THE NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY AND THE FUTURE
ANTHONY D. MANNO
The National Fire Academy (NFA) has been operating in Emmitsburg, Maryland, since late 1979. It has had success in many endeavors. Now we must confront the future and consider what this institution would look like if we were to design such an entity today. The most difficult step is to let go of the current facts and history and to imagine the future. Part of this process is also to imagine what changes should occur to state and local fire training systems. All these elements are connected–or should be–in any true national fire training system. Do we need or even want a real national system of training and education for the fire-rescue service?
Historically, the NFA has stayed away from any hands-on fire training activities. Is this appropriate for the future? Where is the laboratory school where we educationally define and research matters related to effective curriculum design and delivery? What about the process of defining the proper method of doing any task within the fire service? What educationally is the most effective way to teach breathing apparatus skills, and how often must drafting the pumper and rappelling skills be practiced to avoid significant skills degradation? Where and how and who will do so, repeatedly, on the list of topics that remain? Should there be 10 regional fire training facilities that provide state-of-the-art fire training activities from the entry level on, and how would they be tied to the NFA and state and local organizations? Should there be one or two “super” facilities to conduct such training? Will the fire service ever have a training facility similar to the U.S. Army National Training Center in California? My son went there with the 10th Mountain Division for 30 days of training in the desert and mountains of California. Real tanks, trucks, and so on, and they really kept score. At first, they got their butts kicked, then they gradually grew into a real fighting machine. Just where do we go for real, large-scale emergency operations and fire operations training? As Chief Alan Brunacini of the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department says, “Cities will just keep giving us another building or block to practice on.” The only problem is that we sometimes kill or injure ourselves in the learning process.
What should the relationship be between the NFA and states with strong state fire training activities compared with those states with weak programs? It would not seem that it could be the same. The desire for uniformity in such matters is understandable. What should states be doing in fire training as a baseline? What should the future relationship be between larger, metro-type departments and the NFA and the state fire training entity? Should these larger departments have a different process or be special because of their size? How could the NFA and the fire service benefit from such an arrangement? What do you do with a state or metro that can`t or won`t play in the process?
What role do our institutions of higher education play in this system? How do they fit in with the state fire training program and the NFA and local organizations? Have they collectively fulfilled the promise of providing the bridge to professionalism? Why are there no Ph.D.-level programs in our domain? Why are there few masters-level avenues of education and professional preparation? Without these programs of rigorous higher education, how will new knowledge be created for those that follow? Who will lead the charge? Why has it been so slow thus far? Professionalism has a price. Are we as a fire service ready to step up? How can we not include higher education in any plan for the fire service`s future? Today it is not a high priority with many who operate at the national level.
How do these issues relate to career and volunteer organizations? Does anybody know exactly–or even within five-percent accuracy–how many fire stations there are in America, or engines, or trucks, or members? How does the NFA communicate with all of them? Should it even try? How many departments have computers, and are they on the Internet?
The NFA and the fire service are talking about change. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is talking about change. The NFA needs to look different in the future. Expectations and realities need to be considered and merged. Much has been done. We should all be thankful to those fire service leaders who have gotten us this far.
The exciting news is that there is much good yet to be done. Join us in the journey!
ANTHONY D. MANNO is division chief, training and development, for the Overland Park (KS) Fire Department. He began his fire service career in 1963 in Maryland. In Kentucky and Florida, he served as the state director of fire training; for more than 16 years, he was a full-time faculty member of the National Fire Academy. He currently manages the Overland Park Fire Training Center and is a member of the NFAAA Board of Directors.
