What is it? Washington Fire Chiefs, an organization for the state’s fire departments, is joining forces with Enduris, a risk-management group, to offer members free risk-management classes over the next six months at different fire departments around the state. These classes are open to members of either WFC or Enduris.

Why it works: For fire departments, the initiative could help to surface a wide array of concerns that may not seem obvious at the outset. “It is estimated that over $2.6 billion will be spent by insurance companies resulting from accidents and injuries that occur in the fire service for 2016 alone! And, for every dollar an insurance company spends on these claims, fire departments will have an additional $4 in hidden costs,” the website for the classes states. “Good risk management practices are a long-term strategy for financial protection.”

Other benefits: Washington Fire Chiefs offers three tiers of membership—department membership, for full organizations; affiliate membership, for agencies and private businesses; and bugle membership, targeted at marketers and supporters of the fire department. To fire departments in particular, the group offers legislative support, professional development opportunities, a monthly newsletter, and an emergency vehicle incident response program.

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