HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE
A wide variety of notifications on the FIRE Bill came zooming into my e-mail service during this past week. The tone and tenor of these accolades ranged from merely informative notifications to the wildly celebratory language usually reserved for the Second Coming. My feelings lie somewhere in the middle.
I feel somewhat like the person who upon hearing a knock at the front door rushes to greet the UPS delivery person. I have been expecting a package and have been awaiting the big brown truck and the knock on the front door. The package has arrived, I have signed for it, thanked the lady for the service and rushed back to my office to tear into the brown wrapping paper. Upon opening the box I find a small note that says, "... enjoy the box, because we are still looking for the gift that you ordered."
Perhaps I should be happier than I am, but I guess that I am shrouded by a certain aura of cynicism. Over the past quarter of a century, I have spent a day or two visiting Washington, DC and have been exposed to its nuances before. I am a veteran of the days when we were battling for a fire administration and a national fire academy. So you can forgive a bit of reserved caution. As the character in a popular movie a few years ago was so fond of screaming, " ... show me the money." Until we can identify a place in the federal budget with a spare $400 million, we are still not at the finish line in our race to help the fire service.
Don’t get me wrong. I am personally pleased to see that something has finally happened. As one who has been around this fire service for more than a day or two, my feelings can best be described as an aura of cautious optimism. It is now up to our lobbying associates in Washington to increase the pressure among our elected representatives to start the search for the spare change to fund our fire programs.
A few months ago, I actually created a draft article urging the various parties to this legislative battle to sit down and talk out their differences. But I held my literary tongue in that instance. I did not want to muddy the political waters. Professional associates urged me to exercise patience when I craved action. I guess that I did the right thing.
However the checkered history of the interactions of a number of parties to this political battle, both the official versions, and the back channel versions, tell me that some real strong-arm, shady dealings were going on behind the scenes. It would seem to me that all that really signifies was that business as usual was going on inside of the Beltway. The usual array of smoke and mirrors, smoking guns, vested interests, and hidden agendas were hauled out of the storage locker and hurled into the fray. And not all of the fire service was fighting the battle from the same set of operational orders. But it would now appear that we are beyond that stage of inter-familial squabbling. Now we have to set our eyes on the prize.
If President Clinton affixes his signature to the bill this coming week, as is expected, then the hunt for the dollars will begin in earnest. In line with the coming Halloween Season, I would like to paint a picture of how the battle for the bucks might shape up.
As a fan of the old, classic movies, I would like to go to the days of yesteryear for my analogy to the upcoming hunt for extra money in the federal budget. Close your eyes for a moment and begin to imagine the following scene. The Frankenstein Monster has just been brought to life, and I mean the real Boris Karloff version from 1931. We see lightning and hear thunder, for that lightning is the power that will bring the monster to life. The monster begins to move and the fear in our own hearts grows as we watch the saga unfold in front of our eyes.
We then see the good Doctor Frankenstein gazing up to the stormy skies and screaming, "... it’s alive, it’s alive." In the eyes of his creator, this recreation of life in the form of the monster is a truly amazing and wondrous thing. This breakthrough will mean a great deal to mankind.
However to the inhabitants of the village wherein the castle is located, the monster poses a terrible threat. There is an existing communal order, and as a part of that ethos, the villagers all believe that dead people are supposed to remain dead. So you can see the fear that this could engender in the unbelievers (read that normal citizens). A new order has been introduced into the world and the natural reaction to a change in the world takes over. People grow fearful of the unknown. If you recall the monster, he actually had a quiet and peaceful side.
Fast forward to the next scene. I see the leaders of the village whipping up their neighbors into a fit of frenzy. I see the villagers roaming through the streets carrying torches, and poking into every crevice in their hunt for the monster. And imagine how scared the monster becomes when confronted with the burning torches of the villagers. Actually this is an excellent analogy for our current circumstances.
I use this analogy intentionally, because to those who were involved in the development of the FIRE Bill, it truly is a wonderful creation. And I am in total agreement with that thought. However to the other interest groups on Capitol Hill, we are the new monster on the block. We are the people who never went away. While the size of our monster pales in comparison to those of our defense industry or law enforcement associates, we are none-the-less a threat to the existing status quo. So we can expect to see the angry mobs with torches coming at us as we look to find the dollars for our program.
It does not matter that many of us are approaching this battle with a pure heart and the best of intentions. We are the monster at the gate. We want what they have. That is where my innate sense of cynicism comes into play. How many of the people who are cheering on the castle ramparts with Congressman Pascrell and Congressman Weldon are with them, and how many are just there to be seen on the right side of a very important cause.
There is a certain element within the fire service that consciously sets itself apart from the rest of us. This group has an agenda that differs from that of the Parcrells and the Weldons of the world. But they have finally decided to come on board with the rest of us. And their support has been critical. I just wish it hadn’t taken so long.
The time has come to get to the heart of the whole issue. We are about to receive permission to hunt for money in the federal budget. It will be a truly daunting task. My analogy here could go in one of two directions.
We could discuss the plight of the Welsh coal miners in the 1941 classic, How Green was My Valley? We would use the picture of brave miners descending into the dark and smelly mines with just their helmet lamps and courage to guide their way. We would be those brave miners, searching the depths of the Washington, DC gold and silver mines for spare change to fund the FIRE Bill. This would be the preferred story that I would like to use to describe our brave and united band of fire service stalwarts.
However, if we fall into the dangerous ground of inter-group squabbling, as we have so many times in the past, another picture comes quickly to mind. I see the Seven Dwarfs marching off to the mines as Snow White bids a fond farewell. I can see the likes of Sneezy and Dopey dealing with the slick members of the world of Congressional finances. It is in the midst of this dark and dreary land that you are apt to bump into the lesser known eighth and ninth dwarfs, Sleazy and Gassy. They are no where near as nice as the original seven. Oh Lord let me not have to bring this picture into my mind’s eye.
I ask each of you to speak with one voice when it comes to fighting for the funds. Let the national leaders of our fire service organization know that you stand behind them. It is the force of our lobby and our ability to hang together in the days and weeks that lie just ahead that will determine our success or failure in the hunt for the requisite $100,000,000 and $300,000,000 figures that will soon be our official targets.
To paraphrase a most appropriate appellation from the founding fathers of our great land, "... we must hang together on this issue, or we shall surely be hung out to dry by our supporters if we don’t." This is a critical time, stand fore square behind the leaders of the fire service as we battle for the gold.
The commentary in this column does not necessarily reflect those of Firehouse.Com, Firehouse
Magazine, their employees or parent company Cygnus Business Media.
Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, is an internationally known municipal
fire protection consultant and contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine. He recently retired as a Battalion Commander with the Newark, New Jersey Fire Department.
His commentary appears regularly on Firehouse.Com. For more commentary and information,
visit Carter's web site at www.harrycarter.com
Harry has published several books available for online ordering, including
Firefighting Strategy and Tactics
and Management in the Fire Service
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