Membership
Training • Education • Fellowship
As a professional association dedicated to supporting the firefighter community, the Illinois Firefighter’s Association (IFA) offers a number of programs to benefit our members. We’re here to ensure you have the tools, training and resources to be successful. Member benefits include:
Member Benefits
Representation by the largest and oldest firefighters association in the state of Illinois
Representing firefighters on the State Fire Marshal Fire Advisory Committee, the IFSI Fire Advisory Committee, Illinois Firefighters Memorial Foundation and other firefighter committees and boards
Indemnity fund benefits paid directly to firefighters injured in the line of duty
Training scholarships available to member firefighters
Training equipment grants available to member departments
Regional training sponsorships available
Annual conference including Down & Dirty training at IFSI
Information sharing through IFA website and other social media sites
Bi-monthly “Bulletin” for information sharing
Legislative lobbyist retained for legislative issues
Member discounts through membership in the Savikk Group
National involvement on the Board of the National Volunteer Fire Council
Motel 6 discounts available for members and their families
Participation in the Fire Service display at the Illinois State Fair
For more information on our programs or how we can support your department, please contact us.
Down & Dirty Firefighting Weekend
The Down & Dirty Firefighting Weekend is IFA’s annual training conference held in conjunction with its annual meeting. Training is held at the IFSI in Champaign, providing Illinois firefighters some of the finest training available at reasonable prices.
Grant Program
The IFA gives thousands of dollars in grants each year to member departments and associations for training equipment. A maximum of $2,000 is available per grant. Due to diminishing funding, the grants will be on a shared (50/50) basis. For more information, contact the IFA secretary/treasurer at.
SAVVIK Buying Group
The Illinois Firefighter’s Association has partnered with the SAVVIK Buying Group to provide discounts on firefighting equipment, clothing and accessories. SAVVIK also provides personal perks like vacation, restaurant and entertainment discounts for your members.
Find out more or register:
Down & Dirty Training DVD Program
The Illinois Firefighter’s Association in cooperation with the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) produced a DVD training series that is delivered free of charge to every fire department in Illinois. If your department has not received the DVDs, they can be downloaded from the IFSI website in the Resource Center.
The IFA recognizes and fully supports state certification as the standard for common firefighting skills, but also realizes that many firefighters cannot complete a full certification program. This DVD set is designed to augment your in-house training program. It is a supplement to and fully compatible with state certification, but it can also be used as a part of a stand-alone training program. The IFA hopes this package will help firefighters do the work of protecting their communities more safely and effectively.
The Indemnity Fund
The IFA has an Indemnity Fund that pays $10 per day (up to $3,000) for firefighters injured in the line of duty. For firefighters killed in the line of duty, the payment is $3,000. To qualify for coverage, departments must be members of the Indemnity Fund, current with dues to the IFA, and current with assessments to the Indemnity Fund. The Indemnity Fund is governed by strict by-laws that must be followed to the letter for proper coverage.
A Report of Accident must be filled out and sent by certified mail to the Office of the Secretary Treasurer and received by the IFA within 30 days of the accident. Failure to comply with those requirements deems the claim invalid.