FEMA`s NFA Blue Ribbon Panel raises concerns
John F. Park
Captain
League City (TX) Volunteer Fire Department
Recent articles in Fire Engineering have shed light on the current plight of national level leadership and training for the fire service. Even as a volunteer, I recognize the importance of establishing leadership and training standards at the national level. Most small departments look for the guidance that national experts, such as those teaching at the National Fire Academy (NFA), are willing to give. My department is no different. The knowledge gained by department members who have attended the NFA has been incorporated in some of our operational guidelines.
With this in mind, I was interested in participating in any way possible in shaping the future of the fire service. I agree with Captain William Crapo`s statement in Letters to the Editor (August 1998) that we, the volunteers, should take more responsibility in deciding the direction of the fire service, since we comprise most of the fire service in the United States. With this goal in mind, I contacted the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), of which I am a member, to see how I could contribute to the reshaping of the United States Fire Administration and the NFA. I asked how I might contribute to the Blue Ribbon Panel. The following is the Council`s response:
“Thank you for your interest in serving on the panel [the Blue Ribbon Panel]. The NVFC has appointed a representative to ensure that America`s volunteer fire service`s voice is heard in the shaping of the USFA.
“We will provide our membership the latest information about the process through our newsletter and press releases on our website.
“Again, thank you for your interest.”
A basic brush-off! Captain Crapo`s concerns about the makeup of the Blue Ribbon Panel are valid. A lone captain from a volunteer fire department most likely cannot make a significant difference to the outcome of the Blue Ribbon Panel`s study but, then again, maybe one can. Are my aspirations, or those of any other line officer, to learn all I can to properly lead my crew into and out of harm`s way safely not of concern to the Blue Ribbon Panel? Has anyone asked us, the grunt workers, what we perceive to be the needs or concerns of the fire service? Can one representative from the NVFC account for the needs of thousands of volunteer firefighters, especially without asking these types of questions? You draw your own conclusions.
My customers, the citizens of League City and the crew under my command, expect me to conduct my job in a professional manner. That professionalism is based on training in leadership and tactics. Granted, my department will construct its own ideas of what training and performance expectations are required for my position, but what is the basis for these decisions? It is based on what is conveyed from the national level. Time will tell if the Blue Ribbon Panel will produce significant changes that affect the grunts in the field (which should be the primary concern). I will continue to pursue any other avenues I can find open.
I appreciate the work of publications like Fire Engineering and encourage you to scrutinize the Blue Ribbon Panel and its eagerly anticipated products.
