Working Together to Care for Alabama’s First Responders

By: Mark Kelly

Responding to emergencies is a high-risk occupation.

In every community, firefighters play a critical role in protecting lives, property, and public safety. They are dedicated public servants, responding not just to fires, but also accidents, hazardous situations, and other emergencies. In all such cases and more, firefighters provide incident management, rescue services, and medical assistance for those affected — “running into the burning building while everyone else is running out,” as the old saying goes.

In the course of their training, regular operations, and emergency management, firefighters are routinely exposed to a variety of risks and potential hazards. Over the past decade and more, improvements in safety and health measures have resulted in a national trend of fewer work-related injuries and deaths among firefighters. Still, across America during 2025, 81 firefighters died while on duty, and the number of municipal firefighters injured in the line of duty each year continues at well over 50,000.

Illustrating the risks involved in the work of a firefighter, approximately 70 percent of work-related injuries and 77 percent of fatalities occurred during emergency operations. Those numbers highlight the importance of ensuring that the families of firefighters who are injured or killed on the job have resources to help ease the financial burdens imposed by the circumstances.

That’s the mission of the State of Alabama Firefighters Emergency Relief (S.A.F.E.R.) Fund. With an 11-member board representing experience in fire and rescue departments and organizations across the state, the nonprofit provides financial aid to firefighters following service-related injuries, or to the families of those killed in the line of duty.

To date, the S.A.F.E.R. Fund has assisted 24 firefighters and their families, including providing for funeral costs on behalf of the families of two firefighters who lost their lives. Financial assistance for injury or death that occurs while a firefighter is off duty may be available on application, pending review and approval.

The Alabama Power Foundation is pleased to support the S.A.F.E.R. Fund with a grant in the category of health and human services. This follows a similar grant made in December 2025.

“Alabama’s firefighters are dedicated first responders who selflessly protect our communities in times of crisis,” said Staci Brown Brooks, president of the Alabama Power Foundation. “Supporting the S.A.F.E.R. Fund is one way we can be there for them, ensuring that firefighters and their families have access to the resources they need when it matters most.”

Steve Pegues, a retired apparatus operator for the Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service Department, is the board chair for the S.A.F.E.R. Fund. He said the Foundation’s support goes to the core of the work.

“Our mission is providing for firefighters and their families in times of need,” said Pegues. “Grants from the Alabama Power Foundation and other organizations help us fulfill that mission.

“This is exactly what the Fund was created for, so we’re very appreciative of this support.”