Emmitsburg, MD - At noon on March 29, 2007, at Fire Station 3 of the Washington D.C. Fire Department, which is located at 439 New Jersey Avenue, NW, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) will gather members of the American fire service, surviving family members of fallen firefighters, and members of Congress at a press briefing to announce the launch of its historic campaign, "America's Fire Heroes Whistle-Stop Tour." The Whistle-Stop Tour, made possible by a grant from the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation, is a 37-day journey across America, making stops in 20 cities, to promote firefighter life safety and engage the American public in fire prevention efforts nationwide.
NFFF will conduct the briefing to announce and describe this unprecedented firefighters' tour, one that advocates a progressive, solutions-based approach to the national problem of preventable firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries and the occurrence of fire in our country. Mrs. Sharon Purdy of Spencerville, Ohio, widow of fallen firefighter Lee Purdy will speak to the press. Mrs. Purdy was also active in the legislative effort for the Hometown Heroes Act of 2003. Mrs. Cathy Hedrick, mother of a fallen firefighter, will share how the death of her young firefighter son led to her passionate adoption of the NFFF efforts to reduce firefighter losses. Several members of Congress are expected to attend the briefing in full support of the tour.
America's firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injury rates are the highest of any industrialized nation. On average, a firefighter dies in the line of duty every 78 hours, and every six minutes a firefighter is seriously injured. Many, if not most, of these deaths and injuries are preventable. In response to the United States Fire Administration's goal of reducing firefighter line-of-duty deaths by 50 percent by the year 2014, NFFF, through FIRE Act grants, private donations, and the support of national fire service organizations, created the Everyone Goes Home Program, a comprehensive plan for improving firefighter life safety. At the program's core are the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives, created by the national fire service leadership to serve as a blueprint for firefighter death and injury prevention.
Borrowing from political campaign approaches of the past, the America's Fire Heroes Whistle-Stop Tour brings the life-safety message of Everyone Goes Home and the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives directly to American fire departments and the communities that support them. Firefighters, survivors, and members of the NFFF will be at each city along the route to discuss these critical issues. The bus, wrapped with the message "Everyone Goes Home" also bears the names of 3,147 firefighters who died in the line of duty since 1981, the first names were complied for the National Memorial. At each stop, local fire departments, officials, and citizens will participate in the day's events of speeches, survivor stories, life safety displays, music, and Everyone Goes Home seminars.
The America's Fire Heroes Whistle-Stop Tour will make stops in the following cities:
| Date | City |
| April 5 | San Francisco |
| April 7 | Sacramento |
| April 9 | Los Angeles |
| April 10 | Phoenix |
| April 12 | Dallas |
| April 13 | St. Louis |
| April 14 | Chicago |
| April 16 | Nashville |
| April 18 | Indianapolis |
| April 19 | Indianapolis |
| April 21 | Atlanta |
| April 24 | Tampa |
| April 23 | Miami |
| April 26 | Charlotte |
| April 28 | Metropolitan Washington, DC |
| April 29 | Emmitsburg, MD |
| April 30 | Emmitsburg, MD |
| May 1 | Philadelphia |
| May 2 | New York City - Baskin-Robbins 31cent Scoop Night |
| May 6 | New York City |
| May 9 | Hartford |
| May 10 | Providence |
| May 12 | Boston |
Additional sponsors of the tour include Lowe's, Kidde, ICMA Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC), 3M Scotchlite, Motorola, American La France, Roadfitters Sprinkler Union Local 669, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, and The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program; other contributors include Firehouse.com, and the Fire Department Instructors Conference.
About The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit institution, established by Congress in 1992, that leads a nationwide effort to remember America's fallen firefighters and assist their families and coworkers. In 2004, it established the Everyone Goes Home™ Program to help prevent firefighter line-of-duty deaths.
About The Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation
The Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation is a fund administered through the Boston Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to bring the people and brands of the Dunkin' Brands system together to support the service and leadership of those who help and protect communities every day - especially in times of crisis. The Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation helps to support emergency response organizations so they have the capacity and leadership to respond when communities need them most.
For more information on the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, please visit www.firehero.org or call 301.447.1365 and visit www.everyonegoeshome.com for more information about the Everyone Goes Home™ Program.