The fire-rescue service lost one of its most respected leaders when John Eversole, deputy chief in charge of special functions for the Chicago Fire Department, passed away in late May at the age of 62. He was recognized as one of the nation's leading authorities on hazardous materials and the threat of terrorism. In the early 1990s, Eversole and other chiefs began warning that the nation was not prepared to respond to a major hazmat attack by terrorist groups.
As a member of the CFD for 38 years, he was among the pioneers in the hazmat field when fire departments began organizing specialized hazardous materials response teams. He served as chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Hazmat Committee and became a strong advocate for many of the protocols and techniques that are used today in hazmat operations. At times, he served as a consultant to industries, the military and universities concerned about the hazmat danger.
A big, tall man who carefully measured his words when speaking in public, he was known (behind his back) as a "gentle giant." But he also could erupt like a volcano when the situation called for a forceful approach. When fire departments were belatedly invited to work with the military on the terrorism threat, Eversole was among a group of fire chiefs who met with senior officers at an Army base in South Carolina. They were astounded and dismayed when a general began talking in terms of "acceptable civilian casualties" in a hazmat incident. It was Chief Eversole who bluntly told the meeting that there was no such thing as "acceptable" casualties for the fire service and that approach could not be part of a fire department's planning. Despite that rough introduction, the military and the fire service went on to cooperate in many areas and Eversole played a key role in bringing about a better understanding.
He frequently came to Washington to testify before congressional committees on the nation's state of readiness to meet a terrorist attack; Eversole and his fellow chiefs didn't pull any punches in letting Congress know that the nation was woefully unprepared. Among the problems they cited were unrealistic planning, not enough money and resources, ineffective communications, inadequate training, turf wars and a lack of coordination at the federal level. Long before the 9/11 attacks, they called for a single agency to direct the federal effort and provide more support for local fire departments, who would be the first responders in every disaster.
Many military and congressional leaders came to respect Eversole's knowledge and common sense. He believed that the more incidents a hazmat company ran, the more skilled it became. "In hazmat, you learn something from every incident, large or small," Eversole explained. He had a way of reassuring people. A recently retired CFD district chief said: "I always felt better when John showed up on the scene." A lot of people felt that way about John Eversole, which is why he will be missed. But his living legacy will be more and better hazmat teams, staffed by firefighters who believe that casualties of any kind are unacceptable.
There has been a tremendous show of unity among fire organizations in the ongoing battle to make the Department of Justice (DOJ) implement the Hometown Heroes Act as Congress intended it to be. All were present and expressed their anger and frustration at a press conference staged last month by the IAFC in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Also present and speaking out were members of Congress and the families of career and volunteer firefighters who died in the line of duty due to heart attack or stroke. As all of you know, the Hometown Heroes Act made these families eligible to receive the $295,000 Public Safety Officers payment for a line-of-duty death. However, in the 3½ years since the act was passed, DOJ has approved only seven out of approximately 264 claims that have been filed.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged that Congress will do everything within its power to force the DOJ to quickly implement the act and approve a much higher ratio of the cases filed. The show of unity and determination at the press conference was impressive, as was the strong bipartisan support from the House and Senate. But it was sickening to hear the survivors tell sad stories of the runaround they've been given in trying to get information from what one called "the Department of Injustice."
As this is written, there are rumors that the DOJ may be feeling some of the heat from Congress and the fire service. But there is no evidence of any change in attitude or policy and I still think it's going to take direct orders from the top level of the White House to make them change. Thus far, that has not happened.
HAL BRUNO, a Firehouse® contributing editor, retired as political director for ABC News in Washington and served almost 40 years as a volunteer firefighter. He is a director of the Chevy Chase, MD, Fire Department and chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
