IAFF General President Edward Kelly used his opening address at the union’s 58th Convention to set out priorities on firefighter safety, occupational cancer benefits, collective bargaining, staffing, public safety and the future of the fire service.
Speaking during the Opening Ceremony in Arlington, Texas, Kelly said the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) would remain “all in” on protecting members and their families across the United States and Canada.
Kelly said the pledge was rooted in the dangers of the fire service and the union’s responsibility to reduce risks wherever possible.
“Firefighting is dangerous work. You can do everything right on this job and still get killed,” Kelly said. “But accepting those dangers never meant surrendering to them. Every risk, every threat, this union meets head on.”
Kelly pointed to the campaign led by Julie Paidar following the death of her husband, Saint Paul, Minnesota Local 21 member Mike Paidar, from acute myeloid leukemia in 2020.
Minnesota had not previously recognized occupational cancer as a line-of-duty death, but Paidar and Local 21 won that recognition in 2021.
Kelly said the case later helped support federal recognition through the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, allowing eligible families to receive federal death and education benefits.
“Julie helped change the law for families all across this country,” Kelly said. “The Paidar family never gave up, and neither did this union.”
The IAFF said its Medical Assistance Program has now taken on more than 170 cases involving firefighters and their families seeking benefits.
Kelly also said the union is working with the federal government on IAFF-led cancer prevention work and is contributing to stakeholder discussions on the Canadian Fire Fighter Cancer Registry.
“Dr. Dan Whu, the IAFF’s Chief Medical Officer, has testified in more than a dozen states and in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario to help pass presumptive laws that recognize various cancers, cardiac cases, and other illnesses on the job,” Kelly said.
In Austin, TX Local 975 members rallied behind Suzanne LaFollette after she was denied workers’ comp for stage-four uterine cancer because it was not listed as a presumptive occupational cancer in Texas. More than 100 members attended her hearing, while Whu testified about the connection between her cancer and 19 years on the job. The judge ruled in LaFollette’s favor.
“That win wasn’t just for her,” Kelly said. “It was for every woman coming after her.”
Kelly also credited IAFF Chief Science Advisor Dr. Derek Urwin and the IAFF’s growing investment in member-driven research, including work examining fire fighter exposures.
The IAFF’s influence is also growing in Canada.
In April this year, Kelly, General Secretary-Treasurer Frank Líma, District Vice Presidents Mike Carter, Fred LeBlanc, and Chris Ross, Assistant to the General President Carmen Santoro, along with Ottawa, ON Local 162 President Genna McMillan, and the MAP’s Neil McMillan met with Prime Minister Mark Carney to address concerns impacting Canadian fire fighters and paramedics.
The meeting highlighted the urgent need to increase Canada’s Memorial Grant Program, which has stayed unchanged since 2018 despite a 25 % inflation increase.
“When a fire fighter makes the ultimate sacrifice, the family gets a $300,000 memorial grant, but that grant has increased since 2018,” Kelly said. “We brought this directly to PM Carney, and he agreed it has to change.”
Kelly said the IAFF has continued to push for safer staffing, the removal of PFAS from personal protective equipment and adoption of OSHA’s Emergency Response Standard.
“The most important thing we bring to a fire isn’t water or ladders. It’s fire fighters. Properly trained and equipped fire fighters,” Kelly said.
The union’s data-driven staffing work is helping Locals make that case. IAFF reports helped Los Angeles County, CA Local 1014 push for a fourth fire fighter on rigs. In Prince Edward Island, the 4 Fire Fighters 4 Your Safety campaign helped expose dangerous staffing levels. The fire chief who had dismissed the union’s warnings was later fired.
“When we fight, we win,” Kelly said. “The IAFF comes back, and we keep coming back until the city does the right thing by its fire fighters and the citizens we protect.”
Kelly said the IAFF’s collective bargaining work has also expanded, with new agreements covering about 8,000 members since 2023.
“When fire fighters have a seat at the table, we use it to negotiate safer working conditions,” Kelly said.
In Utah, IAFF members and other labor organizations collected more than 320,000 signatures in just 30 days after public-sector bargaining rights were stripped. Lawmakers ultimately repealed the ban, and the IAFF has chartered three new Locals in the state since
“It doesn’t matter what your political party is,” Kelly said. “If you make a promise to the IAFF, you better keep it, or we’re coming for you.”
Kelly highlighted the Social Security Fairness Act, which removed provisions that had reduced Social Security benefits for many public employees.
He also cited work to protect collective bargaining during federal agency restructuring and to secure the first increase in federal firefighter uniform allowances in more than two decades.
U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito also addressed the convention, highlighting worker safety and overtime protections.
“There are two things I care about as [Acting] Secretary of Labor. Number one: making sure you return home safely every single night,” Sonderling said. “Number two, we will always protect overtime.”
The DOL is also working with the IAFF on its federally registered fire fighter apprenticeship program, creating more pathways into the profession. A pilot program is planned with Shreveport, LA Local 514.
Kelly said the union is investing not only in today’s fire fighters but in the future of the profession.
The IAFF said an $8 million National Institutes of Health grant, the largest in the union’s history, is supporting research into emerging hazards and a new firefighter drone program.
But Kelly warned technology cannot replace people.
“We have to be careful that these new tools don’t come at the cost and expense of well-trained, properly equipped fire fighters,” he said.
The IAFF is also expanding its Responding to the Interface program, which prepares structural fire fighters for wildland-urban interface fires. As wildfires rage in parts of Canada, the IAFF is working with the Government of Canada to ensure fire fighter are ready to respond. The program has trained more than 1,000 Canadian fire fighters to operate safely and effectively in wildland-urban interface fires.
The union’s Strive for Excellence Summit brought more than 2,000 members together for more than 200 workshops and hands-on training, with more than one-third of attendees coming from the rank and file.
Kelly said public safety remained a central focus for the union in both the United States and Canada.
Halifax, NS Local 268 members, along with Santoro, discussed the issue of safety directly with Justice Minister Sean Fraser.
In Canada, Parliament enacted Bill C-14 in June, requiring judges to treat an assault on an on-duty firefighter or paramedic as an aggravating factor at sentencing.
“Our members are getting assaulted on the job, and in many cities across North America, it’s getting worse,” Kelly said. “The law sends a clear message: assaults against our members are serious crimes that carry serious consequences.”
Kelly also raised concerns over fire apparatus prices and supply delays in the United States and Canada, saying private equity involvement has placed additional pressure on public safety budgets.
“This is a public safety crisis driven by greed,” Kelly said. “We will do everything we can to see the industry held accountable.”
He also highlighted the IAFF’s Guardian Policy and legal work. Since the last convention, the IAFF legal team has recovered more than $4 million for members. Bexar County, TX Local 4978 member Keith Porter was fired after putting safety concerns in writing. With IAFF support, he returned to the job.
The union is also continuing its fight for the World Trade Center Health Program as the 25th anniversary of September 11 approaches.
“When we say Always remember, Never forget, we mean it,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the IAFF’s membership has now surpassed 368,000, the highest level in the union’s history.
In Canada, Blood Tribe Emergency Services Association became the IAFF’s 200th Canadian Local and the first to represent a First Nation. Québec City voted in 2026 to reaffiliate with the IAFF by an 88 percent margin, with many other new members joining across the U.S. and Canada.
Kelly closed by saying the IAFF is focused on future growth, member protection and long-term investment in the fire service. “We’re not here to live in the past,” he said. “We have a plan for the future. We’re here to be All In.”
