Fire service organizations working to develop unified voice amid diversity
Looking for issues that could be agreed on and acted on, building long-term cooperation, and developing leadership for the future were among the objectives put forth by representatives of fire organizations who attended the 1998 Fire Service Leadership Summit sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs held August 9-10 in St. Louis, Missouri.
A primary impetus for the summit was the review of the U.S. Fire Administration and National Fire Academy being conducted by the Blue Ribbon Task Force established by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director James Lee Witt.
Participants in the summit agreed to support in principle the Blue Ribbon panel`s main points:
That the USFA be an advocate for fire safety.
That more fire service leadership is needed in FEMA.
That the USFA/NFA organizational climate needs mending.
That funding for the federal fire programs be greatly improved.
Many delegates at the summit concurred that the administrator of the USFA would be the most appropriate position to stand in as “the nation`s fire chief” in the same way that the attorney general has come to be looked on as “America`s unofficial police chief”; however, the federal official best qualified for this role, say summit attendees, is FEMA Director Witt, not USFA Administrator Carrye B. Brown.
Represented at the summit were the following: the Department of Defense, Fire Apparatus Manufacturers` Association, Fire Department Safety Officers Association, Fire Equipment Manufacturers and Services Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, International Fire Service Training Association, International Society of Fire Service Instructors, National Association of State Fire Marshals, National Fire Protection Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, North American Fire Training Directors, National Society of Executive Fire Officers, and Women in the Fire Service. Invited but not attending were the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Working Group, Fire Marshals Association of North America, International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Fighters, and National Association of Hispanic Fire Fighters.
The group affirmed that fire service organizations must be advocates for USFA efforts on the local, state, and federal levels and that a fire service voice is needed on the fire service`s platform issues and general needs, but it was also acknowledged that “it must be recognized that fire service organizations have varying agendas at times.” Attendees noted, however, that there are numerous platform items on which the organizations can agree–including funding, terrorism, academy operation, technology, prevention and education, grants, America Burning, and research.
The IAFC, at least initially, will call a summit meeting twice a year (the next is being contemplated for February 1999). In the meantime, attention will be given to developing mechanisms for maintaining some momentum between meetings–such as the Internet, conference calls, and newsletters.
