FY2006 budget cuts FIRE Act and State Homeland Security Grants
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006, signed into law by President Bush in October, provides $31.9 billion for the DHS and its programs. This includes implementation of Secretary Michael Chertoff’s second-stage review.
According to the Congressional Fire Services Institute, although funding for the department has been increased by $2.4 billion overall, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is funded at $545 million for 2006, as opposed to $650 million in 2005. Also, State Homeland Security Grant Program funding was dropped from $1.1 billion to $550 million, and the Urban Area Security Initiative is set at $765 million, a cut of $120 million from 2005. Funding for the Staffing for the Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act, however, was increased from $65 million to $110 million.
The DHS second-stage review will include some restructuring of the department. From the perspective of the fire service, the new configuration will create a separate Preparedness Directorate, which will house the United States Fire Administration, the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (includes the office for Domestic Preparedness), the Infrastructure and Information Security programs, and other programs. ■
NVFC sets legislative priorities
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) revised its legislative priorities at its annual fall meeting in Texas in October. The new list includes the following:
• Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (AFG): The NVFC is urging Congress to fully fund the AFG at its original authorized level of $1 billion. Funding for 2006 was reduced to $545 million from $650 million in 2005.
• Length of Service Award Programs (LOSAPs). The program provides benefits in the form of deferred payments to volunteers in firefighting and prevention services. The NVFC has developed legislation that would simplify the requirements for service award programs and reduce existing statutory and regulatory mechanisms, which it says would reduce the administrative burden on governmental agencies and potential sponsors.
• Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act, the Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act, the Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act, and the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act. The NVFC will continue to push for the passage of these acts.
• Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act. This legislation, H.R. 3949, was introduced by Rep. Mike Castle (DE) in September. It would protect volunteer emergency services personnel who respond to a Presidentially declared national disaster from termination or demotion should they miss work for up to 14 days. Additional details on the NVFC’s legislative priorities are at www.nvfc.org/. ■
Assistance to Firefighters Grant awards
Up to press time, the following awards were made under the Fiscal Year 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP):
• Round 10: 108 grants, totaling $10,170,253.
• Round 11: 41 grants, totaling $5,841,281.
• Round 12: 58 grants, totaling $6,436,954.
Local fire departments and emergency medical services programs may use the funds for training, first responder health and safety programs, equipment, and response vehicles.
The AFGP is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for State and Local Government Coordination & Preparedness (SLGCP) in cooperation with the United States Fire Administration. ■
Chertoff to IAFC: Katrina “extraordinary test” for National Response Plan
“The one-two combination of a catastrophic hurricane and massive flood stretched the normal disaster relief system. Some things worked well. But, there were shortcomings that we must urgently address,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told attendees at the International Association of Fire Chiefs Leadership Summit in November.
He noted specifically that it is critical to ensure that the first responder planning and response capabilities “perform with seamless integrity and efficiency in any type of disaster situation-even one of cataclysmic nature.”
In addition, he said that Hurricane Katrina highlighted the “importance of having accurate, timely, and reliable information about true conditions on the ground.” The lack of this information in the Katrina disaster, he explained, “frustrated our best efforts to coordinate the response with our state and local counterparts.”
Chertoff identified a few “immediate” steps that can be taken to begin strengthening the system.
• “Retool FEMA and enhance its capabilities so it can fulfill its historic and critical mission supporting response and recovery.” Retooling, he explained, involves more effective distribution and delivery systems for supplies, more efficient business processing and disaster registration systems, and enhanced communications capabilities.
Chertoff noted that it is “fortunate” to have Chief R. David Paulison, U.S. Fire Administrator, oversee FEMA and help to address the deficiencies discovered during Hurricane Katrina.
• Develop emergency reconnaissance teams that can go into a disaster area and feed back reliable, real-time information to be used at all levels of government. The teams will be made up of FEMA disaster assistance specialists, U.S. Coast Guard personnel, and representatives of other assets such as the Secret Service and other DHS law enforcement entities.
