WE`RE WATCHING
BY BILL MANNING
Maybe–just maybe–the groundswell of complaint against the federal government`s long-term abuse of our Federal Fire Programs and disregard for the needs of local fire departments has not been in vain.
In April, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt met with President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to discuss the state of affairs at the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy.
This was an encouraging sign toward slowing the fire service`s bleeding at the hands of Washington. What happens over the next several months will determine if the fire service will seek and receive some of the emergency care it desperately needs. Witt, overseer of the Federal Fire Programs, appears poised with needle and thread.
Witt`s record at face value manifests a general disregard for fire, but it may be true, as some speculate, that any fungoes he did hit the fire service`s way were badly muffed by USFA Administrator Carrye B. Brown. Brown`s no hit-no field performance forced Witt to sit her on the bench–his only option. Witt`s terse April memorandum to Brown made it clear she would not participate in upcoming USFA/NFA reorganization talks unless invited by FEMA higher-ups. That invitation probably won`t be tendered, but alas, two-thirds of the $75,000 Brown was directed to set aside for the reorganization mission came from the NFA`s curriculum development budget. Touché.
But that doesn`t matter now. Witt seems finally to have realized he can no longer ignore the frustrated fire service, which for so long has been taking on 95-mph fastballs with whiffle bats. “FEMA is committed to working with the fire service community to ensure that the USFA and NFA meet the needs of their customers and provide the best service possible,” Witt promises in a May 15 letter to fire service organizations. The fire service takes you at your word, Mr. Witt, and holds you to it. And please realize that firefighters are the owners and providers, as well as the customers, of that service.
Witt has developed a plan to address the Federal Fire Programs issue. As detailed in his May 15 letter, it consists of three steps:
Convene a meeting of a dozen or so major fire service groups to discuss the problems. (This meeting occurred April 29.)
Commission the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Firefighters, and the National Volunteer Fire Council to analyze existing USFA/NFA programs and report their findings to Witt.
Convene “a larger Review Panel,” as Witt puts it, to review the IAFF-IAFC-NVFC report and “develop options for my consideration on the delivery of future USFA and NFA service and programs.” The original dozen-plus fire service organizations will be given the opportunity “to review each panel`s findings.”
Note that Witt`s plan does not seem to include a “blue ribbon” fire service panel as previously advertised, unless that`s what`s meant by “a larger Review Panel.” In fact, a FEMA information officer was at a loss to provide us details on who would comprise a blue ribbon panel, the selection criteria, or even if there would be such a special panel.
Drawing such a distinction is important. If the talks are confined just to representatives of the fire service groups (and one non-fire service group, the National Fire Protection Association), then we have reason to be deeply concerned. The future of Joe Firefighter`s Federal Fire Programs will be mostly in the hands of groups who have difficulty agreeing on critical issues and whose fierce territoriality has sometimes been a barrier to what`s best for the fire service. Not to mention these are the same groups who strongly supported the confirmation of the current USFA administrator to begin with.
With the stakes as high as they are, assembling a broad-based, heavy-hitting ad hoc think tank is necessary. It must include fire service field leadership with pure fire service–not political–agendas. It must include firefighters from all ranks and backgrounds. It must include our best of the best, our brightest of the brightest. FEMA must go to the people who have the most to gain or lose from the program.
FEMA, Mr. Witt, and fire service organizations: The fire service is watching. The fire service is holding you accountable for whatever does or does not happen. We will salute you in success but expose you in failure.
It`s an emergency for the fire service. Mr. Witt must implement a broad-reaching action plan with the same speed and efficiency with which he implements federal response to hurricanes. The fire service can no longer afford drop-in-the-bucket, lip-service solutions à la first response to terrorist incidents. It will take an act of Congress to fix what needs fixing, but we have seen in the past how bureaucracies within the Executive Branch can torpedo the law. Witt must make healthy Federal Fire Programs his priority.
The fire service groups must engage in serious soul-searching: Can we think beyond our self-imposed limitations? Can we think beyond the Washington status quo? Can we think without ego, driven only by our desire to improve the knowledge and capabilities of Joe Firefighter, who has the most to gain and the most to lose? What do we envision for our USFA, our NFA? Are we committed to making the vision a reality? Will we stick by Joe Firefighter against the political odds? Can we depoliticize the process, remove internal agendas and egos? Will we be courageous for Joe Firefighter and the civilians he protects? This is no time for generous concessions. It is time for the fire service to do more with more.
USFA should be a separate, stand-alone federal agency. If it remains under FEMA`s shadow, then we should demand that the next FEMA director be from the fire service–we`ve tried the military and emergency management sectors, and now it`s our turn. The power of the USFA administrator must be expanded. The current USFA administrator should be removed from office, and Deputy Administrator Donald Bathurst should be named acting administrator. All future USFA administrators must by law be from the fire service. The USFA must be an aggressive advocate for fire service issues. The role, impact, and budget of the NFA must be expanded. The government must expand on the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, and it must recognize, through adequately funded, meaningful programs, a fire service that is so important a part of America`s civil defense. That`s just for starters.
It`s a tall order, but can the fire service expect anything less?
What concrete improvements will be made? We`ll be watching.
