International EMS & Firefighters Pride Alliance

Thank you to hotjohnnies for sponsoring the IEFPA and Convergence 2023! hotjohnnies is located in San Francisco’s historic Castro district at 4077 18th Street. Near the intersection of 18th and Castro Streets. This unique and flavorful Pastrami Smoke House and BBQ restaurant serves up delicious pastrami sandwiches, burgers and other mouthwatering foods. hotjohnnies is very supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community. You can often find Drag Shows and other LGBTQIA+ themed events on their spacious patio.

Visit their website to learn more www.hotjohnnies.com

Follow hotjohnnies here on Facebook

Outbeat News In Depth air this Sunday night with special guest Raif Derrazi! - An HIV activist and educator. He'll share his story and how he discovered not only that he was HIV positive, but that he had an AIDS diagnosis. Within 6 months of treatment, he was back on track and healthy. Join us at 8PM this Sunday night only on KRCB 104.9FM streaming world wide at KRCB.org and www.outbeatnews.com

- Outbeat Radio News Outbeat News In Depth and Outbeat Radio News. A radio program on KRCB Radio 104.9FM in Sonoma County California.

Coming Out and Transition Work Shop - LGBTQIA+ PTSD for Public Safety - LGBTQ+ Community Awareness and Liaison Training for EMS & FIRE - Conference - Book Signing Event - Guest Speakers - Matthew Shepard Foundation Gala Finale - Register Today - Payment Plans Available - Discounted Host Hotel

IEFPA | CONVERGENCE 2024 October 23-27, 2024 - CONVERGENCE is the annual conference, general membership meeting, training, and social gathering of the International EMS & Firefighters Pride Alliance.

The IEFPA maintains a list of internationally recognized and domestically recognized LGBTQ+ awareness periods, i.e. awareness days, weeks and months that focus on LGBTQ+ days of action, history and remembrance.

IEFPA | LGBTQ+ Awareness Periods IEFPA | LGBTQ+ Awareness Periods

34 years ago today, the Ryan White CARE Act was signed into law, marking a significant step forward in the fight against HIV. Ryan White’s courage not only challenged stigma but also paved the way for vital healthcare that continues to save lives.

It's on our Linktree! - There are several LGBTQIA+ public safety (EMS, Fire, and Law Enforcement) resources and organizations for camaraderie, networking, and support. Checkout the IEFPA linktree for links to all of these great resources and organizations. Make 2024 the year you reach out and get involved.

Welcome to the IEFPA! | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree Connect with LGBTQIA+ public safety organizations, resources, and more.

Mark your calendar for the 2024 Southern California Cal-JAC Firefighter Career Expo! Meet with fire department recruiters from across the state and launch your career as a ! Learn more and register at caljac.org/recruitment/for-apprentices/career-expo

Our thanks to The Cove on Castro for sponsoring the IEFPA and Convergence 2023! The Cove on Castro is located in San Francisco’s historic Castro district across the street from the world famous Castro Theatre. Stop in for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Visit their website to learn more about this 54 year old legacy business at www.thecoveoncastro.com

Follow The Cove on Castro here on Facebook

The IEFPA is extremely honored to introduce our newest sponsor. The Amherstburg Firefighters Association of Ontario, Canada. The Amherstburg Firefighters Association has shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the very first firefighters association and or union to show their unanimous support for the IEFPA. We couldn’t be more proud to have them joining our family of supportive sponsors.

Learn more about the Amherstburg Firefighters Association on their website at www.aburgfireassoc.ca

Follow the Amherstburg Firefighters Association here on Facebook.

You may have seen Cory on the news recently. Meet Cory in person this October at CONVERGENCE 2024!

A deeply personal yet candid saga of a gay Secret Service Agent in the Obama era; an agent who was struggling with his own identity, marriage, discrimination, and balancing the demands that accompany being assigned to protect the most powerful people in the world.

Cory Allen delivers an amusing view into his adventurous life, with abundant historical and pop-culture references, twists and turns of his relationships, and an inside look into life as a gay Special Agent in the hyper-masculine career field. Through intense self-reflection he recounts the impacts it had on his life and the hardships imposed by a career in the spotlight.

Learn more about Cory and how you can purchase a copy of his book at www.coryallenbooks.com

Follow Cory here on facebook at Author Cory Allen

IEFPA | Breaking Free A Saga of Self-Discovery by a Gay Secret Service Agent by Cory Allen

🚨 Exciting News from DC Fire & EMS! 🚨

Starting tomorrow, August 16th, 2024, applications will open for the Firefighter EMT position! This is your chance to join the bravest team in the nation—no previous experience necessary!

