FEMA/USFA seek fire departments’ input on new grant program
Representatives from major fire service organizations met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its United States Fire Administration (USFA) at the end of January at the National Emergency Training Center to help develop criteria for evaluating grant proposals under the new $100 million fire service grant program.
“The participation of these organizations is critical to the success of this new program,” says Kenneth Burris, acting USFA Administrator. “Their support and expertise will help us meet our goal to award all the grants before the end of September.” All fire departments-volunteer, combination, career, rural, suburban, and urban-are invited to give their input concerning the administrating of the grant program.
Among the key actions taken to speed the grant application process are the following:
- Applicants will be able to apply online as well as through the traditional paper form. The online application form was being developed at press time and is expected to be available on the FEMA/USFA Web site around May 1, 2001. Fire departments will be able to complete the application and submit it electronically via the Internet.
- As previously announced, grants will be awarded in the categories of training, wellness/fitness programs, vehicles, firefighting equipment, personal protective equipment, and fire prevention programs.
- Fire departments can apply under a maximum of two categories. The maximum amount of a grant is $750,000. Smaller departments serving communities of fewer than 50,000 must provide a 10 percent match in nonfederal funds. Departments serving communities with populations greater than 50,000 must provide a 30 percent match.
A notice giving details about regulations applicable to the grant program will be published in the Federal Register. Fire departments are encouraged to monitor the USFA Web site for the latest grant program information at
The grant program resulted from the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, introduced by Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) in March 1999. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) introduced a similar version in the Senate, where it was successfully attached to and included in the Fiscal Year 2001 Department of Defense authorization conference report, which President Clinton signed into law on October 30, 2000.
Although hiring is not one of the categories for which grants may be awarded in this grant cycle, Pascrell noted in a news release that hiring is one of his priorities and will be included in the Fiscal Year 2002 grant cycle.
Senator Sarbanes new chair of Congressional Fire Services Caucus
Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) is the new chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. He has served as a cochairman since 1993. Sarbanes was instrumental in the enactment of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 and in creating the National Fallen Fire- fighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) has been selected as a cochair of the Caucus. He has a long history of working for the fire service in Delaware.
National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner April 25
“Working Together Toward Common Goals” will be the theme of the Thirteenth Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner, scheduled for April 25, 2001, at the Hilton Washington, Washington, D.C. The event is sponsored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI).
“The idea for the theme originated the day Congress put the finishing touches on the FIRE Act,” says CFSI Executive Director Bill Webb. “From individual firefighters who placed calls to their local representative to the state and national organizations, this victory is a credit to the determination and perseverance of an entire fire and emergency services.”
The program for the dinner has been revised. Hal Bruno, former ABC political director and veteran firefighter, will serve as master of ceremonies, and the number of presentations has been decreased. The new format, according to Webb, will help the committee realize its goal of concluding the program by 10 p.m.
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been invited to be keynote speakers.
A number of seminars focusing on federal legislation and policy initiatives will be presented on Capital Hill during the day. The CFSI will also conduct a briefing on how fire departments can qualify for grants under the FIRE grant program. For additional information, visit the CFSI Web site at www.cfsi.org, or call (202) 371-1277.
Pascrell introduces Campus Fire Safety Bill
On February 6, Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) introduced the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act of 2001 (H.R. 471), which would require each institution to distribute an annual fire safety report containing information on the following: fire sprinkler or other campus building fire safety systems; statistics concerning the occurrence of fires and false fire alarms in student housing; and information on injuries, deaths, and structural damage caused by fire. The statistics would be submitted to the secretary of education, who would then send a report to Congress within a year. The report would contain the following:
- An analysis of the current status of fire safety systems in college and university facilities.
- An analysis of the appropriate fire safety standards to apply to these facilities, which the secretary shall prepare after consultation with fire safety experts, representatives of institutions of higher education, and other federal agencies.
- An estimate of the cost of bringing all nonconforming dormitories and other campus buildings up to current new building codes.
- Recommendations from the secretary concerning the best means of meeting fire safety standards in all college facilities.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Virginia’s governor allots $9.2 million for fire prevention and response
Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore is allocating some $9.2 million for fire prevention and response in Virginia’s incorporated towns, cities, and counties, an increase of $1 million from last year.
The Virginia Department of Fire Programs administers the fund, generated by assessments on certain insurance policies sold in the state. The Virginia State Corporation Commission collects the money. Allocations to the 324 qualifying localities are based on population. Cities and counties receive at least $10,000; towns receive at least $4,000. State law mandates that the funds cannot be used directly or indirectly to supplant or replace any other funds appropriated by the localities for fire service operations. A table providing specific dollar amounts for all eligible localities may be obtained by calling the secretary of public safety at (804) 786-5351.
Flaherty new DOT chief of staff
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has named John A. Flaherty chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Flaherty was Mineta’s chief of staff when the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 was passed.
As chief of staff, Flaherty will manage Mineta’s immediate staff and provide direct policy, program, and managerial support to the secretary in administering all operations of the department.
