US Fire Administrator Discusses Grants, COVID-19 in Webinar

In his role as U.S. Fire Administrator, Chief G. Keith Bryant oversees a swath of programs and initiatives as the nation's top fire service official, and he touched on some of the issues facing fire departments and firefighters in a recent webinar hosted by Congressional Fire Services Institute Executive Director Bill Webb.

Wednesday's friendly online discussion between Bryant and Webb did not reveal any groundbreaking initiatives, but it broached a number of important topics concerning the modern fire service and where it is heading in the future, including the COVID-19 pandemic, data tracking and grant programs.

Chief Bryant gave a rundown of some of the efforts the USFA is making to continue aiding fire and emergency personnel as COVID-19 appears on the brink of another spike in cases while protests and civil unrest roil many cities following the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Bryant wished to assure viewers that the USFA continues working hard with FEMA and the National Response Coordination Center on procuring badly needed equipment and PPE while also offering guidance on policy and phased reopening for local communities affected by the pandemic.

The USFA also continues working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services on a joint pre-hospital task force initiative, and on data collection that can help community leaders better understand the virus, how it spreads and how to be ready for a hot spot possibly flaring up.

If you haven't visited the USFA website to learn more about COVID-19, we strongly urge you to do so in order to have all the latest information and data at the ready during this ongoing crisis. You can find information on funding, planning and response, infection control, and behavioral health, as well as daily and weekly reports on case numbers and responses around the country.

Bryant also stressed that demand for more PPE has not gone away despite that message quieting a bit in the media. The supply chain has been somewhat replenished, but a global pandemic increases demand to a great degree and makes it hard to get ahead of the ball. Some areas of the country were better prepared than others, and the USFA continues trying to help fill in some of those gaps.

Viewers were greatly encouraged to look into the USFA and FEMA cost recovery programs for agencies who have been hit hard financially by their response to COVID-19. You can visit the USFA website to find more information on these cost recovery programs, but Bryant did note that the best course of action in proceeding is to first reach out to your state's emergency management agency to devise a plan of action.

In addition to COVID-19 and nationwide unrest, the USFA is also gearing up for an intense wildfire season in the western parts of the country while also trying to alert and prepare public safety agencies in areas prone to hurricane activity that the forecast for hurricane season is looking intense at the moment.

Another topic of interest as the fire service moves into the future was data collection for runs and emergency calls. Bryant said that although the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) remains vital to planning for the fire service, the USFA is working with experts in technology, science and statistics to eventually modernize systems for more robust data collection with an eye on how EMS has become the largest factor when it comes to call percentage.

As far as the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, Bryant said he does not foresee funding being scaled back even amid the current economic crisis and a potentially lengthy recession. Bryant called the AFG program a model for how federal programs should work because of the consensus on how much good it does for communities and how it is free from any level of politics.