IAFC Ben Franklin Award for Valor

About the Award

The IAFC Ben Franklin Award for Valor, sponsored by Motorola Solutions, is the IAFC's most prestigious award. Since 1970, the award has recognized the spirit of service, courage and heroism that is a proud tradition among the world's fire and emergency service. The program is named for one of the first fire chiefs in the United States, Benjamin Franklin. An inventor, statesman and humanitarian, Mr. Franklin was a prime contributor to the wealth of tradition that symbolizes the fire and emergency service worldwide.

Sponsored by:

Presented annually at Fire-Rescue International (FRI) by the IAFC and Motorola Solutions, the award honors a firefighter for his or her expert training, professional service and dedication to the duty displayed in saving a human life. But the program is more than that. It helps raise public awareness and support for the fire and emergency service.

All active firefighters career or volunteer, whether on or off-duty, are eligible for award consideration. They need only to be nominated by their chief for an incident in which they saved a human life.

Nomination Process

Because of COVID-19, the award was not presented in 2020. All nominations submitted for 2020 are being accepted for consideration in the 2021 cycle. The 2020-2021 nomination period closes April 18, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. Recipient and regret notifications will be issued in June 2021. The public announcement of the recipient(s) will be made Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The award recipient(s) and their department chief will enjoy VIP treatment during FRI, July 28-31 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The award presentations will take place during the FRI general session, Thursday, July 29. The recipient's chief is also presented with the Benjamin Franklin Departmental Award for Leadership. The nomination must be submitted to the program coordinator via the nomination link on this webpage. The incident must have occurred no earlier than April 1, 2019 to qualify for consideration (2020-2021 cycle). 

Questions? Contact:  BenFranklinAward@iafc.org.

 
IAFC Ben Franklin Valor Award Winners

2020 Honoree

No award was presented in 2020 due to COVID-19. Nominations for the 2020 cycle will be considered for the 2021 cycle.

2019 Honoree

California Fire Chief David Hawks Honored For Rescue Mission

2018 Honorees

Oregon Firefighters Honored for Daring House Fire Rescue

2017 Honoree

Ohio Crew Honored for Heroics in Retirement Community Fire

2016 Honorees

USA-1, Fairfax County (Va.) Fire and Rescue Department Urban Search and Rescue

USA-2, Los Angeles County (Calif.) Fire and Rescue Department’s Urban Search and Rescue

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2015 Honoree

Virginia Beach Crew Receives Highest Honor for Complex Mass Casualty Rescue

2014 Honoree

Kaua'i Fire Crew Saves 121 Hikers Stranded by Flash Flood

2013 Honoree

Arizona Fire Chief Honored for His Quick Thinking During Dangerous Rescue

2012 Honoree

Colorado Fire Crew Faces Perfect Storm in Dramatic Rescue

2011 Honoree

Australian Firefighter Receives Franklin Award for Valor

Additional Past Winners

2010: Kaua'i (HI) Fire Department

2009: Miami Dade (FL) Fire Rescue

2008: City of Watertown (NY) Fire Department

2007: Colorado Springs (CO) Fire Department

2006: Navy Fire and Emergency Services, Naval Station Rota, Spain

2005: Cheterfield County (VA) Fire and EMS

Complete List of Historical Winners (pdf)