The past few hours have been spent by yours truly studying why the corporate giant IBM crashed and burned back in the 1980's. It seems that they were so hung up on the past that they completely misread the future, and hence the market for their products. They were fixed on the principles of the past and failed to see the wind shift. They were then unable to reset their sails to catch the new breeze. IBM was the king of mainframes when suddenly the introduction of the PC beat their butt. They lost billions in pursuit to regain what was lost.
I am not normally afraid of owning up to my failings in a public venue. I want you to know I am afraid that in this case I may have done damage. For that I believe an apology is necessary. It is even possible that I have forestalled an attempt at moving in a new direction. It is even possible that I have done a distinct disservice to the fire service.
Rather then being on the cutting edge, I was coasting on past glories. Maybe, just maybe, I have spent too much time dwelling on where the fire service was, or where many of us felt it should be, or how it should have evolved. I have been busy criticizing our law enforcement associates, when I should have been studying how they operated and translating their actions into the language of the fire service. "Just because I have done something for 37 years, does not mean that I am doing it right."
Maybe I have spent so much time fighting the federal tide that I have led some really great people up the wrong road. Only time will tell. Once again, I think that the time has come for us to do a re-think on how to build bridges to the federal government. It is obvious to me that by fighting and screaming, we have not achieved as much as we might have.
My sources tell me that recent high-level meetings have been held with Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, and Under Secretary Mike Brown. These meetings were held after the movement of the FIRE Act money to the Office of Domestic Preparedness was announced last week. Assurances were made to have the program continue operating as it has in the past.
While none of this has appeared in writing as of this date, I have the highest level of trust and confidence in my sources. They have noted that USFA troops will be doing the work over at the ODP. Perhaps it is time to build some new bridges to the world of homeland security.
I know that I have made some really strong statements in the past. I have urged you to battle the feds. Once again, I may have been wrong. Perhaps it is time to start building bridges. If you recall my comments from an earlier column, I suggest that this is a more profitable way to go.
It may be possible to tap into the federal fiscal system in previously unknown ways. We need to learn the new language of cooperation if we are to move into the area where we can avail ourselves of the fruits of the federal largess.
I am sure that there are members of the fire service who will seek to have me ejected from our ancient and noble fraternity for this commentary, but so be it. We need to step up to the plate right here and right now and urge our brethren to learn how to make the federal system work for us. We have to discover what they want from us and then work to provide it.
For those of you in the know, what I am about to say may seem to have Machiavellian overtones. In the classic text The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli gives a series of lessons for the would-be prince. Many of the schemes that he outlines seem a bit shifty, however the goal in each is the same. The attainment and maintenance of power by the Prince.
In the case of Harry Carter, I want my means, methods, and meanings to be well understood. I have no personal interest in power. I have served my time in positions of great responsibility. It is now time for the next person to step up to the plate. However, as an observer of the national scene, I need to keep speaking my mind on the issues.
Further, I am in no way suggesting that any of us engage in any sort of a sellout. We are the fire service. We will remain the fire service. True believers will remain true believers. However, if someone is willing to offer me a seat at the table of government as a first responder, is this a bad thing?
Perhaps I have displayed a certain level of unwillingness to compromise on certain issues. That fact that I might be wrong bothers me, but it remains a possibility. I want you to know that I am willing to give this new philosophy a serious opportunity for success.
The recent passage of legislation to move the FIRE Act money to the Office of Domestic Preparedness still bothers me. But as I have often said, the past is prologue. What was was. What is can be the beginning of a new and fruitful relationship. Perhaps good intent in the arena of cooperation can work miracles and create a new reality.
The issue is not where the money is. The issue is insuring that those of us who do the actual work of responding to emergencies get the bucks. Perhaps someone in the national fire service organizations could publish a comprehensive guide. This guide would give us an overview of the range of federal troughs that are open and available to each of us with a fiscal snout in need of nourishment. It might also be that more course time could be devoted to this topic at the FDIC, Firehouse Expo, or Fire Rescue International.
"It could be that we in the fire service are doing all of the wrong things in the best way possible."
By way of information, the preliminary organizational meetings have been held for the 2004 round of the FIRE Act. Once again, people from the fire and emergency service world have come together to decide on how the program should work. This is perhaps the greatest strength of the program. Maybe more effort needs to be spent on matters of procedure rather than position. I think that we need to clamor for more information on every possible area where money might be available for first responders. We should then learn to be masters at operating within the system.
A number of months ago, I spoke of the need for the creation of an education effort that would better equip our fire service leaders at the state and local levels with a better range of administrative skills. These are the skills so necessary for improving our ability to compete for money at every level of government. We need to look at the design and function of the fire department as a whole. We also need to create a better fit for it within society. Perhaps we also need to review how we operate.
I can remember a time when I suggested that we needed to study the manner in which we as a fire service operate. I was roundly booed and subjected to a great deal of ridicule by some highly placed people. I want you to know that I stand by that statement of need.
In many places we are operating as we did in the era of horse-drawn apparatus. We are performing the same tasks in basically the same manner as our associate and fellow travelers did in the 1940's. Yes we have better equipment, and we use breathing apparatus to a far greater extent than was envisioned when I joined the fire service in 1966. However, must we continue to perform all of the tasks that we once did?
Should we be teaching people to operate on roofs that can barely carry their own weight, let alone the weight of firefighters as they seek to conduct topside operations? Should we be preaching the interior attack mode at all costs? Should we be buying ever-larger pumps and ever growing fleets of equipment? Perhaps some of the money that is being devoted by the federal government to the acquisition of "things" could be diverted to some honest research studies of just how to conduct a firefighting operation.
Just because I have done something for 37 years, does not mean that I am doing it right. It could be that we in the fire service are doing all of the wrong things in the best way possible. Maybe there are changes that can be made that will save lives and reduce operating expenses.
How can we hold ourselves up as a model for modern efficiency when we are operating as we are? Perhaps this study could be couched in the verbiage of the times. It might just be that a study of fire service operational tasking under terms of terrorist threat could be funded. There might be another way to look at this same issue. How about a study of the impact of weapons of mass destruction on the tasking and staffing of fire service organizations?
Perhaps I should have spent more time looking ahead. Maybe I would have spotted this one sooner. I guess the way to go is to see what is playing in the big leagues and go for it.
While I am urging you to learn the new language of the federal fiscal world, I want you to know that I am not urging you to lie, cheat, or steal. You will need to make an honest assessment of your needs. You will also need to be able to make your case in a rational and honest manner. If you are unable to conduct strategic planning sessions, forecast your needs, write an effective budget, or write a cogent sentence, you need to acquire these skills. If not, you should get someone who can do them for you.
Here is where we seem to come up short. I am urging you to spend time learning about the system. Do not sit at home guessing. Call the Department of Homeland Security. Call the Office of Domestic Preparedness. Call the National Fire Academy. Call the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Call the International Association of Firefighters. Ask questions and seek guidance.
Let me help you get started. Here is the information for the Department of Homeland Security.
Secretary Tom Ridge
Department of Homeland Security
3801 Nebraska Avenue. N.W.
Washington, DC 20393
202-282-8000
The rest is up to you. I would urge you to be polite and respectful. Above all be persistent and inquisitive. This may lead to a better future relationship with the folks in our nation's capital.