📅 **Application Period:** August 16th - 11:59 PM, August 31st, 2024
🌐 **Apply at:** [joindcsbravest.dc.gov](https://joindcsbravest.dc.gov)

🔑 **Requirements:**
- A valid driver’s license
- A U.S. birth certificate or passport
- High school diploma or GED (a college diploma will also work)

🚨 **Important:** When you submit your application, you MUST attach copies of:
- Your driver’s license
- Your birth certificate or U.S. passport
- Your high school diploma or GED

*Applications without these documents will NOT be processed!*

After your application is approved by our Human Resources department, you'll be invited to take the entry test through the National Testing Network.

💪 Make sure you’re preparing for the IAFF Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). This will be the next step after we establish a hiring register. More details at: https://www.iaff.org/cpat/

🔥 Share this FAR AND WIDE! This is a fantastic opportunity for ANYONE who dreams of being a Firefighter EMT with us. Check out our FAQ page for more information and get ready to apply tomorrow!

Meet Cameron at Convergence 2024

Cameron has been a volunteer firefighter with the Amherstburg Fire Department for 3 years. He lives with his partner and their two young children in Ontario, Canada. Cameron serves as the President of the Amherstburg Firefighters Association, where he has been instrumental in peer support and LGBTQ+ member advocacy.

IEFPA | Cameron Arksey Partner, Daddy, Firefighter

Is your company or department hiring? Contact us and we will be pleased to share your job announcement with our email subscribers, on our website, and on all of our social media platforms.

IEFPA | Job Announcements Is your company or department hiring?

The purpose of the LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund is to identify and honor those fallen LGBT Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, EMS, and members of the Military who have dedicated their lives to their communities and give recognition to their survivors.

Learn more at www.lgbtfallenheroesfund.org

Follow the LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund here on Facebook.

About Us - LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund The purpose of the LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund is to identify and honor those fallen LGBT Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, EMS, and members of the Military who have dedicated their lives to their communities and give recognition to their survivors. The men and women who have been called to these....

STEERING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Rainbow Emergency Aid Crisis Hotline (R.E.A.C.H.) project will be holding our inaugural steering committee Zoom call on Monday, August 19, 2024, at 0900 hrs. (Pacific Time).

The purpose of the call is to identify individuals interested in building the infrastructure for a non-profit organization, to provide crisis support for the LGBTQI+ First Responder Community. Initially, we hope to support calls/ callers/ Responders, from the United States but we hope to offer these services globally in time.

Currently, we are looking for a Project Manager to manage and act as a point of contact for this project especially in the start-up phase. We hope to make this position a paying position but presently we are unfunded. I am looking at stipend options and other forms of short-term remuneration. We hope to make this a full-time position but that is contingent on the creation of the non-profit organization and available funding opportunities. If you know of someone interested with great organizational skills I am happy to forward a draft job announcement.

Critical to this effort is participation from the LGBTQI First Responder community, public safety mental health community, and fundraising organizations. The Fire Service, EMS, Law Enforcement, Public Safety Dispatch, Search & Rescue, and members of the military should be represented. We have Fire, EMS, & Law covered. We need representatives from the public safety dispatch/ communications, SAR, and military side of the community.

We are also in need of mental health practitioners to assist and guide us with long and short-term needs and coordination plans to pass crisis callers off to professional resources. If you are interested please let us know and we will add you to the call.

On another positive note, I have created an email address exclusively for REACH. That email is [email protected] I have also purchased a cell phone for the PROJECT and NOT the Crisis Line. That business line number is 775-980-5364 (Hours: Monday through Friday, 0800-1700 Pacific Time) We are NOT in operation for crisis calls at this time!!!!!

We are honored to have the American Ambulance Association returning as a 2024-2025 sponsor of the IEFPA and CONVERGENCE 2024!

"The American Ambulance Association provides tools, resources, and advocacy to keep EMS rolling. They take care of the organizations that take care of people first."

Learn more about the American Ambulance Association here on facebook and on their website at www.ambulance.org

Meet Christy at CONVERGENCE 2024!- Christy Warren is a retired fire captain from the Berkeley Fire Department in California. She has twenty-five years of service as a professional paramedic and eighteen years as a professional firefighter/paramedic. After being diagnosed with PTSD in 2014, she retired from the fire service; since then, she has become a triathlete, completed the Escape from Alcatraz swim five times, and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Washington State University. She is a volunteer Peer at the West Coast Post-trauma Retreat and hosts the podcast The Firefighter Deconstructed. She lives in Pleasant Hill with her wife, Lisa, and dog, Harriet.

