Fire service organizations briefed on new grant program
Representatives of the nation’s major fire service organizations met with James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in early January to discuss criteria for the $100 million grant program established under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 omnibus combined spending bill (H.R. 4577), which came to incorporate Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act appropriations. (See News in Brief, November and December 2000 and January 2001.)
Witt invited the major fire service organizations to participate in developing a streamlined grant application process all fire departments will find easy to follow. Accepting the responsibility, organizations’ representatives met at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, January 23-25 to help develop the program’s rating criteria. Representatives of the organizations will also serve on panels that will evaluate the grant applications and make recommendations on awards. The application deadline and processing timetable have not yet been established; however, all grants must be awarded by September 30, 2001.
According to Kenneth Burris, chief operating officer of FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), fire departments will be able to submit applications in a maximum of two of the following grant categories: training firefighting personnel; establishing wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel; purchasing firefighting vehicles, including fire trucks; purchasing firefighting equipment, including equipment for communications and monitoring; purchasing personal protective equipment; and funding fire prevention programs.
FEMA will also make grants to or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with national, state, local, and community organizations recognized for their experience and expertise in the fire prevention area. FEMA will set up a small grants administration office in the Washington Headquarters building; the USFA will manage the office. A toll-free information line will be established. Additional information on the new grant program will be posted as it becomes available on the USFA Web site at www.usfa.fema.gov. E-mail questions about the program can be sent to [email protected]. (Editor’s note: FEMA is now headed by Acting Director John Magaw until Joe Allbaugh has been confirmed by the Senate as the new director of FEMA. See news item below.)
Allbaugh chosen to head FEMA
President George W. Bush has named Joe Allbaugh to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Allbaugh was chief assistant to Bush while he was governor of Texas. Among Allbaugh’s responsibilities as chief of staff in the Governor’s office from 1995 to 1999, he helped develop the governor’s office response to natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes. Allbaugh is subject to Senate confirmation.
James Lee Witt, former FEMA director, designated John Magaw acting director of FEMA, effective January 20, until Allbaugh has been confirmed by the Senate and sworn in. Magaw has been serving as senior advisor to Witt for terrorism preparedness. Previously, he was director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
(Sources: Washington Post, Jan. 4, 2001; “Bush Taps Allbaugh To Head FEMA,” Jim Vertuno, AP, Austin, Texas, Jan. 4; FEMA release Jan. 22, 2001)
FEMA/USFA announces NFA Executive Fire Officer Program changes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) has announced a number of changes to the Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP). As a result of an evaluation conducted last year, process changes had been made during the 1st quarter of Fiscal Year 2001(FY 01) (October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001). Other revisions will be made over the next two years. A summary of the most notable changes follows.
- Target Audience. The EFOP target audience will largely remain the same. However, beginning in FY 02, there will be a “Key Leaders” participation component in which a limited number of nonexecutive-level applicants serving in “key leadership” positions will be considered for the program.
- Four-Year Core Curriculum. A new executive-level curriculum devoted to risk reduction and prevention will be offered beginning in FY 03. This curriculum will affect EFOP participants who enter the program in FY 01 and later.
- Academic Requirement. Beginning October 1, 2009, all applicants must possess a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. This requirement is consistent with the International Association of Fire Chiefs “Chief Fire Officer Professional Designation” program.
