When Cooperation Turns to Competition: For Firefighter CUs, a Turning Point

By Grant Sheehan

For decades, firefighter credit unions have stood as a model of what cooperative finance is meant to be—institutions built not to compete ruthlessly, but to serve a shared mission: supporting the financial well-being of those who risk their lives in service to others.

That’s what makes the recent actions of Firefighters First Credit Union so concerning.

Firefighters First FCU was not just another participant; it was a founding member of the National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions (NCOFCU). It helped shape the very principles of collaboration, mutual respect, and non-encroachment that have long defined our community. Those principles weren’t accidental; they were intentional safeguards to ensure that firefighter-focused credit unions could grow together, not at each other’s expense.

Something Has Changed

But something has changed.

Firefighters First FCU’s decision to pursue a nationwide charter marks a clear shift in direction—from cooperation to direct competition. This isn’t simply a matter of growth or modernization. It represents a strategic move into markets already served by longstanding firefighter credit unions institutions that collectively serve more than 1 million members nationwide.

At one point, Firefighters First FCU assured peers that it would not actively solicit members from existing firefighter credit unions. That commitment helped maintain trust during a period of transition. But today, that assurance rings hollow. A nationwide charter, by its very nature, opens the door to broad-based member acquisition, including from the very institutions that helped build the movement.

The community’s response has been clear.

Firefighters First FCU is no longer a member of the Council, having chosen to step away amid increasing concern from peer institutions. That decision comes as many firefighter credit unions have concluded that this approach is inconsistent with the cooperative spirit that has long defined the sector. Within a shared, mission-driven ecosystem, this type of expansion is widely viewed as predatory, targeting existing members of other firefighter credit unions rather than expanding access to underserved firefighters.

An Important Question

This moment raises an important question: What kind of movement do we want to be?

Credit unions are not banks. We are not supposed to win by taking from one another. Our strength has always come from trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to service. When one institution breaks from that model, it doesn’t just create competition risks eroding the foundation we’ve all worked to build.

None of this is to say that growth is wrong. Innovation is necessary. Expansion can be healthy. But how we grow matters. Growth that undermines peer institutions, especially those serving the same mission and membership, comes at a cost far greater than any balance-sheet gain.

The firefighter credit union community is resilient. It has weathered change before, and it will do so again. But this moment should serve as a reminder: our greatest strength is not scale—it is solidarity.

And that is something worth protecting.

Grant Sheehan is the CEO & Founder of the National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc (NCOFCU).