Christy's first book, Flash Point: A Firefighter's Journey through PTSD, is available now at www.christyewarren.com

Follow Christy here on facebook at The Firefighter Deconstructed

IEFPA | Flash Point A Firefighter's Journey Through PTSD by Christy Warren

CONVERGENCE is the annual conference, general membership meeting, training, and social retreat of the International EMS & Firefighters Pride Alliance. Join us for a week of awareness, celebration, and training in beautiful Denver, Colorado. Catch up with old friends, make new friends. Network with other LGBTQ+ public safety professionals.

IEFPA | CONVERGENCE 2024 October 23-27, 2024 - CONVERGENCE is the annual conference, general membership meeting, training, and social gathering of the International EMS & Firefighters Pride Alliance.

Our thanks to Jobtown Graphics "That Graphic Designer Friend" for sponsoring the IEFPA and Convergence 2023! Visit Jobtown Graphics for all your graphic design and product creation needs. Challenge Coins, Decals, Patches, Mugs, T-Shirts and much much more. Check out the incredible work they create at www.linktr.ee/jobtowngraphics - Follow Jobtown Graphics here on Facebook.

jobtowngraphics | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree "That Graphic Designer Friend"

Gresham Fire Department, Oregon
Deputy Fire Marshal 1 or Fire Inspector
Opening Date: 08/08/2024 – Closing Date: Continuous

IEFPA | Job Announcements Is your company or department hiring?

Both Sides of the Fire Line is Bobbie Scopa’s uplifting memoir of bravely facing the heat of fierce challenges, professionally and personally.

Bobbie Scopa is a retired firefighter, author, podcast host, and public speaker. She has forty-five years of firefighting experience and has received numerous professional awards and industry recognition, including Firefighter of the Year (1990) from the Professional Firefighters of Arizona; Governor’s Award, State of Arizona (1990); Certificate of Appreciation from the City of New York for work performed at the World Trade Center in 2001; and the Unit Citation Award for efficacy in the U.S. Forest Service (2014). She was a featured speaker at the U.S. Forest Service’s “Pride Outside” diversity, equity, and inclusion event in June 2021. She is also the host of the podcast Bobbieonfire.com - Scopa divides her time between Puget Sound, Washington, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Learn more about Bobbie on her website at www.bobbieonfire.com

Follow Bobbie here on Facebook at Bobbieonfire.com

IEFPA | Both Sides of the Fire Line Memoir of a Transgender Firefighter by Bobbie Scopa

If you work in public safety and you are thinking about coming out, struggling with coming out, or just looking for someone to talk to please reach out to us, we are here to help. - The IEFPA is the host of the LGBTQIA+ EMS & FIREFIGHTERS Private Facebook Group. Join the camaraderie of a friendly, supportive, welcoming community in a private group setting. Learn more at www.iefpa.org/coming-out/

IEFPA | Coming Out If you work in public safety and you are thinking about coming out, struggling with coming out, or just looking for someone to talk to please reach out to us, we are here to help. You are not alone!

Our thanks to Priority Dispatch Corp. for sponsoring the IEFPA and Convergence 2024! - Priority Dispatch Corp. invented emergency medical dispatch and still blazes the trail 40 years later. Learn more about Priority Dispatch Corp. and the outstanding services they provide at www.prioritydispatch.net

Follow Priority Dispatch Corp. here on Facebook.

Home - Priority Dispatch Corp The official home of Priority Dispatch Corp

The countdown to deadline day continues today! The latest NYC Citywide Administrative Services filing period for our career is slated to close on Aug 9.

Learn more about the process today at Joinfdny.com

Meet Kevin at CONVERGENCE 2024!

In the early 1980s, Kevin joined the Key West Fire Department. His dream of being a professional firefighter had come true. He hadn't imagined how being gay would threaten his fellow firefighters. Kevin became the target of fierce and unrelenting homophobic assaults intended to force him out of the department. His story highlights the importance of upholding personal values and having a sense of humor when facing adversity. Against a backdrop of the emerging AIDS epidemic, Kevin relays a narrative of conflict, resilience, and triumph over his several years as America's first openly gay professional firefighter. This honest account invites the reader to contemplate the nature of masculinity and consider what it means to be one of America's Bravest.

Learn more about Kevin, and how you can purchase a copy of his ground breaking book.

IEFPA | Alarm In The Firehouse A Memoir of America's First Openly Gay Professional Firefighter by R. Kevin Mallinson