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Recognizing Public Works Professionals as First Responders

an image of the "Why recognize public works as first responders?" flyer

CLICK ON THE FLYER ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD.

While police, fire, and EMS are often the three most recognized first responders, public works is also often silently there—providing vital support to emergency response partners, helping protect essential services, and restoring those services following an emergency.

In alignment with the APWA strategic initiative to be the voice of public works, APWA is proud about the creation of a national “Public Works First Responder” symbol as well as using it to support and promote public works first responders.

In the following video, Philip Mann, Public Works Director for the City of Gainesville, Florida, discusses the symbol and how public works professionals and emergency managers can work together to restore services after a disaster.

 

 

Background

  • In 2003, President George W. Bush issued Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) officially recognizing public works as first responders.
  • In 2010, Mississippi, under House Bill (HB) 664, recognized public works professionals as first responders.
  • In 2017, the APWA Board of Directors approved the adoption of a national “Public Works First Responder” symbol for use throughout North America to identify public works personnel and acknowledge their federally mandated role as first responders.
  • In 2019, the US Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 15 (S.Con.Res.15), “Expressing support for the designation of October 28, 2019, as Honoring the Nation’s First Responders Day.” Public works is specifically included.
  • In 2022 New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed into law SB325, formally recognizing public works employees as first responders.
  • In 2022, New Hampshire passed HB 536, “An Act relative to death benefits for public works employees killed in the line of duty, and relative to workers’ compensation offsets for certain retirement system benefits.”
  • Public works is often considered “the silent arm of public safety” … usually without fanfare. Public works professionals are often the first on scene and the last to leave the scenes of disasters—no matter the peril.
  • The National Incident Management System (NIMS) lists public works alongside police, fire, and public.

Public Works First Responder Merchandise

Show your support for public works as a first responder. Help raise awareness among all citizens, government officials, and other first responders about the critical role public works plays in emergency management efforts. Merchandise and apparel from hard hat stickers and decals to t-shirts and hoodies to license plates are all available in the APWA Store.

Graphic File Downloads

National First Responders Day is October 28.

APWA has created a toolkit to help you celebrate the event and recognize public works professionals as first responders.

Checklist to Get Started

 

  • a photo of public works first responders repairing a water main

 

  • Download the NFRD sample proclamation. Add your town/city/state name in the designated places and submit the request to your governor’s or mayor’s office. Note: Many offices require 30 days to process a request.
  • Download the Public Works First Responder symbol. Note: The file named 1×1 Public Works First Responder Symbol is a square shape which will work well for social media posts.
  • Gather photos or video clips of your team serving as first responders in your community. Example photos would include: crews removing trees and limbs from roadways following a storm, public works professionals putting up barriers in preparation for a public event, or snowplow drivers clearing the roads during winter weather conditions. Use these photos or video clips in social media posts leading up to and on October 28.
  • Create a schedule for social media posts in support of NFRD. This year NFRD is on a Monday so you might consider the following schedule:
    • October 21: Post a one-week-out message that shares how your agency will be celebrating NFRD. If you plan on posting regularly leading up to NFRD, share that message.
    • October 24: Post a Throwback Thursday message that reminds people of a time when your agency served as first responders in your community. Include the hashtag #TBT or #ThrowbackThursday.
    • October 28: Post two to three times throughout the day. Consider kicking the day off by sharing APWA’s video featuring Dominick Longobardi. Or record your public works director reading this script for sharing on your website and social media. See below for sample posts.
  • Download and print the “Why recognize public works professionals as First Responders?” flyer. Take copies to your city council meeting in October. Ask your council members to support National First Responders Day by issuing a resolution recognizing that public works professionals are first responders.

a photo of public works first responders removing downed trees

Sample Social Media Posts

Pre-NFRD

Next Monday is National First Responders Day. To celebrate, this week we’ll be sharing stories from our team about times they’ve served as first responders. Listen as [name of person] talks about responding to [details of event] during the [season] of [year]. #FirstResponders [YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THIS POST DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU ARE SHARING PHOTOS FROM A RECENT EVENT OR A VIDEO CLIP]

Day-of

Did you know that public works professionals are first responders?

[Post APWA President Dominick Longobardi’s video message or a video featuring someone from your team.]

#FirstResponders

Today, we celebrate National First Responders Day! We’re proud to serve the people of [town/city name] as first responders alongside firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians, 911 operators, paramedics, and other emergency personnel. #FirstResponders

For National First Responders Day, we’d like to show you how [town/city name] public works department provides vital support to emergency response partners, helping protect and restore essential services following an emergency situation. Check out photos of our team in action in [year]. #FirstResponders

Additional Resources

Visit our Public Works as First Responders page for more information and resources about why public works professionals deserve this recognition, and what you can do to help raise awareness.

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