About Us
Firefighter Air Coalition
The Firefighter Air Coalition (FAC) is a national network of fire service leaders, instructors, chiefs, company officers, and subject matter experts dedicated to advancing firefighter air safety through education, research, collaboration, and advocacy.
Our mission is rooted in a simple reality: firefighters cannot do their job without air. It is one of the most critical resources on the fireground, yet it is often taken for granted until it becomes scarce.
The modern fire environment has changed dramatically. Today’s homes, businesses, warehouses, and industrial facilities contain unprecedented amounts of plastics, synthetics, and other petroleum-based products that generate hazardous gases and toxic contaminants during and after a fire. As a result, firefighters must rely on respiratory protection throughout every phase of an incident, from suppression and overhaul to investigation and recovery operations.
FAC was created to help the fire service meet these challenges. Through training programs, research initiatives, and industry collaboration, we bring together experienced fire service professionals to promote responsible air management, improve firefighter preparedness, and explore solutions that support safe and effective operations in increasingly complex buildings.
As structures grow larger and incidents become more demanding, ensuring firefighters have access to breathable air is no longer simply a tactical consideration. It is a firefighter safety issue, an operational readiness issue, and ultimately a survivability issue.
Our goal is to ensure firefighters have the air they need to complete the mission, protect their communities, and return home safely.
Firefighter Air Safety
Firefighter air safety is the foundation of everything we do.
The Firefighter Air Coalition was created to advance a simple but critical principle: firefighters should remain on air until they have exited the hazardous environment. Today’s fireground extends far beyond visible smoke and flame. Toxic gases, carcinogens, and airborne contaminants remain present throughout suppression, overhaul, investigation, and recovery operations, creating risks that can affect firefighters immediately and accumulate over an entire career.
The modern fire environment has changed. Synthetic materials now found in homes, businesses, warehouses, and industrial facilities produce complex mixtures of hazardous byproducts that demand continuous respiratory protection. Every unnecessary exposure chips away at firefighter health and increases the long-term risks associated with the profession.
Through education, awareness, and advocacy, FAC promotes a culture where air is viewed as the essential resource it truly is. Firefighters cannot perform search, rescue, suppression, overhaul, or investigation without a reliable supply of breathable air. Air is not simply protective equipment. It is a mission-critical resource.
More Air. More Time.
FAC launched the More Air. More Time. initiative to focus attention on one of the most important realities of the fire service: firefighters operate on a finite air supply while facing increasingly complex and demanding incidents.
As buildings grow larger and fireground operations become more challenging, the need for reliable access to breathable air becomes even more critical. Air management, operational discipline, and innovative approaches to air resupply all play a role in helping firefighters work safely and effectively.
The message is simple:
More Air means more time to search. More time to rescue. More time to suppress the fire. More time to complete the mission.
Because every interior firefighting operation depends on three essential resources:
Firefighters. Water. Air.
Without air, there is no interior attack. There is no search. There is no rescue.
More Air. More Time. More Opportunity to Save Lives.
Who We Are
Our Mission
The Firefighter Air Coalition exists for one reason: to help ensure firefighters have the air they need to complete the mission.
We provide education, training, research, and real-world operational insight focused on firefighter air management, air safety, and the challenges facing today’s fire service. As buildings continue to grow in size and complexity, firefighters are being asked to travel farther, work longer, and operate in environments that push the limits of traditional air supply methods.
Whether it’s a high-rise, a mega-warehouse, or a sprawling industrial facility, one fact remains the same:
Without a breathable air supply, there is no search. There is no rescue. There is no interior attack.
Our mission is to help firefighters maximize the air they carry, better understand the environments they face, and explore practical solutions that support safe and effective operations when every breath matters.
More Air. More Time. More Opportunity to Save Lives.
Our Vision
We envision a fire service where every firefighter has access to the breathable air necessary to complete the mission safely, effectively, and without compromise.
We believe no firefighter should have to leave the fight because they ran out of air before the job was done. Through education, collaboration, research, and innovation, we work toward a future where firefighters can operate confidently in the increasingly large and complex buildings of today and tomorrow.
Because the mission deserves our best.
And the firefighters who answer the call deserve the air to finish it.
The Fireground, Our Mission, and You
Every firefighter understands the feeling of hearing a low-air alarm while there is still work to be done.
The fireground is changing. Buildings are getting larger. Travel distances are increasing. Firefighter air demands are growing. At the same time, research continues to reveal the long-term health impacts of toxic exposure, and the critical role respiratory protection plays in firefighter survivability.
The Firefighter Air FDIC 2026 Fire Engineering Supplement brings together emerging research, operational lessons, air management strategies, firefighter health considerations, and training opportunities designed to help firefighters meet these challenges head-on.
Download your copy, share it with your department, and join the conversation.
Because at every fire, one resource is just as important as firefighters and water:
Air.
And firefighters should never run out of air before they run out of work.
Board of Directors
Who We Serve
Building Owners, Developers, Architects & Engineers
The buildings being designed and constructed today are larger, more complex, and more demanding than ever before. From mega-warehouses and distribution centers to high-rise towers and industrial campuses, these structures create new challenges for emergency response and life safety planning. The Firefighter Air Coalition works with building owners, developers, architects, and engineers to share fire service perspectives that can help inform planning, design, and risk management decisions. By understanding how firefighters operate within large and complex occupancies, stakeholders can better evaluate opportunities to enhance safety, resilience, and emergency preparedness. We believe successful projects balance innovation, operational needs, and life safety. Through collaboration and open dialogue, FAC helps connect the building community with the realities of modern firefighting so that the structures of tomorrow can better support both the people who occupy them and the firefighters who may one day be called to protect them. Great buildings are designed not only for how they operate every day, but also for how they perform on their most challenging day.