A variety of other changes have been made or will be enacted to improve the completion of Applied Research Projects, the EFOP Graduate Symposium, existing courses within the EFOP, and other programmatic areas. Additional information is available from the Web site Under Presidential Decision Directive 63, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been named the lead federal agency to coordinate basic awareness activities so that the nation’s fire and emergency services can assess their critical physical and cyber infrastructure vulnerabilities. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a part of FEMA, has established a clearinghouse initiative that includes the research, collection, and dissemination of physical and cyber infrastructure protection information to assist these organizations in assessing their vulnerabilities and readiness capabilities. The clearinghouse will provide periodic updates by e-mail. To sign up for this service, go to the USFA Web page at www.usfa. fema.gov, click on the e-mail list link at the top of the page, and list your e-mail address. Subscribers will automatically receive all physical and cyber protection information as well as updated information on other USFA programs and training. For additional information, call (301) 447-1325, e-mail In December, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge signed House Bill 1728, which strengthens the Commonwealth’s Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response Act. The Act will provide the public and emergency responders with more and timely “right-to-know” information about hazardous chemicals used and transported in their communities. The bill also provides for advanced training programs for the 42 certified hazardous-materials response teams serving the state. One of the factors illustrating the need for such legislation was an explosion in February 1999 at the Concept Sciences plant near Allentown, in which five people were killed. It “underscored the vital need for increased early reporting when new or existing companies bring hazardous chemicals into our communities,” noted Ridge. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the chemical manufacturing company for safety violations, including the failure to protect employees from the explosive potential of hazardous chemicals. The bill was a collaborative effort developed over the past two years by the Ridge Administration, county commissioners, emergency managers and responders, business and industry, and the General Assembly. The new legislation requires the following:USFA establishes protection clearinghouse for cyber infrastructure
Pennsylvania governor signs hazardous-materials legislation
Firefighter death likely caused by hepatitis C virus
Firefighter Jack Barker, 45, of the Tampa (FL) Fire Rescue’s hazardous-materials team, recently died from what preliminary autopsy results indicate was liver failure. A final ruling will be made after toxicology tests have been completed. Barker became a firefighter in the late 1970s. He had become aware of having contracted hepatitis C several years ago and began treatment in 1994, but he continued working.
As commonly happens, Barker wasn’t certain when he caught the virus; he had responded to many emergencies over the years that involved coming in contact with blood. The fire department is planning to hire an occupational health nurse who will screen firefighters for hepatitis C, among other duties. Hepatitis C and other bloodborne infections have become of significant concern for emergency responders. Reportedly, at least three more Tampa firefighters have the virus. (For additional information, see “Hepatitis C and the Fire Service, Part 1: Assessing the Risk,” and “Hepatitis C and the Fire Service, Part 2: Mounting an Offensive,” Fire Engineering, December 2000 and January 2001, respectively.)
[Reference: “Firefighter Dies from Virus He Likely Caught on Duty, Ace Atkins, Tampa (FL) Tribune, Jan. 23, 2001]
NDPO Web site provides access to states’ emergency management agencies
Emergency responders can now obtain up-to-date information pertaining to emergency management and training and exercise activities from the Web sites of all 50 state emergency management agencies and that of the District of Columbia through the National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO) Web site at http://www. ndpo.gov/stateema.htm.
NFPA names Bizal Building Code project manager
Raymond B. Bizal, P.E., of Long Beach, California, will serve as regional manager for the National Fire Protection Association Building Code project. He will be responsible for expanding field outreach and support for the code and will support the NFPA’s Regional Building Code Development Committee and code enforcer training programs and the NFPA Building Officials Forum. Bizal served as director of strategic business initiatives and as manager of code development for the International Conference of Building Officials.
WPI calls for fire safety reforms
The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Center for Firesafety Studies report “Regulatory Reform and Fire Safety Design in the United States” calls for national vision, leadership, and coordination toward modern building safety concepts. The report is the culmination of a two-year research project conducted at WPI and was funded by the National Science Foundation.
The United States lags significantly behind other world nations in adopting modern performance-based fire-safety practices, the report notes. It adds that regulatory reforms were instituted in the United Kingdom in 1985, in New Zealand in 1992, and in Australia in 1997 and that others are well underway in Canada, Japan, and the Scandinavian countries.
David A. Lucht, director of WPI’s Center for Firesafety Studies and project director and chair of the 1999 Second Conference on Firesafety Design in the 21st Century, part of the research project, points out that modern performance-based practices will not only provide higher levels of building safety at less cost but would also “offer more flexibility in achieving a wide range of public policy goals aimed at economic and community development, historic preservation and revitalization, affordable housing, building product development, and industrial competitiveness.” However, says Lucht, “unfortunately, these approaches have not yet found their way into routine day-to-day building code and design practice in the United States.” Moreover, he points out, the United States continues to be the international leader in per capita fire losses.
