On October 16, 2023, the Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, Maine Forest Service and SafetyWorks! signed an agreement to collaborate on Fire Training opportunities and information sharing.  Safety Works!, Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service recognizes the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safer and more healthful workplaces.  Therefore, we are formalizing an Alliance to provide compliance assistance, training, and resources to first responders for their protection by preventing or reducing exposure to hazards associated with firefighting.

Safety Works!, Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service will work together to achieve the following training and educational goals:

• Develop training and education programs for firefighters, fire investigators, and fire inspection professionals to provide understanding of workers’ rights, including the use of Bureau of Labor Standards complaint process, the responsibilities of employers, and to communicate such information to workers and employers.
• Develop effective training and education programs for firefighters, fire investigators, and fire inspection professionals to promote understanding of immediate and long-term health effects of fire and post-fire hazards.

SafetyWorks!, Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service will work together to achieve the following outreach and communication goals:

• Develop and disseminate information through print and electronic media, including links from SafetyWorks!, Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service web sites.
• SafetyWorks! will speak, exhibit, and appear at Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service local meetings, and other
• Share information on best practices with other industry and publicize the results through outreach by SafetyWorks!, Maine Fire Service Institute, Maine State Fire Marshal, and Maine Forest Service developed training programs and material.

SafetyWorks! Alliance provides parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with SafetyWorks! for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication and promoting a state dialogue on workplace safety and health. The Alliance will be a valuable tool for both SafetyWorks! and its alliance participants. By entering into an alliance with SafetyWorks! the parties are not endorsing any of that party’s products or services; nor does the agency or division enter into the Alliance with the purpose of promoting a particular party’s products or service.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times a year to share information of activities, and to track results in achieving the goals of the Alliance.