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Everything that happens immediately after a line-of-duty death affects the way the family, the department, and the community recover from the loss. Lack of resources and planning often adds to the confusion and pain that occurs. The Foundation thinks the best place for a department to turn for support is within its own state or region. Through a collaborative effort with the Department of Justice, we have developed resources and training to help establish state and regional Local Assistance State Teams (LAST) to assist in the event of a line-of-duty death.
The primary objective of the LAST team is to provide assistance and comfort to the family and department after a line-of-duty death and to help with filing for Federal, state and local benefits. Since October 2006, more than 250 fire service personnel and survivors across the country - in 48 states and the District of Columbia - have been trained to serve on the LAST teams in their state in the event of a line-of-duty death. Members of the wildland community and representatives of the International Association of Fire Chiefs have also participated in the training so they, too, are prepared to assist state teams when necessary.
In 2009 the Foundation will work to bolster existing state teams by holding several regional LAST trainings across the country using FEMA's 10 regions as a guideline. We encourage anyone who requires further information about an existing team to contact their state's designated representative, listed below. If you are from a state where a team does not exist, please contact John Proels at jproels@firehero.org for more information.
» Read More: About the Local Assistance State Team Program
To report a LODD please call toll free at 866-736-5868.