The report contrasts the United States with other countries, where, it says, “there is significant national government vision, coordination, and leadership.” The United States government, it explains, “has no public policy responsibility for building safety (except a few special cases like nuclear power plants or government-funded health care facilities). Instead, the mainstream of building fire safety is deferred to state and local governments, who, in turn, depend heavily on a cadre of nonprofit model codes and standards groups.” Conferees, Lucht said, did not recommend U.S. government intervention or oversight.
The conference was cosponsored by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers; 120 leaders and practitioners representing various perspectives in fire-safety design and regulatory practice in the United States participated.
Conferees also noted the following high-priority national needs:
- Major improvements in education and certification programs for key participants in performance-based design and regulatory practice.
- Dramatically improved investments in basic and applied research directed at producing a wider array of validated, performance-based fire protection engineering design methods and regulatory practices, especially on research needed to help state and local officials define “acceptable risk” and performance goals.
- A need for a wider array of objective and reliable data, including national fire loss statistics and performance of building systems and materials, reliability, and the management of data systems.
- Resources to support basic and applied research.
- Qualification and certification of practitioners and codes of ethics for professionals in the new world of performance-based design and regulation. A summary report is available from the WPI Center for Firesafety Studies; call (508) 831-5593, or e-mail at
. The entire proceedings (19 detailed papers) is also available. Both can be found at .
Five Denver firefighters hurt during mock rescue
Four recruits and a veteran firefighter were injured while staging a mock rescue after graduation exercises at the Rocky Mountain Fire Academy. After the graduation ceremonies, the 23 graduates’ families were invited to the academy to watch a mock rescue and have lunch.
The exercise involved a victim trapped on a third-floor window of a burning building, played by a lieutenant. One of the recruits climbed the ladder and began to carry the lieutenant/victim down. The other three graduates stood below. The graduate/ rescuer lost his balance; he and the lieutenant tumbled about 15 feet and landed on the three firefighters below. Paramedics attending the demonstration treated the victims and called for ambulances.
[Source: Hector Gutierrez, Denver Rocky Mountain News, http://www.rockymountainnews. com/news/1230tran1.shtml, Dec. 30, 2000]
Elkhart (IN) firefighters felled by marijuana-laced brownies
Eleven firefighters of the Elkhart (IN) Fire Department became ill after eating brownies laced with marijuana. The brownies, which had been dropped off at the station, were thought to be a Christmas present. However, after eating them, the firefighters became ill; two had to be hospitalized. Tests revealed that they ingested marijuana.
Although Elkhart firefighters are wondering why someone would pull such a prank, they said it would not affect their feelings toward the public and that they would still trust their community members. The police department is attempting to determine who delivered the brownies, and why.
(Source: WNDU TV, http://www.wndu.com/ news/122000/news.5226.php)
Snow on the roof a collapse hazard
Otsego Township (MI) Fire Chief James Clark, Jr., recently responded to the collapse of a 30- 2 60-foot pole barn that trapped five people. A young woman was killed instantly; the others were injured. According to a report given to the chief by one of the trapped victims, the roof caved in at the middle and pushed out the walls. The victim and friends were preparing deer for a cookout.
Rescuers shoveled snow from the collapsed roof and used a hydraulic tool to raise wooden beams or cut the roof and trusses. Some victims were trapped for up to an hour.
Two to three feet of snow covered the pole barn, which was constructed of trusses attached to the walls, subjecting the barn (and other structures constructed in a similar manner) to collapse when a heavy snow load is on the roof. A week before this collapse, the roofs of an old skating rink and a greenhouse in nearby communities had collapsed from heavy snow.
Clark said the pole barn collapse should serve as a warning to others: The pole barn was old, and it was bearing a lot of weight.
[Source: “Fatal roof collapse should serve as warning, fire chief says,” John Agar, The Grand Rapids (MI) Press, Dec. 31, 2000]
Fire poles being eased out in Atlantic City
The Atlantic City (NJ) Fire Department has three fire poles in its fire stations, and they soon may be gone. Fire Chief Benjamin Brenner has been eliminating the brass sliding poles, he says, to prevent the sprained ankles and other injuries that can come from improper sliding. He says there have been enough injuries to cause concern: He has a comprehensive book of injuries that dates back to the time the city’s volunteer department became a career department.
