Academy Is Seeking 3rd Head as Perry Ends 3-Week Reign
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The National Fire Academy has undoubtedly established a record for having had a chief executive for the shortest time of any educational institution in the country.
Hardly had the announcement been made that Raymond L. Perry of the International Association of Fire Fighters had been appointed academy superintendent before the National Fire Administration public relations people were on the phone saying that Perry had resigned. After working for the NFA as a consultant for about three months, Perry’s appointment as superintendent became effective June 3. On June 22, he wrote a letter of resignation which was effective at the close of business that day. Perry, who retired as a battalion chief in the Birmingham, Ala., Fire Department in 1967, has returned to the position he scarcely left—administrative assistant to IAFF President W. Howard McClennan.
The resignation was precipitated by what Perry tagged “a foolish organizational plan” for the National Fire Academy that was proposed by Gordon E. Vickery, administrator of the United States Fire Administration. The proposed organizational table for the NFA provided four positions of deputy superintendent instead of one and provided an administrative assistant for the superintendent.
Resignation reasons
In his letter of resignation, Perry charged that the reorganization plan “substantially subverted the authority of the superintendent’s office and degraded certain key positions of the management staff.” Later, Perry explained that the new table of organization included names which had not been discussed with him and he declared that he could not accept this action.
Vickery stated that Perry was aware of the reorganization plan details well before he resigned and an administrative assistant to the superintendent was added to the plan because of Perry’s objections.
In discussing the reorganization plan, Vickery stressed the fact that the plan was still fluid and work loads were being considered in relation to the number of deputies needed to handle them. However, the thinking behind the decision to have four deputies is that one would be in charge of these areas: administrative services, curriculum development, academy educational programs, and the outreach program—the offering of academy programs in various states.
Demand for programs
In regard to the outreach program, Vickery said that he has found a growing demand for NFA courses to be conducted throughout the country. As a result of the cluster program delivered in four cities last year, the USFA administrator explained, there is an increasing demand for more NFA courses in more locations. Therefore, Vickery is looking for an appropriate delivery system that can be offered through the various state directors of fire service training. He expects that out of 16 or 17 NFA available courses, perhaps only two or three would be conducted at any one location and the subjects covered would vary to meet the desires of the training directors in each state.
Meanwhile, Joseph A. Moreland, deputy USFA administrator, is handling the responsibilities of the NFA superintendent in addition to his other duties while a nationwide search for a new superintendent is made. Vickery said that the NFA’s board of visitors will screen the candidates.
Shortly after he left a Seattle hospital where he underwent a laminectomy to correct a back condition, Vickery talked with editors of the fire service press by a conference telephone setup on July 10. First of all, he quashed rumors that he would retire for health reasons and then he went on to discuss some immediate objectives of his administration.
Volunteer conference
For one thing, Vickery is seeking grass roots views of the U.S. Fire Administration and National Fire Academy roles in assisting the fire service nationwide. The first step in this direction is a meeting of nearly 100 members of the volunteer services with at least one person expected from every state. This Aug. 17-19 conference at Snowmass, Colo., will consider programs needed by volunteer fire departments and will explore ways to deliver such programs in ways that will be acceptable.
Another conference will consider the status of women in the fire service. Persons particularly interested in this subject will meet at the University of Maryland Aug. 29-31. Vickery commented to the editors that either the USFA must seek to resolve the problem of assimilating women into the fire service or the problem will be addressed by others outside the service.
Metropolitan chiefs
The USFA administrator also voiced an intention to consider the problems and needs of the metropolitan chiefs in the same way that the USFA is addressing the needs of the volunteers. Vickery pointed out that this is the first time the chiefs of the nation’s largest fire departments have been given specific attention by the fire administration. With the guidance of the metro chiefs, the administration plans to do a study on fire company manning.
Another area in which the USFA intends to provide some leadership is emergency medical services, Vickery continued. He noted that there is a need to develop nationwide standards that would encompass training, including hours, and management techniques.
Vickery also announced two changes in the National Fire Academy board of visitors. Chief Andrew Casper of San Francisco has been appointed to replace IAFF President McClennan, who resigned some time before Perry resigned as academy superintendent. Casper will be chairman of the board. Joseph Redden of the National Fire Protection Association, who has been both commissioner and chief of the Newark, N.J., Fire Department, has been named to the board to replace Chief Alan V. Brunacini of Phoenix, who resigned because his promotion to chief limited the time he could give to the board.
FEMA head named
A longtime federal government career man, John W. Macy, Jr., of McLean, Va., was appointed by President Carter to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which includes the USFA. The appointment, which became effective May 1, has to be confirmed by the Senate.
Macy joined the federal government in 1938 and worked in the War Department until 1947 except for service in the Air Force from 1943 to 1946. He was with the Los Alamos Project of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1947 to 1951. He was executive director of the Civil Service Commission, 1953-58, when he left to be executive vice president of Wesleyan University.
President Nixon selected Macy as the first president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1969. Macy resigned in 1972 after a dispute with the White House over public TV policy. He was president of the Council of Better Business Bureaus from 1973 to 1975 and then became president of the Development and Resources Corporation.
