS, the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation, Arizona Financial, and others to the Arizona Firefighters Fund, the committee is now accepting scholarship requests from rural area fire departments to receive the funding needed to send attendees to the school.
Each year, nearly 1,000 firefighters participate in the annual school, where rural and volunteer firefighters throughout the state receive comprehensive training, including both in-class and live training, to enhance their skills and learn the latest techniques in firefighting, thanks to Metro Phoenix departments. Roughly 400 of the firefighters attending each year are on scholarships through the philanthropy arm of the committee, the Arizona Firefighters Fund. This year, $600 scholarships will be awarded on a prioritized basis to volunteer departments, departments with fewer than six paid firefighters, and other departments that have experienced budget cuts or have a specific training need.
“Our number one priority is to ensure our fire professionals across the state have the access to training they need and deserve,” said Eric Kriwer, Executive Director of the Arizona Firefighters Fund. “This school provides the hands-on and classroom training necessary to keep our communities and the firefighters safe, and we are thankful for the support of our donors to allow for these scholarships .”
Since 2012, more than $1 million in scholarships have been gifted to 3,750 firefighters across the state. Over 50 years of fire school, more than 150 fire departments across the southwest have benefited from the life-saving training provided at the school.
Recently, the committee received a $12,500 grant from Arizona Financial Credit Union, with perennial donors APS, The Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation, Youth Angels Foundation, and Pioneer Title Company continuing their support of Arizona’s fire service professionals..
Departments or fire service agencies interested in Fire School registration or requesting scholarships can email arizonafirefightersfund@gmail.com for more information.
For more information about the Arizona Fire School or to learn about donating, please visit www.arizonafirefightersfund.org.
