Last month, I attended the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) annual dinner in Washington, DC. Our own Hal Bruno was the master of ceremonies once again. The highlight of the evening was the announcement that R. David Paulison, former Miami-Dade fire chief and U.S. fire administrator, was named by President Bush as the permanent director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). After asking numerous other people whether they wanted the job and being turned down, the administration finally asked Paulison, the acting FEMA director, to take the job. After being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Paulison will be assisted by other qualified individuals. Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the appointment of Coast Guard Vice Admiral Harvey E. Johnson Jr. as deputy director and chief operating officer of FEMA. Johnson has been the commander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area since June 2004, where he developed plans that integrate Coast Guard forces with the Department of Defense as well as other federal, state and local agencies.
Speaking of the CFSI dinner, many congressmen and senators addressed the audience. Most spoke of not being able to provide adequate funding for the fire and emergency services. Many of them belong to the Congressional Fire Service Caucus (CFSC) , which is larger than any other interest group on Capitol Hill. The caucus members have certainly done a lot for us in recent years, but it seems to me and many other fire and emergency service responders that much more needs to be done. Everybody wants us to be prepared to respond at a moment’s notice to anything that happens, but nobody wants to pay for it. Then, when something does happen, they will all wonder why somebody didn’t pay for those preparations.
On this month’s cover we present one of a series of photos of a close call at a house fire in Toronto. See page 74 for expanded coverage of the incident where five firefighters were trapped. Chief Billy Goldfeder reports on a close call in Pennsylvania where three firefighters were nearly caught inside a burning dwelling. These two incidents are typical house fires that could be found anywhere in the U.S. or Canada – small fires that initially we may take for granted. In both instances, the outcomes were positive, but both could have resulted in tragedy.
I was invited to attend the Wing Spread Conference in Atlanta last month. This is the fifth time that this group has met. The group meets every 10 years to discuss and map a strategy in dealing with issues affecting the fire service. So many things are happening that the group wants to meet in five years to see what direction we need to be going at that time. A large group of fire service leaders met for three days to discuss and prioritize issues relating to the future of the fire and emergency services. Recorders present at the event are developing a final list to be published in a few months.
Some of the issues that my small breakout group discussed, and not necessarily the top items, were: developing sustainable lines of revenue at the local level to support effective levels of staffing and service delivery; addressing the volunteer fire service’s inability to recruit and retain members to sustain workable needs; reducing firefighter injuries and deaths using all available means; developing one common political agenda for the betterment of the fire service; requiring national fire service organizations to work together toward its success; instituting and enforcing mandatory educational and career development requirements for promotion of fire service officers; changing the fire service and the public’s perception of all-risk prevention and preparedness activities; and preparing for an increase in health-related issues and EMS system strain caused by our aging population. When the final documents are ready, we will share the priorities with our readers.
Two fire service friends passed away recently. Ed McCormack Jr., known as “Big Ed†and commonly referred to as the father of the FDIC, died in April. Ed ran the FDIC show for years with pomp and circumstance, and he always had ideas to better the fire service. Joseph Louderback, a Firehouse® contributing editor from Pennsylvania who wrote for us for many years, died in March. Joe covered a variety of fire-rescue topics, and his photos graced our Parting Shot feature many times. Both will be sorely missed.