Sprinklers put out fire at Rowan University
Sprinklers extinguished a fire in a residence hall at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, in February. The university had installed the sprinklers in the dorms six months before.
The fire, caused by a fan on a windowsill, erupted about 8 p.m. in an unoccupied third-floor room in Chestnut Hall. All 380 students in the dorm were evacuated without incident.
The fire was contained to the room. About 15 rooms sustained water damage from the sprinkler system.
Rowan was one of the first five New Jersey colleges to install sprinklers in its dorms, as mandated by the state after the January 2000 Seton Hall University fire in which three students were killed and numerous students were injured. (See “Seton Hall: From Tragedy to Triumph,” Gerard J. Naylis, Fire Engineering, Sept. 2000, 42.) That fire broke out in a freshman dormitory that was not equipped with sprinklers.
(Source: “Rowan had upgraded sprinkler system before dorm fire,” Kaitlin Gurney, Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 10, 2001)
Milford (CT) Fire Department achieves ISO Class 1 rating
The Milford (CT) Fire Department recently was granted a Class 1 category rating by the Insurance Services Office Inc. of New York. The department had a Class 3 rating in 1996. To achieve this higher rating, the city improved its water flow capacity and upgraded its 911 emergency communications system.
(Source: “Fire Department now Cream of the Crop,” Joe Miksch, New Haven (CT) Register, Jan. 23, 2001)
Philadelphia firefighters receive additional health benefits
The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its firefighters have agreed to a new contract. The new agreement increases health benefits for all responders, particularly those with hepatitis C. A $5.2 million lump-sum payment will be made to the union’s health fund; the city’s monthly contribution to the health fund has been increased to $601 per member. In December, Paramedic Lieutenant Mary Kohler and Firefighter Norm Stabinski, both diagnosed with hepatitis C, slept outside the mayor’s office in City Hall for more than two weeks in protest of the city’s opposition to increasing firefighters’ health benefits (see “Judge awards Philadelphia firefighters raises but denies hepatitis C aid,” News In Brief, Feb. 2001).
In addition, members with hepatitis C in danger of losing their jobs will benefit from a “sick bank” to be established by the union. Under the agreement, the city will donate one hour of vacation time for every hour donated by a union member and a half-hour for every hour of sick time donated.
Under the new contract, firefighters and paramedics will receive a three-percent pay raise retroactive to July 1, 2000, and a four- percent increase July 1, 2001.
Another issue of contention between the city and the firefighters was the “task-force” system in which one lieutenant simultaneously supervised an engine and a ladder company. Firefighters called this system unsafe and wanted it eliminated; the city had objected to eliminating it. As a result of the new agreement, a labor-management committee will be established to discuss the issue.
(Source: “Contract reached for Philadelphia Firefighters,” Jacqueline Soteropoulos and Barbara Boyer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 26, 2001)
New inspection program includes enforcement power for fire department
The revised fire safety inspection program recently implemented by the Portland (ME) Fire Department will help to ensure that safety violations in apartments are detected on a regular basis, that they are corrected once detected, and that all occupancies presenting life safety concerns will be inspected in accordance with an established schedule.
Among the provisions of the new inspection policy are the following:
- Firefighters will be given two full days of training in how to conduct fire inspections.
- Every building of 12 units or more, by city ordinance, is required to have its alarm system inspected annually and is to file blueprints and a tenant list with the fire department.
- The fire department has been given the authority, under a city ordinance, to hire an alarm company to fix a faulty alarm system and bill the owner in cases where the owners do not act to correct the problem.
- An additional firefighter has been added to the inspection division; he will be responsible for ensuring that identified violations are corrected.
- Each fire company is responsible for inspecting a specific territory. Every apartment building, business establishment, school, and day-care center is to be inspected every three years.
- City department and fire department computer databases will be integrated so that they can more efficiently oversee the inspection function. New software will enable the fire department to track building inspection schedules, building owners, and violations and their corrections. Eventually, the system will be connected to the city’s building inspection division and the police department, to enhance coordination among the city’s various divisions.
Local newspapers had taken the city to task for not maintaining its schedule of fire inspections in apartment buildings, not pressuring landlords to correct fire-safety violations, and not assigning more firefighters to the inspection unit so that the city could adhere to its inspection schedule.
[Source: “Portland (ME) Fire Department toughens stance on safety,” David Hench, Portland (ME) Press Herald Writer, Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc., Jan. 27, 2001] n
House bill raises retirement age for federal firefighters
The House of Representatives voted the end of January to raise the mandatory retirement age of federal firefighters from 55 to 57. Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA) sponsored the Federal Firefighters Retirement Age Fairness Act (H.R. 93), which he said would bring the retirement age for federal firefighters in line with that of federal law enforcement officers and assist in the retaining of experienced firefighters. The bill would affect some 12,000 federal firefighters working on military bases, in national parks, and on forest lands.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was to introduce a similar bill in the Senate. The bill had passed the House during the previous Congress but was not taken up by the Senate. n
First-responder Bomb Threat Card available
The Bomb Threat Standoff Card, recently released by the Technical Support Working Group, a federal interagency group focusing on new technology for countering terrorism, is now available from the Government Printing Office.
