BY BILL MANNING
As brought to light in last month’s column, the National Fire Academy is not about to go the way of the dodo bird. But while the United States Fire Administration/National Fire Academy and other federally supported fire service programs have not sustained the drastic cuts and takebacks experienced by some other entities, we haven’t set the halls of the Department of Homeland Security afire, either.
There are numerous reasons for this, which, reduced, amount to the following:
• The USFA faces a serious perception problem within DHS and the federal government as a whole. Within the very mission-specific homeland security initiative (and funding) within DHS, USFA’s fire prevention, fire statistics, incident reports, hotel-motel act update, and firefighter memorial programs-and yes, even the NFA-don’t enjoy priority status. It’s doubtful that many representatives on Capitol Hill give much thought to that little $52-million operation called USFA, much less to expanding it.
• Response to terrorism represents only a small piece of the DHS pie. DHS is predominantly a terrorism prevention-driven organization. That would be fine if there were such a thing as a 100-percent prevention success guarantee-which, of course, there isn’t. Terrorists need to be right only once.
• The fire service has no real access to the upper ranks of DHS. We don’t have a seat at “the big table.” There’s a layer of management between the USFA Administrator and DHS Secretary. Previous to the formation of DHS, the Fire Administrator had access to the White House through the Presidential Cabinet-level FEMA Director. Now, the FEMA Director is two rungs down from the Cabinet level on the organization chart.
Therein lie the challenges: in repurposing the USFA, repurposing the response function within DHS, and gaining greater access/power within the DHS bureaucracy.
In late February, the national fire service organizations agreed on a set of general goals from which to set course on improving the fire service footing and traction with the federal government and, specifically, within DHS. To excerpt and paraphrase, these goals state that the fire service must be represented within DHS by fire chiefs and other senior fire service officials in “key positions”; that USFA must occupy a key position and function in a comprehensive role within DHS; that the feds must designate the USFA and NFA as homeland security-critical in the budgeting process; that USFA and NFA must be funded to authorized levels reflecting contemporary issues and community risks; and that DHS must be required to make better use of the NFA and, by extension, the state fire training system for nationwide terrorism response training.
Currently, the key fire service organizations are playing “inside ball” in D.C., shopping the ideas, identifying political landmines, making their presence felt-in “March Madness” terms, jockeying underneath the basket for a rebound and a putback. Of course, the devil’s in the details, and numerous questions arise. What level within the DHS bureaucracy do we seek? Where within DHS do we seek to position the USFA and USFA Administrator? What would a “new USFA” look like? Who within our ranks will lead this fire service to the Promised Land? How do we leverage the NFA gem to our fullest advantage? And so on.
Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge has been quoted as saying, “The American fire service is only using one-third of its political potential.” I wonder if it’s that much. But if we begin to answer those questions, if we create an agency that truly speaks for firefighters throughout America, we’ll be on our way to leaving the fire service better off than we found it, which in real terms means improving our response capabilities and safety and readiness for when it all hits the fan. And it will hit the fan again. The terrorists who hate this country haven’t gone away; they’re regrouping, and they’ll continue to press for an opening into the terrorism prevention bubble. And you’ll be responding, as always.
The USFA can and should become the federal focal point and national leader for fire departments and their 1.2 million firefighters. The USFA can and should become the lead agency within DHS for the national response plan (which currently does not exist) because the fire service is the lead agency at terrorist incidents and all other disasters where there is a life to be saved. The USFA can and should become the lead agency for emergency response training and our diamond-in-the-rough NFA can and should be expanded tenfold, equal to that world-class facility in Quantico. The fire service can and will produce people to handle-now and in the future-such a massive responsibility.
A few folks operating at the national level probably think I’m pie-in-the-sky. And I was pie-in-the-sky with regard to the FIRE Act, too. Sometimes it’s good to quit looking at the obstacles and start looking at what you want, and what should be. You look at what should be because the fire service and American citizens and families are worth the dream, and more.
The Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 must be revised and extended by Congress to reflect current challenges and realities that became obvious and urgent on 9-11, and the DHS organization must be reorganized to reflect these response priorities. As the past three-plus years have shown, Washington did a fine job with the prevention side of the terrorism equation; now it’s time for our representatives to address the other part of that equation, which was poorly patched together because, frankly, it’s been a matter of political appeasement at the lowest common denominator.
The national fire service groups are in this one together. Although specific visions may vary and the political landscape is one of twists and turns, our overall vision is one of consensus. And so long as we stick together, we’ll win out. And the more you get involved in determining the fire service future, the greater our wins will be.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
