The IAFC Industrial Fire & Safety Section (IFSS) is the professional home for emergency response leaders protecting complex industrial facilities. IFSS connects industrial fire chiefs, emergency response managers, safety professionals, and municipal fire service leaders to share expertise, strengthen partnerships, and advance industrial emergency preparedness.
Who We Are
IFSS provides a forum for industrial fire and safety professionals to exchange ideas, share experiences, learn from real-world incidents, and build relationships that help protect responders, workers, facilities, and surrounding communities.
The Section also gives the industrial fire service a unified voice within the IAFC—and through the IAFC, at the government and regulatory level.
Who We Serve
IFSS serves emergency response and fire safety professionals across a broad range of industries:
Oil & Gas · Chemical & Petrochemical · Pharmaceutical · Semiconductor & Technology · Aerospace & Defense · Heavy Manufacturing · Power Generation · Automotive · Food & Beverage · National Security Complexes
The Section also welcomes municipal fire and emergency service professionals who respond to industrial facilities or want to strengthen their knowledge of industrial hazards and response.
What We Do
IFSS advances industrial emergency response through four core areas:
- Professional Development – Connecting members with leadership development, specialized training, and educational opportunities, including the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program, TEEX industrial training, and Fire-Rescue International.
- Peer Networking – Bringing together industrial and municipal fire and safety professionals to exchange ideas, best practices, and solutions to complex response challenges.
- Industry Advocacy – Representing the unique regulatory, training, operational, and occupational safety needs of the industrial fire service.
- Knowledge Sharing – Providing a monthly newsletter, member meetings, professional resources, and lessons learned from real-world industrial incidents.
Training Resources
- Alabama Fire College
Provides education and training, supporting the Alabama fire service. - Energetic Research and Testing Center of New Mexico Tech
Develops and delivers high-quality training as judged by client evaluations and industry standards that is tailored to the needs of the client and reflects the client’s job training requirements. - Fire & Emergency Training Institute (FETI)
This program by Louisiana State University (LSU) Herring provides training and education to fire and emergency response providers. - Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute
The University of Maryland is the state’s comprehensive training and education system for emergency services. - Oklahoma State University
As an outreach component of Oklahoma State University, OSU Fire Service Training provides training and educational services that enable emergency responders to meet recognized standards of professional competence since 1931 safely. “We Bring the Training to You.” - Roco Rescue
Has served emergency responders for more than 30 years, teaching high-angle, confined-space rescue, and other specialized techniques. They offer highly specialized techniques and equipment to some of the most elite military teams in the world – safety is always their #1 priority. - Security and Emergency Response Training Center
In partnership with the Center for Rural Development (CRD), provides no-cost remote delivery of “Responding to Flammable Liquids Training” to qualifying emergency response jurisdictions. - Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
Provides training, develops practical solutions, and saves lives. - University of Missouri-Columbia Fire & Rescue Training Institute
Provides comprehensive cognitive education and manipulative skills training for Missouri’s fire and emergency service responders.
- American Society for Safety Professionals
It is the oldest professional safety society and is committed to protecting people, property, and the environment. - National Association of Fire Investigators
A nonprofit association of fire investigation professionals dedicated to the education of fire investigators worldwide. NAFI has led the charge to bring fire investigation science into the 21st century. - National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR)
Provides education in several forms that include courses that are either online or attended in person and certification that is accomplished through examination or testing. - National Fire Protection Association Training (NFPA)
Includes a variety of convenient ways to access codes and standards training and earn valuable CEUs. Choose from classroom training, online training, on-site training, conferences and certifications. - National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA)
Provides training opportunities, in many sprinkler related subjects, taught by well-known sprinkler industry leaders. Seminars are approved in all states for CEUs for building and fire officials. - National Safety Council (NSC)
Armed with the latest research, experts start by incorporating OSHA compliance regulations into the courses they design. But NSC courses go way beyond these basics to include global best practices to prevent injuries and death. - National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
Administers a wide array of programs to assist fire departments, firefighters, EMS personnel, and emergency responders. These programs address issues ranging from health and safety, recruitment and retention, fire department capacity, fire prevention, and more. - Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)
Purpose is to advance the science and practice of fire protection engineering and its allied fields, to maintain a high ethical standard among its members, and to foster fire protection engineering education.
- Center for Radiological/Nuclear Training
Counterterrorism Operations Support (CTOS) provides first responder CBRNE Training in unique, authentic, and safe WMD venues using realistic training scenarios. - Federal Emergency Management Institute & Center for Domestic Preparedness
FEMA’s emergency management course is offered both in the classroom and online format. - Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium, RDPC
Develops and delivers relevant all-hazards training in support of Homeland Security requirements.
- Everyone Goes Home
Provides free training, resources, and programs to champion safety initiatives to reduce the number of preventable firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries. - Hazmat Nation
Training, blog, news, and community website are part of the Fire/EMS network, along with a long list of outstanding partners.
