More than 
20 fire and emergency service leaders from around the world met in Zurich, Switzerland on October 10-11 to convene the first Global Fire Service Leadership Summit. The historic meeting, organized by the IAFC, brought together fire service leaders from associations on five continents. Attendees included fire chiefs and association executives from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom (including England and Ireland) and the United States.
The group identified eight specific issues that could benefit from global collaboration, including tools and resources to learn across borders, communication issues and various issues involved in ensuring a coordinated, global response capacity.
The IAFC thanks Zoll for their support of this endeavor. Chief Gillespie shares his personal thoughts on the meeting in this month’s President’s Letter. The IAFC is currently coordinating a report on the meeting and its outcomes; look for it in a future issue of IAFC On Scene.