The two-sided, four-color, laminated 3 2 5 card was developed for use by federal emergency and law enforcement officers; state and local fire, law enforcement, haz-mat, bomb squad, and EMS organizations; and other emergency/public services organizations that may be early responders to a terrorist bomb scene. The card has a pictorial representation of eight bomb threats and associated explosives capacities and gives building and outdoor evacuation distances.
The stock number is 064-000-00028-4. Cost is $3.75 per package of 10 ($4.69 outside the U.S.). For secure ordering by the Internet, visit the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at
Bill proposes a minimum of four firefighters for Houston Fire Department trucks
State Representative Rick Noriega has introduced a bill in the Texas legislature that would require the Houston (TX) Fire Department to staff its trucks with at least four firefighters. Currently, one-half to three-quarters of the department’s engine and ladder trucks respond to calls with three firefighters aboard.
Noriega says he expects to at least get a hearing on the bill during the current legislative session. Mayor Lee Brown, calling the bill an “unfunded mandate,” said the city would oppose it and that the city council should set staffing levels.
(Source: “House bill calls for 4 firefighters per truck,” Houston Chronicle.com, Jan. 31, 2001)
FCC ULS system problems delaying processing of radio frequency allocations
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new Universal Licensing System (ULS) is causing many delays and setbacks for frequency coordinators and, consequently, for public safety entities who have asked the FCC for radio frequency allocations. According to the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International’s (APCO) Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC), new applications and technical modifications, except for applicant-based renewals and minor administrative updates, must, by law, be coordinated through one of several certified frequency coordinators. Although the FCC implemented Phase II of the land mobile radio (Part 90) conversion to the ULS on October 24, 2000, as of February 2001, “literally no public-certified frequency coordinator has been able to electronically submit an application to the FCC successfully,” according to APCO AFC.
Ron Haraseth, APCO AFC director, summarizes the situation as follows:
- Frequency coordinators must maintain their own databases, which include all FCC database information as well as ongoing application information, to effectively search and coordinate frequencies. The change to the ULS was an entire paradigm shift in both structure, relationship, and philosophy from the old FCC database structure to the ULS database. Where the FCC took years to develop this system, frequency coordinators only had months to adapt to it at best.
- The old operation systems could not be modified. All software must be redesigned from scratch.
- Although most coordinators have been working with the FCC in Gettysburg for years to prepare for this change, there was little or no indication of the impact the ULS would have.
- All certified coordinators discovered early the only short-term alternative was to convert all applications to hard copy, but the FCC prepared itself only to handle digital data.
- Programmers have had to contend with errors in the ULS database structure and inconsistencies in record descriptors. Many of the system’s verification routines are poorly documented and are not fully understood even by the FCC staff.
- The FCC cannot revert to its old database.
- If coordinators can successfully implement their own internal software and link it to the ULS database, the system could improve. In the meantime, coordinators are asking their customers to be patient until the situation can be remedied.
Note: Haraseth urges existing licensees who are in the modification process and whose license may be approaching its expiration date to proceed with the normal license renewal process even if they have submitted a modification change to their frequency coordinator. License owners should avoid having their license expire before the modification process is completed. For additional information contact, Haraseth at (904) 944-2461, or e-mail: harasethr@ apco911.org.
Man imprisoned for setting fire that severely burned firefighter
A Brooklyn (NY) man, Winston Campbell, was convicted of first-degree assault and first-degree arson for setting a fire that severely burned Firefighter Charles Price, a resident of Nassau County who had been cited twice for bravery. Campbell was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
Campbell was found guilty of setting a fire in his three-story townhouse on December 4, 1999. According to a spokeswoman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, he was attempting to destroy tax records. The Internal Revenue Service reportedly was investigating Campbell in connection with a home health care business he operated. Campbell was arrested after a six-week investigation by fire marshals.
(Source: “Man Sentenced for Blaze That Hurt Firefighter,” Pete Bowles, Newsday, Feb. 8, 2001, A 17)
Line-of-Duty Deaths, 2001
January 18: Lieutenant Christopher Towne, 52, of the Detroit (MI) Fire Department, died while on duty in station quarters of a cause yet to be determined.
January 25: Firefighter Johnny McKinley, 54, of the Pine Hill (AL) Volunteer Fire Department, collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while working at a structure fire set by an arsonist.
January 27: Firefighter Cecil Smith, 76, of the Meredith (NH) Volunteer Fire Department, died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident involving his vehicle while responding to a reported structure fire.
February 5: Firefighter Mathew Smith, 33, of the Redwood City (CA) Fire Department, suffered an apparent heart attack while on duty at the end of the physical fitness period.
February 7: Firefighter Ray Lloyd, 65, of the Marion County Fire-Rescue, Ocala, Florida, collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack while working a trailer fire.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
