Canada’s National First Responders Day is May 1. National First Responders Day is also celebrated in the US on 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
Download the National First Responders Day (NFRD) sample proclamation. Add your town/municipality/province/territory name to the designated places and submit the request to your lieutenant governor’s or commissioner’s office. Note: Many offices require 30 days to process a request.- Download MP3 files of 15- and 30-second Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that share quick, impactful NFRD messages. Consider sharing these PSAs with local radio and TV stations. We’ve created a How To Request a PSA document to help you get started. Or use these PSA scripts to record your public works director reading them for sharing on your website and social media.
- Download the Public Works First Responder symbol. Note: The file named 1×1 Public Works First Responder Symbol is a square shape, which works 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 after a storm, public works professionals putting up barriers in preparation for a public event, or snowplow drivers clearing roads during winter weather. Use these photos or video clips in social media posts leading up to and on May 1.
- Download NFRD rectangular and square photo frames for use on social media. Then, create a schedule for social media posts in support of NFRD. NFRD is on a Friday, so you might consider the following schedule:
- April 24: 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.
- April 30: 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.
- May 1: Post two or three times throughout the day. Consider kicking the day off by sharing APWA’s video featuring APWA President Vic Bianes, PE (video link to be added soon). Or record your public works director reading this script for sharing on your website and social media. See below for sample posts.
- Remember to include one or more of the following hashtags in your posts: #FirstResponders, #FirstRespondersDay, #NFRD.
- Download and print the “Why recognize public works professionals as First Responders?” flyer. Take copies to your city council meeting in May. Ask your council members to support National First Responders Day by issuing a resolution recognizing that public works professionals are first responders.
- Download our sample recognition email copy. This casual email greeting offers quick and easy messaging for you to use when communicating with your teams about observing NFRD. You can also customize it to mention things your agency is doing as part of your NFRD celebrations.
Sample Social Media Posts
Pre-NFRD
Next Friday 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 [Consider customizing this post based on the content]
Day-of
Did you know that public works professionals are first responders?
[Post APWA President Vic Bianes’ 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 after an emergency. Check out photos of our team in action in [year or month if in this year]. #FirstResponders
[Town/city name] Public Works Department is often the first in and last out when disaster strikes, clearing the way for EMS and ensuring essential services continue. #FirstResponders
There’s no better way to show your pride in public works as #FirstResponders than to wear it! Check out our full line of bold and bright First Responder gear in the APWA Store today.
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.
