America's Fire and EMS Officials Respond to FEMA Reform Project

The U.S. Fire Administrator should be elevated to a position as a Deputy FEMA Administrator.

The National Fire Academy must be properly staffed and resourced to continue to support specialized leadership and operational training for all levels of the fire service.

The U.S. Fire Administration must be resourced and empowered to fulfill its statutory mission to examine major fires and incidents and develop lessons learned for the fire and emergency services.

FEMA should properly resource and equip the nation’s USAR teams to ensure that they have stable resourcing to enable them to respond to disasters around the country.

These are just some of the suggestion included in a report -- FEMA Reform: Recommendations from America's Fire and Emergency Services.

The roadmap that highlights the responsibilities, issues and needs of responders was compiled by the CFSI National Advisory Committee after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year calling for a review of FEMA.

"With FEMA’s future being examined by Congress and the Administration, it is essential that the federal partnership with America’s fire and emergency services is strongly maintained. National resilience depends on local readiness. Any FEMA reforms must strengthen the federal commitment to the fire and emergency services that safeguard millions of Americans every day," CFSI officials wrote in a recent statement.

Support for mutual aid policies, data collection, emergency notification systems and hazardous mitigation is addressed in the document.

"Ultimately, national resilience depends on the readiness of local fire and emergency services. Federal reform must enhance coordination, preserve operational capabilities, and ensure that fire and EMS agencies receive the support required to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure. Strengthening this partnership is essential to safeguarding the American people and addressing evolving risks," authors wrote.

They also stressed not only the importance of maintaining funding programs that assist responders but keeping the process peer-reviewed. Among them are:

• Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) 
• Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant
• State Fire Training Assistance Grants
• State Homeland Security Program (SHSP)
• Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)
• Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program 
• Port Grant Security Program (PSGP) 
• Federal investments in prevention, mitigation, community risk reduction, and resilience 

"Beyond protecting their communities, firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel safeguard the critical systems upon which the nation depends. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognizes the fire and emergency services as one of the nation’s 16 critical >infrastructure sectors—essential to national security, economic stability, and public health. Because they provide the first line of defense for nearly all other critical infrastructure sectors, erosion of their capacity would have cascading consequences across the country. This central role underscores the necessity of a strong federal partnership and sustained investment," authors wrote.