Today's tough financial times affect all areas of the United States. In turn, that affects the fire service. Some departments are hiring new recruits, but still can hardly keep up with retirements and the explosive growth of their communities, while others close alternating fire companies every day. The only constant is that politicians say the money is on the way and firefighters keep dying. As of Dec. 11, a total of 94 firefighters had died in the line of duty during 2002.
A retired FDNY firefighter said, "I heard people say after 9/11 that they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Who would have thought that the next attack on the FDNY would come from City Hall?" That comment was made in response to remarks by a New York City deputy mayor, who said the eight firehouses slated for closing - which had won a short reprieve - were going to be closed anyway. In addition, he added that the fire department was idle 95% of the time. Many of the comments from members of the department are unrepeatable. I thought the above quote was right on.
Last month, we asked you to contact your members of Congress to ask them to support fire service legislation critical to our needs. The homeland security bill, which still hasn't been funded, needs to be made available to fire departments. If the money is distributed to each state first, then everyone will take their cut and do you think any funds will be left for the first-alarm firefighters who really need it? As this is written, members of Congress have already gone home for the holiday break, and were not anticipated back in Washington until Jan. 7. Even though you may be reading this after they return, you still should contact them and voice your concern. For a variety of reasons, many important pieces of pending legislation listed below were not passed by the last Congress. To identify and obtain contact information for your Members of Congress online, visit www.senate.gov and
www.house.gov/writerep. When you write, call or send an e-mail to your senators and representatives, please ask them to keep the following vital fire service issues on their legislative agendas:
- Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (better known as the FIRE Act). This is the primary fire service grant program and needs to be reauthorized by this Congress. Some members of Congress have discussed combining this program with other programs or cutting funding. Ask your elected officials to keep the FIRE Act separate and fully funded to allow our firefighting communities to best serve our nation.
- 700 MHz for Public Safety. By direction of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated TV channels 63, 64, 68 and 69 for use by public safety. A loophole in the current law, however, allows television broadcasters to remain on the channel after Dec. 31, 2006, the final cutoff date. Congressional action to compel broadcasters to vacate these channels is the only way to assure that the new spectrum will be available for use by the public safety in a timely manner as intended.
- Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB). Ask Congress to extend PSOB to include public safety officers who die of heart attacks or strokes while on duty. A serious attempt to address this issue was made in the last days of Congress, but failed due to time constraints. This should be a high priority for the new Congress.
Thanks to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) for keeping us informed about these important issues. We need to do a better job in protecting our firefighters and playing the politics game. Hal Bruno, who has reported on Fire Politics for Firehouse® for over 25 years, says it is a never-ending battle. Hal is on vacation and will recap the events of the last few months in the February issue. This political arena is so important that we will present a special "Political Forum for Fire Departments" at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore in July.
Our "Firehouse On The Road" program is being developed for 2003. Watch for upcoming dates and locations. Hope to see you on the road very soon. For the latest information, see www.firehouseontheroad.com.