• Create a preparedness directorate as outlined in the DHS Second Stage Review plan, released in July. The intention, Chertoff said, is to integrate the department’s existing preparedness efforts-planning, training, exercising, and funding-into a single directorate for preparedness. He noted that the Fiscal Year 2006 budget has a $4 billion appropriation for this initiative and that George Foresman (see article below) will serve as Under Secretary for Preparedness and oversee this directorate. The directorate, he stressed, must incorporate the full spectrum from prevention through protection to response. It will rely on the expertise of FEMA but also will integrate the experience and capabilities of other operational assets, including the U.S. Fire Administration, the Emergency Management Institute, and the National Fire Academy.
• Work with federal, state, and local officials to review the emergency operations plans of every major American urban area and ensure that those plans are “clear, detailed, and up to date.” Evacuation plans for incidents ranging from earthquakes to subway bombings will be given a “hard, realistic look,” Chertoff added.
Chertoff cited the National Incident Management System and the National Response Plan, which firefighters helped to develop. Katrina, he added, showed how “imperative it is to integrate and coordinate response efforts during a crisis.” The priority, he said, is to ensure that every locality understands how to use the NIMS system.
Although the DHS must lead the national effort to protect and prepare our communities, Chertoff stressed that the agency depends on partnerships-with citizens, mayors, chief executive officers, and first responders. “I want to assure you that as a department we will continue to reach out to you so that your valuable insight and first-hand experience are brought to bear on the difficult challenges we confront …. And so, while we change to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving security environment, one thing that will not change is our commitment to our nation’s firefighters and our reliance on you to help us uphold our responsibility to secure and preserve our homeland,” Chertoff concluded. ■
Fire service asks Congress to expedite transfer of radio spectrum
National fire service organizations have petitioned congressional leaders “to support a transition date as close to December 31, 2006, as possible” for completion of the allocation of 24 megahertz of radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety use nationally. This date was established by Congress in 1997, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.
In an open letter published in USA Today, the organizations stated: “Asking our first responders to place themselves in harm’s way is a difficult decision by itself. But, asking them to do so not knowing if they will be able to communicate is a risk we can no longer take.”
In addition, the organizations said that the additional spectrum will make it possible for first responders to use new technologies, such as environmental monitors, personnel location networking, health and vital signs sensors, and on-scene video cameras-equipment that can help incident commanders make more effective decisions more quickly, thus reducing firefighter injuries and deaths. NVFC E-update, Nov. 18, 2005
According to the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI), the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved legislation requiring TV broadcasters to relinquish their analog frequencies by April 7, 2009, and switch over to digital signals. The bill would also allow the Federal Communications Commission to auction a large portion of the analog spectrum, estimated to yield about $10 billion in revenue. Legislation offered by Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (AK) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (HI) would designate $1.25 billion of that money for emergency communication upgrades and $3 billion to help consumers owning analog sets to purchase converter boxes to adapt their analog sets to digital signals.
On October 26, according to the CFSI, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up its bill, which would establish December 31, 2008, as the hard date for the digital transition. The bill would use the auction revenues to create a $990 million program that would provide two $40 coupons per household to subsidize the purchase of digital converter boxes and designate $500 million for interoperability. CFSI News & Notes, Oct. 2005 ■
NVFC: DHS should fund mandates for firefighter medical exams in NIMS
NVFC Chairman Phillip C. Stittleburg, in a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director, Chief R. David Paulison, asked that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) give the fire service funds for annual firefighter physical examinations if they are mandated as part of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). According to the NVFC, the DHS may be considering adopting a revised version of NFPA 1582: Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, which specifies that firefighters undergo a physical examination annually as a requirement for NIMS compliance. ■
NIST reports on WTC building and fire safety to House Science Committee
In October, William Jeffrey, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), delivered a statement on “The Building and Fire Safety Investigation into the World Trade Center (WTC) Collapse” before the House of Representatives Committee on Science. The investigation was conducted under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team Act, signed into law on October 1, 2002. The entire report, which includes 30 recommendations for improving building and fire safety based on the findings of the investigation, is online at http://wtc.nist.gov/.
