Fulfillment Beyond Retirement

Retirement hasn’t extinguished former firefighter Federico Brizio’s passion for helping others, which is no surprise given his impactful career.

Brizio reflects fondly on his 40 years of service in Genoa (Italy), including 15 years in helicopter rescue, operating “under the belly” to stabilize and extract victims from rocks, rivers, and complex terrains.

Within the framework of the European Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), Brizio became a member of the Technical Assistance Support Team (TAST) for the Italian National Fire & Rescue Service in 2017 and joined the Italian International Missions Team in 2018.

These positions led Brizio to advise and support communities worldwide in response to large-scale disasters, taking him to Turkey, France, Bulgaria, Sweden, Croatia, Belgium, Libia, Chile, Slovakia, Lebanon, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Belgium, among others.

With so much travel, Brizio always had his bag packed and ready in his vehicle’s trunk, available at a moment’s notice for another mission. Though it was a sacrifice to his family, he would inform them of his new whereabouts with a phone call, knowing they understood. 

“I appreciate their support of a beautifully motivating career,” he said.

Control room coordination 
Despite the notability of his international endeavors, Brizio considers his greatest career achievement to be his role as the Genoa Fire Department Control Room Coordinator from 2012-2024.

“I was deeply in love with my job in the control room,” Brizio said. “I used to say, ‘I’m not important, but I do an important job.’”  

Brizio took great satisfaction with his trusted role of prioritizing callers and rescuers in decision-making, problem-solving, and sharing accumulated experience.

“You receive the calls, and you are the triage point for the emergency response,” Brizio said. “You and your team determine what to do next, relying on credibility.”

In 2015, Brizio became acquainted with Priority Dispatch Corp.^™ and the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch^® (IAED^™), evolving his perspective on the Emergency Fire Dispatcher’s role.

“The protocols with Pre-Arrival Instructions and Post-Dispatch Instructions pushed me forward with greater situational awareness,” Brizio said. “It was especially transforming to picture those at the console as being the first ‘commander’ in an emergency.”

Brizio soon became an IAED EFD Instructor, sharing his unique perspective to EFDs across Italy. Additionally, Brizio served on the Italian Cultural Committee and was a speaker at Euro NAVIGATOR in both Salzburg (Austria) and Turin (Italy), sharing his unique perspectives to the advancing IAED protocol users spanning across Europe.    

At 60 years old, Brizio attended his retirement dinner, reflecting back on his life of service—a chapter that was difficult to close. Afterward, an old fire officer knocked on his car window to say, “Thanks, because you never left us alone.”

“That was my gold medal!” Brizio said. “I am still moved to remember his words because it’s exactly the essence of my job: Never leave anyone alone.”

Given his life’s experiences, Brizio knew his retirement would still hold purpose, but he felt a desire to “jump over his past life” and move forward. He left the day after his retirement to Guatemala to offer a pediatric basic life support course as part of a humanitarian mission.

Save the Children 
Upon his return, a new dream began when Brizio was contacted by Save the Children, the leading independent international organization working to ensure a better future for children at risk for the last 100 years.  

Save the Children intervenes in emergencies to meet the basic needs of children and their families by providing food, water, hygiene kits, medical care, and temporary shelter. It protects the younger population by setting up safe spaces where girls and boys can socialize, play, and cope with trauma through psychosocial support.¹

In Italy, for over 10 years, Save the Children has been working to promote the rights of children and adolescents in emergency prevention and management. It has developed specific expertise at both the national and international levels through the implementation of educational projects in schools and communities, which is where Brizio comes in.

He was asked to lend his vast experience to the improvement of a virtual reality platform for children as part of their Feel Safe program, developed by Save the Children Italy’s Emergency Unit.

The program is a fully-accessible immersive experience that allows children to face realistic emergency scenarios such as earthquakes, fires, and floods to learn how to make safe decisions with confidence, awareness, and responsibility.²

Alongside an incredible team of engineers, psychologists, and educators, Brizio serves as an advisor to make each scenario realistic.

“I know what happens in these real-life situations, so it’s beautiful to be part of a team that can turn virtual reality into a tool to promote awareness and reduce disaster risk for children,” he said.

Inside the Feel Safe Universe, users can customize their own avatar and choose an animal guide as they step into a virtual world “where safety begins with you.” The game adapts to the user’s choices, encouraging children to know how to act and who to call, learn from mistakes, and help people in need as “disaster response starts with empathy.”

Save the Children introduces the Feel Safe program with educators visiting schools and “Light Points,” free Save the Children educational centers in higher-risk communities. Administrators address students, teachers, and parents in their goal “to empower kids to create a safer tomorrow.”

Currently, they aim to reach over 1,000 teenagers and 200 adults with the program, according to Brizio.

“As dispatchers we have a unique perspective of seeing emergencies through the eyes of others,” he said. “We are like a bridge between the problem and the solution. We should bring our experience to communities in daily life—even while out and about with shopping bags in our hands—knowing we are positive role models building a safer world with trust.”

Check out the Feel Safe program for an innovative method to educate the next generation in emergency situations.

Since this article was written, Federico Brizio has been selected to receive the rank of Knight (Cavaliere) in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (expected June 2, 2026), a prestigious national honor awarded by the Italian state in recognition of merit and service.

The IAED and PDC recognize this distinction with great esteem, honoring Brizio’s leadership, service, and outstanding contributions—including his collaboration as a global partner and exceptional instructor. 

Sources
1. “Why Save the Children?” Save the Children Federation, Inc. 2026. https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/why-save-the-children (accessed Feb. 11, 2026). 
2. “Feel Safe Universe.” Save the Children Federation, Inc., and LINKS. 2026. https://feelsafe.savethechildren.it/en/feel-safe-universe (accessed Feb. 11, 2026).