The International Association of Fire Chiefs added a new feature to its Web site in April to help fire officials improve communications with legislators and federal regulators on Capitol Hill.

The IAFC's two-part Legislative Action Alert contains information on the most important legislative and regulatory issues that affect IAFC members and all of the nation's fire service at the federal level.

The first part of the action alert is a one-page Hot Sheet with basic information on several fire service priorities. It lists suggested talking points for discussions with federal legislators and executive branch officials. The “Hot Sheet” will be available at www.iafc.org/government/action.asp, which can be accessed from the What's Hot menu on the IAFC home page or the Government Relations page at www.iafc.org/government/index.asp.

The second part of the action alert is Legislative Issues Discussion, a detailed overview of current issues and a discussion of the IAFC's political strategy for advancing members' interests. This information will be available only to IAFC members and also can be accessed via www.iafc.org/government/action.asp.

“The Legislative Action Alert is a useful tool for any fire chief meeting with a representative of the federal government,” said IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese. “In order to advance the fire service's goals at the national level, we must speak with a unified voice and this information will enable our members to do that.”

The Legislative Action Alert currently provides a detailed discussion of the following issues:

• Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program,
• Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act,
• Fire Sprinkler Legislation,
• Healthy Forest Initiative,
• Spectrum Clearing for Public Safety and the HERO Act, and
• 800MHZ Interference and the Consensus Plan.

The Legislative Action Alert will be updated as new events arise.