Eight major groups of recommendations were made. They were categorized as follows: Increased Structural Integrity, Enhanced Fire Endurance of Structures, New Methods for Fire Resistant Design of Structures, Improved Active Fire Protection, Improved Building Evacuation, Improved Emergency Response, Improved Procedures and Practices, and Education and Training.
According to NIST, only a few of the recommendations call for new requirements in standards and codes. Most, it said, involve “improving an existing standard or code requirement, establishing a standard for an existing practice without one, establishing the technical basis for an existing requirement, making a current requirement risk-consistent, adopting or enforcing a current requirement, or establishing a performance-based alternative to a current prescriptive requirement.”
In a section entitled “Next Steps,” NIST strongly urges the following:
• The building and fire safety communities immediate give serious consideration to these recommendations to achieve appropriate improvements in the way buildings are designed, constructed, maintained, and used and in evacuation and emergency response procedures-with the goal of making buildings, occupants, and first responders safer in future emergencies.
• Building owners and public officials evaluate the safety implications of these recommendations in relation to their existing inventory of buildings and take whatever steps are necessary to mitigate any unwarranted risks without waiting for change to occur in codes, standards, and practices.
• State and local agencies should rigorously enforce building codes and standards, since such enforcement is critical to ensure the expected level of safety.
NIST staff will work “vigorously” with the building and safety communities to make sure they understand the recommendations and will provide technical assistance in implementing the recommendations. NIST has identified the codes, standards, and practices affected by each recommendation and has been working toward expediting consideration of the recommendations. To this end, more than 200 people, including representatives of all of the major standards and codes development organizations, attended a conference sponsored by NIST in September.
Also, NIST awarded a contract to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), which is to adapt the language of the recommendations for incorporation into the two national model building codes. NIST will also implement a Web-based system so the public can track progress on implementing the recommendations.
The final versions of the 43 reports on NIST’s investigation of the WTC towers were released in October. An additional five reports on the investigation of WTC 7 will be released as drafts for public comment next Spring. ■
Foresman nominated for Under Secretary for Preparedness
George S. Foresman is the Administration’s choice for Under Secretary for Preparedness at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This position will oversee the U.S. Fire Administration, the Office of State and Local Government Preparedness and Response, the Office for Domestic Preparedness, the Chief Medical Officer, and other preparedness programs-all would comprise the new Preparedness Directorate, created as a result of the second-stage review of the DHS. Foresman would have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Foresman most recently served as an Assistant to the Governor of Virginia for Commonwealth Preparedness; he was responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster preparedness activities. Foreman also served for five years with CFSI President Bill Jenaway on the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities Involving Terrorism (the Gilmore Commission). Foresman has more than 20 years of operational and executive leadership experience in emergency management, law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service organizations. ■
Line-of-Duty Deaths
October 25. Firefighter Paul Herbert Thorne Sr., 71, Forestville Volunteer Fire Department, Upper Marlboro, MD: a cerebrovascular accident suffered two days before.
October 26. Firefighter Walter L. Sykes Jr. 48, Lewiston (CA) Volunteer Fire Department: heart attack.
November 4. Captain E. Timothy Parsell, 38, Collin (NY) Volunteer Fire Company #1: probable heart attack; investigation underway at press time.
November 5. Firefighter Eduardo “Ed” Teran, 43, City of Riverside (CA) Fire Department: cardiac arrest while engaged in firefighting activities immediately following a residential structure fire; at press time, the cause of death was pending results of an autopsy.
November 5. Assistant Chief James C. Webb, 41, Bynum Volunteer Fire Department, Courtland, MS: tanker accident while responding to structure fire.
November 6. Captain Michael J. Bevans, 59, North Little Rock (AR) Fire Department: complications of surgery for shoulder injury suffered on the job in 2004.
November 7. Engineer Timmy Shane Hardy, 32, Neosho (MO) Fire Department: fatally injured while accessing a grain bin at a fire.
