Strategic Plan
The purpose of this plan is to provide a strategic foundation for the association’s growth and direction.
7 Key Areas of Focus
- Firefighter health, safety and injury prevention.
- Provide statewide leadership in advancing beneficial fire service legislation and funding for the fire service.
- Professionalism, the defining standard for all rural and urban fire chiefs.
- Seek and foster strategic partnerships that promote the values of the fire service in Alaska
- Improve life safety standards in our communities
- Membership retention, outreach and internal communications
- Adopt organizational best management practices
Focus Area Objectives
Firefighter health, safety and injury prevention.
- Pledge to have no Alaskan firefighter fatalities in 2012-2014.
- Support continued funding and the mission of the Alaska Fire Standards Council
- Adopt, participate and implement national firefighter safety programs
- Share near miss and lessons learned between chiefs
- Provide input into EMT training requirements to the State of Alaska
- Share training plans, operating guidelines, training resources between departments
- Seek new innovative ways for remote fire service training delivery
- Support US Fire Service Administration training program participation
Provide statewide leadership in advancing beneficial fire and emergency service legislation and funding for the fire service.
- Maintain a unified high profile platform for fire service issues in Alaska.
- Align AFCA legislative initiatives with the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Western Fire Chiefs Association political agendas
- Seek beneficial collaborative legislative initiatives with Alaska Firefighters Association and the Alaska Professional Association of Firefighters
- Develop talking points and key messages on high profile fire service issues to coordinate one unified voice from the AFCA
- Support stable funding for the Alaska Fire Marshals Office, Alaska Fire Standards Council, US Fire Administration and fire service grant programs
Professionalism, the defining standard of all rural and urban fire chiefs.
- Act as the primary fire service information/knowledge clearing house and professional support network for Fire Chiefs across Alaska.
- Foster education and information sharing between Chiefs on fire service equipment, technology deployment and best management practices.
- Mentor new Fire Chiefs and Chief Officers through professional development opportunities and collaborative partnerships.
- Strengthen relationships between Chiefs.
- Develop an knowledge transfer pathway to support Rural Chiefs
Seek and foster strategic partnerships that promote the values of the fire service in Alaska.
- Improve communication with emergency medical services departments and search and rescue departments
- Improve coordination and communication with law enforcement, dispatch, emergency medical service providers
- Foster relationships with local elected officials and the Alaska Legislature.
- Seek new partnerships with organizations with shared interests.
- Create strategic outreach opportunities with local media.
Improve life safety standards in our communities
- Provide active and constructive participation in National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and International Code Council (ICC) working groups, code changes
- Support IAFC and the Western Fire Chiefs Association initiatives in relation to ISO revisions
- Support interoperative communications in urban and rural communities that do not place the fiscal burden on the local fire department to raise funds to participate
- Support fire service and building code legislation that minimize life loss and property damage from natural hazards and fire
- Support long -term funding of local fire departments
- Support funding for the Alaska Fire Marshal’s Office
Promote Membership Retention and Internal Communications
- Provide a value added experience for all members.
- Develop and improve outreach to rural fire officers.
- Provide monthly outreach via email to all members and the monthly teleconference.
- Seek a benchmark goal of 75% membership for Alaskan Fire Chiefs by 2014.
- Welcome outreach to new Fire Chiefs by AFCA within 2 months of appointment into position.
- Assign a AFCA mentor to each new Fire Chief.
- Celebrate and recognize the successes of members, while providing support to members in times of difficulty.
- Seek membership educational and training discounts with higher education organizations for professional certifications and university degrees.
Adopt Organizational Best Practices to ensure the long-term financial stability of the association.
- Create a solid revenue stream for the association.
- Define expectations and responsibilities of board members and committees.
- Require the board of directors to act in a transparent, engaged active action oriented manner.
- Develop a 5 year association business plan
- Establish 1 year work plans/areas of focus for the board.
- Establish a social media policy
