Emmitsburg, MD, December 3, 2007 - The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Life Safety Initiatives Program is pleased to announce that Ralph Webster has been selected as a Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program State Advocate for Illinois.

On March 10 - 11, 2004 hundreds of leaders in the fire service industry attended a Summit coordinated by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Tampa, Florida. The collective goal was to come up with an approach that would enable fire departments to achieve the aggressive goal set by the United States Fire Administration, of reducing firefighter line of duty deaths by 50% in 10 years. The Summit produced a unique consensus document that became known as the "16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives" or the blueprint to eliminating preventable firefighter line of duty injuries and deaths; www.everyonegoeshome.com/initiatives. The Foundation applied for and received a Department of Homeland Security Fire Safety and Prevention Grant to fund the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program. The primary mission of this program is to work in conjunction with all the fire service organizations to make every fire department in United States aware of the "blueprint" developed in Tampa, and to provide resources to enable departments to implement them.

In this position Mr. Webster will be working to ensure fire departments in Illinois are aware of the initiatives and assist them in implementation strategies. Mr. Webster will be the ears and eyes for the national program supporting the mission of eliminating preventable line of duty injuries and deaths through the sharing and implementation of best practices and training programs.

"As Chief of the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District, I feel it is my responsibility to advocate for the safety of the men and women that serve the residents of the district. As a Director for the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, one of my assigned responsibilities is to help advance the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives within Illinois" said Webster. "I believe that being an Everyone Goes Home state advocate will help me better serve my department and advance the safety initiatives throughout the state" concluded Webster.

The Life Safety Initiatives Team is pleased to welcome Ralph Webster to the program.

For more information on the Everyone Goes Home Program please visit www.everyonegoeshome.com or call 1.877.344.0361.