November 8. Chief Brian J. Pugh, 53, Port of Portland (OR) Airport Fire Rescue Department: complications of a stroke suffered at a fire chiefs’ conference two days previous.
November 10. Chief Kenneth D. Mitchell, 58, Tull (AR) Volunteer Fire Department: stress/overexertion while at residential fire scene.
November 12. Chief Max Willard, 68, Oakwood (VA) Volunteer Fire Department: in a brush fire; cause of death uncertain at press time.
November 12. Captain Kevin J. Foster, 41, Ellerslie (GA) Volunteer Fire Department: blunt force trauma to head and chest suffered in apparatus accident while en route to traffic accident.
November 14. Fire Police Chief James E. Lafferty Sr., 68, Union City (PA) Volunteer Fire Department: heart attack while controlling traffic at the scene of a structure fire.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
Voters say SF firehouses should stay open. Voters want the San Francisco Fire Department to keep all 42 of its fire stations staffed and open 24 hours a day. They overwhelmingly approved Proposition F, which adds mandatory staffing levels at all fire stations into the city charter and ends “brownouts,” the closing of fire stations on a rotating basis to save money. The city now will not be able to close or consolidate fire stations or reduce service levels below those that existed before January 1, 2004, unless the issue is placed before the voters again. Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Enquirer, www.enquirer.com, Nov. 8, 2005 ●
Pit bulls attack six people. Three pit bulls escaped from their home in McHenry County, Illinois, ran down the street and attacked six people, including a 10-year-old boy, who was in critical condition at press time, and police officers. The dogs ultimately were shot and killed by police. http://cbs2chicago.com, article 309210231, Nov. 6, 2005. ●
Senate bill proposes secretive bioterrorism research center. Proposed legislation moving through the Senate at press time would create a secretive national research center to respond to bioterrorism threats and natural disease outbreaks. It would shift the main responsibility for developing bioterrorism countermeasures out of the Department of Homeland Security into the Biological Advanced Research and Development Agency in the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency would be given a first-year budget of $1 billion, and its powers would include authority to shield drug manufacturers from liability lawsuits if a drug used to counteract a bioterrorism event or disease outbreak caused death or injury. It would also exempt the agency from federal open records laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act. Sen. Richard Burr (NC) introduced the bill, which was approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Some scientists warn that the new agency could draw money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, disrupting their work. Jeff Newmith, Washington Bureau, Austin American-Statesman, http://statesman.com/, Nov. 5, 2005●
No more badge pinning at Chicago (IL) Fire Department graduations. Chicago Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter has put an end to the tradition of allowing active and retired firefighters to pin badges on their graduating relatives. According to a fire department spokesman, the tradition prolonged the ceremony and caused complications in instances where parents were divorced or remarried. From now on, department personnel will pin on the badges; families will be able to do their “pinning’ in photo sessions after the ceremony. A Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 spokesman called the move “regrettable.” http://www.suntimes.com, Fran Spielman, Nov. 1, 2005 ●
Several fires on University of Chicago campus arson? Some small fires that occurred in various buildings on the University of Chicago campus in November point to the possibility of arson. There were no injuries, and damage was minor. The Chicago Fire Department, the Chicago police, and state arson investigators were jointly investigating; the state fire marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also on the campus. Three fires occurred in adjacent buildings within less than an hour of each other. In one case, a flammable liquid on a table and wall outside a lecture hall was ignited. In other instances, a flammable liquid was ignited in an elevator (the fire burned itself out); a stack of papers was set afire; and an accelerant was poured on a door and ignited. At press time, no arrests had been made. www.nbc5.com, article 5334964, Nov. 16, 2005 ●
Explosives detection canine teams join the TSA. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has added 12 explosives detection canine teams to its program. The canine teams are assigned to transportation facilities in Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; Reno, NV; Little Rock, AR; and Tamuning, Guam. TSA evaluators certify the teams annually. The TSA canine program is a cooperative partnership with transportation systems. The TSA provides the canine; in-depth training for the handler; and partial reimbursement for costs such as salaries, overtime, canine food, and veterinary care.
