The IAFC Accepts ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from NFPA

Fairfax, Va. – The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today accepted an Ice Bucket Challenge from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to raise money and awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

IAFC department directors and executive staff, including Mark Light, IAFC's CEO and executive director, accepted that challenge and collected donations from the IAFC staff, who bid their own money for a chance to dump ice water on their bosses.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the country by storm this summer. The ALS Association recently announced the viral fundraiser has topped $100 million in donations from people all over the globe.

“The IAFC staff accepts the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from our friends at NFPA,” declared Light in front of IAFC headquarters in Fairfax, Va. “This is a most worthy cause and we are delighted to participate and help raise money and awareness about this terrible disease, which affects as many as 30,000 Americans at any given time.”

“We challenge the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association (FAMA) and the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association (FEMSA) to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.”

The IAFC thanked the City of Fairfax (Va.) Fire Department for participating in the challenge.

The ALS Association is the only national nonprofit organization fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence and fostering government partnerships, the ALS Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.