Ted
Our Ass. Chief is also our training officer and he has approved me to go to the Great Lakes chaplain training in April. He is more than happy to help me as he has seen the help from chaplains with professional departments, including the one he is employed at for his regular job.
I have been to the FFC website and have checked various sources, but so far I have not found a fire chaplain organization active in Iowa. We do have several departments that are served by chaplains and a neighboring county has an honor guard for funerals.
I will keep searching for more resources locally to help, as well as online support.

Hi Ted;
I joined our local volunteer department in August 2008. At the first meeting I attended the department voted me in as chaplain and also accepted me as a firefighter. With only six years of experience as a pastor and still in seminary it has been a learning process. Prior to this no one is aware of a chaplain serving this department or any of the neighboring departments. We are still exploring the best ways for me to minister to the department, but acting as a firefighter alongside the other members has helped.

Ted......your so gentle. LOL! See you in Nashville next week.

Greetings from Bakersfield. CA. I serve as Chaplain for the city of Bakersfield Fire Department and the Kern County Fire Department as well as serving in leadership of both CISM teams.

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Stay safe out there and Blessings!

David

Ted, I also don't find out about things until after it is over. Sometimes the guys don't call because they think i have been too busy and they don't want to bother me. Other times they think someone else has called. I have some guys that don't call because they don't feel that it is important. Hang in there. JR

Ted, If you are scene as a Firefighter it is difficult to wear two hats at once. You could be an encourager. Do your job to the best of your ability and let others learn from your example. When the event is over you can then check the mental/emotional status of your men and offer encouragement, begin initial CISM interventions/evaluations in the tough calls. If you are on scene as a minister, go to rehab, meet the needs of the men (give them water help them with their gear, change/fill air bottles), work tirelessly, be a servant. Fellowship over the clean up process, joke talk to the guys, etc. The response may not be immediate, but the quiet presence of Christ shining through you will have a great impact on those around you and open doors to evangelize and disciple. I also have divided our members up and pray for ten a day. Make sure that you are included in the County Disaster plan specifically you could work as a liaison between County officials and disaster relief agencies such as the Red Cross, Baptist Men, etc. There is a Chaplain group in your state. You might want to try to hook up with Paul Tempore (I think it is spelled right) I believe he is with the Knoxville Fire Department. If you don't have the ability to get in touch with him through his department, you can contact the Federation of Fire Chaplains and they can assist you. If you are not a member of the Federation of Fire Chaplains, I would encourage you to do so. There is a lot of experience and resources at your disposal. I hope this helps. Sorry I did not return a comment sooner, I have been pretty busy lately and not had the time to check the FF Nation pages. God Bless. Jim Duncan

Hey dude - our hard work paid off - the building looks great - and I'll be darned if it's not decently organized - meaning we "pretty much" know where things are now in the building - and 604 is in good shape / organized also - just needs a bath the next sunny day we get. Anyhow - I really appreciate you helping take the ambulance to get checked out - we're really close to putting it in service - i'm making a "station checklist" to make sure we don't have to spend ALL DAY getting it looking good - that'll be part of the maintenance check process - and don't forget to call me if anything exciting happens!
-Drink SunDrop!

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE FFN . FEEL FREE TO ADD ME AS A FRIEND IF YOU WANT TO, ONE CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS IN THIS WORLD . HAVE A GREAT 08 AND STAY SAFE OUT THERE.