In addition to city and county fire fighters and emergency medical personnel, IAFF members include state employees, federal workers and fire and emergency medical personnel employed at certain industrial facilities.

The IAFF is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and emergency services in the 20th century—from the introduction of shift schedules early in the last century to the enactment of SAFER in 2003. With extremely active political and legislative programs, and with recognized experts in the fields of occupational health and safety, fire-based emergency medical services and hazardous materials training, the IAFF has established professional standards for the North American fire service.

Today, the IAFF is the primary advocate for providing fire fighters and paramedics with the tools they need to perform their jobs. The IAFF provides a strong voice in the development and implementation of new training and equipment, and has worked hard to ensure the proper staffing of fire and EMS departments. The IAFF is a member driven organization—for fire fighters, by fire fighters.