The Guide for Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Department offers ways you can increase the levels of diversity, inclusiveness, and equity in eight specific areas of your department or organization. The guide is meant to be a usable, practical tool that can start discussions in your department or organization. It is a document that you can sit down with and work through using the worksheets and checklists provided in the appendix.

Within each section, the guide provides a brief description of the topic area, a list of some of the expected benefits of making your department or organization more diverse or inclusive, “before” and “after” scenarios to help you understand those benefits more clearly, and implementation tips. The appendix contains a checklist for each section as well as some additional tools. The resources section suggests other materials you might find useful in creating or refining some of the documents or processes addressed in the guide.

This document was created by the National Volunteer Workforce Solutions FEMA SAFER grant and the Council for Future Volunteer Firefighters. 

download the guide

Questions or Feedback about the Guide, Contact: Kaitlin Lutz at klutz@iafc.org. 

Guide Resources

The resources in this section are examples meant to illustrate or support each topic area. The IAFC is not endorsing their use, nor is it liable for such use. Always check with your local counsel before adopting or customizing any of this information for your own department.

General

• The State of the Volunteer Fire Service Report 2018
• Oregon Fire Recruitment Network
• Chief's A-RIT (Administrative Rapid Information Tool)
• IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS) Ribbon Reports

Vision, Mission, Values

• Golden (Colorado) Fire Department Chief's Vision (pdf)
• Golden (Colorado) Fire Department Mission, Vision, Values
• Burtonsville (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department Mission, Vision, Values
• Cabin John Park (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department Mission, Vision, Values (pdf)
  

Strategic Planning

• Wheaton (Maryland) Volunteer Rescue Squad Strategic Plan (pdf)
  
• Decatur (Georgia) Fire Rescue Strategic Plan 2016-2019 (pdf)
• IFSTA/FPP Initiative Implementation Guide (pdf)

Communication

• How to Correspond with Membership
• How to Use Microsoft Teams: End User Quick Start Guide (pdf)
  
• Fillable Marketing Materials for Volunteer Recruitment
• Social Media Toolkit
• Volunteer PSA Example: Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association
• Human Relations: Courageous Conversations

Policies and Procedures 

• Hyattsville (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department Uniform Policy (pdf)
  
• Chicago (Illinois) Fire Department Discrimination/Harassment Investigation Policy and Procedures (pdf)
  
• Sample Diversity and Inclusion Policy (pdf)
  
• City of Calgary (Canada) Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace Framework (pdf)
  
• London Fire Brigade Diversity Policy (pdf)
  
• London Fire Brigade Inclusion Strategy (pdf)
  
• Policies and Best Practices for Supporting Pregnant Members
  • City of Richmond (Virginia) Pregnancy Policy (pdf)
    
  • Chicago (Illinois) Fire Department Medical Procedure Order (pdf)
    
  • Chicago (Illinois) Fire Department Family and Medical Leave Policy (pdf)
    
  • Maternity Package Cover Letter (pdf)
    
  • Pregnancy, Maternity/Paternity Leave, and Lactation Policy (pdf)
    

Job Descriptions 

• Sample Administrative Volunteer Position Descriptions & Template Documents
  • Ashburn (Virginia) Volunteer Fire Rescue Department Administrative Position Descriptions
  • Loudoun County (Virginia) Fire-Rescue Receptionist Position Description (MS Word)
    
  • Loudoun County (Virginia) Fire-Rescue Warehouse Volunteer Position Description (MS Word)
    
  • Volunteer Position Description Template (MS Word)
    

Training and Development

• Creating a Diversity and Inclusion Training Program (pdf)
  
• Wheaton (Maryland) Volunteer Rescue Squad Goals & Training Evaluation (pdf)
  
• IAFC Academy Courses (Free Registration)
  • Note: Register for IAFC Academy before accessing these courses.
  • Leadership Category:
  • Mentoring I: Re-energizing Your Department Culture
  • Mentoring II: Developing and Retaining Firefighters
  • Volunteer Administrative Leadership Series 
• IAFC's Officer Development Program
• Organizational and Professional Development in the Fire Service
• National Fire Academy Professional Development Models

Individual Development Plans and Performance Reviews 

• How to Increase Membership Motivation
• Wheaton (Maryland) Volunteer Rescue Squad Facebook Page (Check photos and videos to see examples of how they recognize their members)
• Motivation of Volunteer Firefighters in Combination Fire Departments
• Golden (Colorado) Fire Department Volunteer Evaluation Form (pdf)
  
• Golden (Colorado) Fire Department Member and Employee Expectations (pdf)
  
• Golden (Colorado) Fire Department Command Expectations (pdf)
  
• Personal SWOT Analysis Worksheet (pdf)
  
• State of Oklahoma Performance Management Process (MS Word)
  
• Oklahoma PMP Handbook (pdf)
  

Valuing Each Other and Our Community

• Managing Conflict in Combination Fire Departments
• Guidelines for Starting an Auxiliary from Fire Fighters Association of Missouri (pdf)
  
• Sample Auxiliary Member Description and Application from Rockville Volunteer Fire Department
• Sample Spanish Immersion Program from Prince William County (pdf)
  
• Connecting with Your Local Underrepresented Communities 
• We Must Make a Change: Ending Harassment in the Fire Service (pdf)
  
• Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace: A Toolkit for Employers (pdf)
  
• Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
• Everyone Goes Home: Psychological Support
• IAFC's "If you don't feel well, don't make it your farewell" Toolkit
• How to Increase Community Outreach

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

• Women in Fire
• Does Your Department Need a Chief People Officer?
• Connecting with Your Local Underrepresented Communities
• IAFC Academy (Free Registration)
  • Note: Register for IAFC Academy before accessing these courses.
  • Leadership Category:
  • Volunteer of the Future Series
  • Bridging the Multigenerational Divide in Your Department
  • It's Your Turn: Scenarios for Developing Inclusive Teams
• Outreach for Inclusion: How to Engage Diverse Communities
• Recruitment Efforts Aimed at Women
• Can One Day Make a Firefighter? Recruiting Women Into the Fire Service Webinar
• Inclusive Language Guidance (pdf)
  
• Start the Conversation: Address Unconscious Bias in the Fire Service (pdf)
  
• Harvard Implicit Bias Test
• Making U.S. Fire Departments More Diverse and Inclusive (pdf)
  
• Real Deal Diversity & Inclusion: A Quick Checklist (pdf)
  
• Fairfax County (Virginia) Fire and Rescue Department Fire Chief's Equity and Inclusion Council (pdf)
  
• U.S. Coast Guard Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan  (pdf)