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 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.
The nominations are now open.
- An individual or a team of up to four may be nominated.
- All nominations are reviewed by a select committee of IAFC members.
- The incident must have occurred no earlier than April 1, 2022 and no later than December 31, 2023.
The Nominations Deadline is May, 17, 2024, at 11:59 PM ET.
Nominate Now
Questions? Contact: BenFranklinAward@iafc.org.
2023 Honorees
Battalion Chief David Bell, Fire Apparatus Operator Brendan Horlbeck, and Lieutenant Sean Kavlick, Hilton Head Island Fire Department
View Press Release