Dealing with a firefighter line-of-duty death is one of the most challenging experiences a fire department can face.  Everything that happens immediately after the death affects the way the family, the department, and the community recover from the loss.  Lack of resources and planning often adds to the confusion and pain.  Often, the best place for a department to turn for support is within its own state or region.  Through a collaborative effort between the Department of Justice and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), resources and training have helped establish state Local Assistance State Teams (LAST) to deploy and provide much-needed assistance to fire departments
and the firefighter’s family immediately following a line-of-duty death.

The LAST Team is comprised of members from all areas of public safety, as well as survivors of line-of-duty deaths and volunteers from all lines of work.  They are passionate about helping those who have suffered the loss of a family member or department member in the line of duty.  The primary mission of the LAST Team is to provide assistance and comfort to the family and the department after a line-of-duty death and to help with filing for federal, state and local benefits.