Brenner began removing the poles from the fire stations about eight years ago. He met some resistance from traditionalists. The department has been keeping the old poles in storage and may sell them at an auction or donate them to a museum.
Jack Lerch, historian for the Fire Department of New York, said the fact that many new fire stations have just one story make the slide poles less prevalent nationwide. He added, however, that New York City is keeping them.
[Source: “Fire poles sliding out of A.C. stations, into myth,” Neal Buccino, The Press of Atlantic City (NJ), Dec. 30, 2000]
Emergency Education NETwork (EENET) offers free programs
The United States Fire Administration is offering free copies of any of the Emergency Education NETwork (EENET) programs in its stock, from 1996 to 2000. For a list of titles and summaries of these tapes or for copies of any of the programs, e-mail Sue Downin, executive producer at
Beginning with the January 3, 2001, program, videotape copies no longer will be sold by the EENET contractor; they will be available through most state emergency management training offices and all 10 FEMA regional offices. Arrangements are being made to make the tapes available at other locations through various organizations.
EENET invites fire service organizations to recommend topics for future programs. Suggestions may be e-mailed to the above address.
Helping Our Own organization announces new program
Mark Warnick, founder of Helping Our Own (Firefighter Helping Firefighter), has announced its new “Habitat for Fire Departments” program, to assist poor fire departments with virtually no budgets to build fire stations. It will be funded by raising money on a department-by-department basis from the Helping Our Own Web site.
The money will be sent to the fire department, which will purchase the materials and then let Helping Our Own know the date on which building can begin. Helping Our Own will post the date and log volunteers who offer to come to the fire department’s area for an old-fashioned barn raising.
Since its inception in February 2000, Helping Our Own has helped more than 60 departments to acquire equipment donated by other fire departments and industry donors. Helping Our Own locates excess equipment slated to be destroyed or given away and places it in fire departments with an annual budget of $15,000 or less. An estimated $3.8 million worth of equipment has been placed in the hands of rural departments without cost or for the cost of shipping. Helping Our Own has identified nearly 4,000 U.S. fire departments that need help; many do not have any protective clothing.
For additional information, or to help, contact the Helping Our Own Web site at www.helpingourown.com.
Chicago passes nightclub/restaurant sprinkler ordinance
The Chicago (IL) City Council recently passed an ordinance that requires that an approved automatic sprinkler system be installed in all new and existing nightclubs and restaurants located in whole or in part more than four feet below grade and that have an occupancy of more than 100 persons. The affected establishments will have six months to comply.
Deputy Fire Commissioner Kenneth L. Wideman pointed out that the ordinance would improve life safety since a large number of people in these types of occupancies often are in an unfamiliar environment, there are no exterior exits at grade level, and basement fires are usually difficult to fight.
In commending the city’s mayor and council and fire officials on the action, the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NIFSAB) lauded the ordinance as a “proactive commitment to life safety.” Tom Lia, NIFSAB executive director, former fire marshal for the Orland Fire District, and past president of the Illinois Fire Inspectors Association, noted that “Chicago made the right decision to act before a tragedy claimed the lives of its citizens and firefighters.”
For additional information, contact Lia at NIFSAB, (708) 403-4468.
Widows of Fort Worth (TX) firefighters take benefit fight to legislature
Mary Collins and Renea Dean, the widows of Firefighters Brian Collins and Phillip Dean, of the Fort Worth (TX) Fire Department, who were killed while fighting, as volunteers, an arson church at the Precious Faith Temple in Lake Worth, near Fort Worth, in February 1999, have brought their case for survivor benefits before the state legislature. They are asking for legislation that would give police and fire departments more control over their employees. The women are being supported by fire and police associations.
Fort Worth had denied full death benefits to Collins and Dean because the firefighters were off-duty when they were fighting the fire outside the city. [Editor’s note: See “The Year That Was-Keokuk, Iowa, Tragedy Highlights the Vast Disparity in Benefits,” Fire Engineering, Dec. 2000, 54.]
(Source: “Widows of firefighters take pension fight to Legislature,” KTVT-TV Metroplex, Star-Telegram, Jan. 22, 2001)
