HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

This has been a real exciting week in the world of American government. I have had so many email messages about the FIRE Bill, that I literally had to plow my way though piles of paper to make it to my computer keyboard. It is times like this that make me proud to be an American.

As I reviewed the press releases from the many organizations, I felt a great pride. It was as though I was a part of a living, breathing entity, whose mission was to insure the success of the funding measure that was designed to put financial assistance into the hands of the American Fire Service. This is a truly remarkable event.

It reminded me of the heady days back in 1979 when the fire service was celebrating the fact that a National Fire Academy had been created. It reminded me of the joy of attending the dedication of that fine institution. It brought back the great feelings of accomplishment. Something great had been created for the fire service.

What a pleasure it was to actually hold the Federal Register document in my hands entitled, Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program; Final Rule. Ladies and gentlemen, the production of this document by the federal government in less than two months is nothing short of a "bureaucratic miracle." A tip of the helmet is in order for the team led by Acting U.S. Fire Administrator Ken Burris. Somebody in the world of government called in a lot of bureaucratic capital to bring this critical project to life in what I can only portray as the government equivalent of the speed of light.

During this past week, we were also treated to a demonstration of the impact of citizen and organizational interaction with regard to the restoration of a partial funding for the Fire Bill in the 2002 Federal Budget proposal. In the space of three weeks, we went from zero dollars to an amount equal to the existing appropriation. Not a bad start.

I have received a number of messages from the troops across America. They were screaming sellout. They kept saying, "… if we were promised $300,000,000 and only got $100,000,000, we were betrayed." I heard so much about this, from so many different directions, that I felt it was necessary to comment on this critical topic.

There was never a guarantee that we would get the second year of the FIRE Bill money. Those of us who have made the trek to Washington knew that all we had was an opening to go to work for the increased financial amount. We knew that there would be quite a bit of hard work getting ready for the appropriations hearing.

Remember that there are two types of measures at work here. The first is the budgetary authorization. By using of this mechanism, the government is given the authority to go looking for the money. The next step comes in the form of the actual budgetary appropriation. This is the part where the actual dollars are set aside for a given project. Both are important, and neither can work without the other.

The time for explanations is past. The time to get your grant writing skills in gear is now. As I stare at the piles of rules, forms, press releases, and written explanations of the FIRE Bill, I have to think back to the initial Washington, DC meeting on the rules for the grant program back in January. During a meeting at FEMA Headquarters, we were told that the process would be simple. During this past week, I brought that comment to Ken Burris’ attention during a very busy telephone call with him on Tuesday.

During that call I asked him if this stack of forms and files that was building up in my office constituted the simple plan that he had in mind. I asked him if he thought the process, as written, was simple. Much to his credit, he told me that I had obviously misunderstood his original promise. He told me that what he had actually promised was work real hard to make the grant application process as simple as the rules of the federal government would allow.

I had to admit that he had me there. How could I have expected the same people that gave us war, taxes, $1,000 wrenches and $600 toilet seats to do anything in a simple fashion? But I for one am willing to give Ken Burris the benefit of the doubt on this one. I can remember the days when Al Kirchner was the Superintendent of the National Fire Academy. We had a heck of great time chuckling over the reams of regulations that covered the manner in which a new parking spot would be created for him next to his office.

I want to go back to a critical fact here. I had some serious personal doubts that we would be able to create the mechanism that would be used to grade and review the grant applications in a timely fashion. A group of us worked real hard at Emmetsburg back in January to create the grant review procedures. We had some seriously short deadlines, because all of the parts of the rule-making package had to be on their way to the Office of Management and Budget by February 1.

We were told that the troops at FEMA would pull out all of the stops in an attempt to get the rules through the federal system, as quickly as possible. I was somewhat skeptical, but hoped for the best. I want you all to know that I am both pleased and amazed to be holding the written word on the program in my hands here in Adelphia, NJ on March 21, 2001.

I was also pleased to see that we are back on the right road in terms of next years funding. A great many good things have happened in one short week. I guess that you get these good weeks every once in awhile. But there is something that I simply must say.

In far too many cases, a great portion of the fire service in general has depended upon the efforts of a precious few people. Why have we seen the sudden turn around on the Bush Administration’s position? There is a real simple reason for this. All of the major fire organizations went to work on this issue. There are a number of really fine, dedicated fire people who do their best every week, week in and week out to get the message of the fire service into the halls of Congress.

However, there is a very important "AND" involved here. If my emails are correct, a heck of a lot of you kind folks out there across this great land of ours, contacted the President, your Senators and your Representatives. What does all of this translate into? I would say that this means that WE all had a hand in getting the job done.

Having said all of this, I want to mention the importance of the interaction of the major fire service organizations. I will not attempt to list them all. Any attempt to list all might miss one, and cause hard feelings where none should exist. My point is very simple. All of us seem to be coming together in ways not seen since the 1970’s.

It was my good fortune to be a part of the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations (The Joint Council) for a number of years in the 1970’s and 1980’s. While there may be those who question the efficiency and effectiveness of the group, I feel that it was an important group. It allowed for the airing of ideas and concerns. It allowed for a wide variety of divergent interests to sit at the same table and share their concerns.

Another such group exists today. But because of fears of being compared to the Joint Council the members of this ensemble prefer a more loosely constructed assemblage. This group is unofficially known as the Fire Service Summit. It has met on a number of occasions over the past two years. And it has served a real purpose.

Ideas have been shared. Diverse interests have been heard. And most importantly, all in attendance agreed to back the FIRE Bill. It seemed to me that we all recognized the importance of Congressman Pascrell’s legislation. We also seemed to recognize the importance of speaking with one voice on matters affecting the fire service.

My question to the leaders of the American Fire Service at this juncture is quite simple. If we can work so well unofficially, is a real organization the next step? Or should we continue as an ad hoc group? Whichever way it plays out, I want you all to know that I will be an ardent supporter of the resulting organization. (Or lack of an organization.)

We are on the verge of an important period of time. If the FIRE Bill is to become a success, a couple of things must happen.

1. A lot of agencies need to apply
2. A lot of people need to volunteer to review the grant applications
3. All of the money must be given out by the end of September.