Most fire departments recruiting on a budget end up using stock photography of firefighters who are not theirs, in gear that is not theirs, at incidents that never happened. It shows. This gallery is the alternative: documentary photography shot at working volunteer departments for the A Hustle Worth Having campaign, and cleared for your department to use.
What is in the gallery
- Full-color, high-resolution images shot on assignment at volunteer and combination departments in December 2025
- Training and station life: rolling hose in the apparatus bay, turnout gear on the racks, crews working through drills
- EMS in the field, including patient care and community interaction
- Portraits and candids of volunteers of a range of ages and backgrounds, including the younger volunteers the campaign is built to reach
How to use it
These are the images to reach for when a reporter asks for art, when your recruitment page needs a header, when you are building a slide for a town council, or when you need something to post that is not another apparatus photo. The campaign’s own social guidance is worth following here: post from the gallery consistently rather than once, and vary your caption to fit your audience while leaving the photograph as shot.
Credit and permissions
Credit “International Association of Fire Chiefs” wherever you use these images. When you post one to social media, include #HustleWorthHaving and tag the IAFC. The people in these photographs are real volunteers who agreed to be part of a recruitment campaign, so use them for recruitment and community education rather than for commercial purposes.
Download
The download is a web-optimized set at 2000 pixels on the long edge, which covers websites, social posts, presentations, and press use. If you need full resolution for large-format print, email ws@iafc.org.
Part of A Hustle Worth Having, the IAFC national volunteer firefighter recruitment campaign, funded by a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. Please credit “International Association of Fire Chiefs” when using campaign photography or graphics. Questions about using the materials in your community? Email ws@iafc.org.