HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

The deadline for the FIRE Bill is now a part of the history of the American Fire Service.  People around the nation are sharing high-fives and celebrating the arrival of thousands of FIRE Bill application packages at Emmitsburg, joy reigns supreme.  Oh, there is still a great deal of work to do, but it was that work that served as the reason for all of our efforts.

 This whole scenario is a far cry from the early scene at the United States Fire Administration (USFA) in Emmitsburg, MD. Going back a couple of weeks ago, it was pretty much like an old John Wayne movie.  The settlers had the wagons circled, their rifles were at the ready.  Off in the distance the hostile war cries could be heard, readying for the attack.  Lastly, a fast rider had been sent back to the fort to get the cavalry.  Just as things looked like they were at their very worst, the sound of bugles were heard in the distance, moments later the dear old cavalry came charging over the hill.  The fire service has made the necessary last minute surge.  The American Fire Service Cavalry has arrived, as we all hoped it would.

However at this happy moment, I feel that I must share an important, every day analogy with you.  What transpired these past weeks reminds me of the weekly starting time at my Lutheran church every Sunday.  Everyone in the congregation is well aware of the fact that the service starts at 8:30 AM.  It has historically started at that time for many more years than I have been a member.  But regardless of that well-known fact, don’t get caught standing in the parking lot at 8:29 AM.   You might well have to duck and dodge like a pedestrian trying to cross Times Square in New York City, during rush hour.

I want you to know that it was that way last Sunday, as always.  Since I sit in the back of the congregation (just in case my fire company pager goes off), I get to see the herd come thundering in, just as the organist is firing up for the opening hymn.  I wonder if it was that way at Emmitsburg during the past few days.  I can only imagine what it was like as the streams of US Mail trucks, FedEx, DHL, UPS vans, and all other manner of delivery vehicles bore down on the NFA campus, one after the other.

I can imagine Ken Burris, Dennis Onieal, Smiley White and Charlie Dickinson standing out there in front of the campus, with white hats, and orange fire police vests on, directing the bumper-to-bumper flow of delivery vehicles.  There were probably even orange plastic traffic control cones to line out the various lanes for the different delivery companies.

Heck, over 5,000 packages arrived on Monday alone.  There is even the true story of a New Jersey Fire Chief who had so little faith in any of the delivery systems, that he dropped his application package off in person.  But that’s the way we are up here in New Jersey.  We are a very suspicious group.  And it wasn’t that far out of his way for my dear friend Bob Edwards, as he was on his way to the Fire Caucus Dinner in Washington, DC that evening.

They are now just shy of 19,000 applications stacked in piles all over the Emmitsburg area.  I can only imagine how many piles, neat and otherwise exist in rooms all around the National Fire Academy Campus.  Rumor has it that the USFA has contracted with the Ott House in downtown Emmitsburg to handle the overflow, or so I have heard.

My pals and I that worked on the FIRE Bill project are really quite pleased and proud.  Over 50 percent of the identifiable American Fire Service has leaped at the chance to receive Federal funding.  Good for them.  Shame on the rest of them for not taking a shot, whatever their reasons might be.

However, if my email is any gauge of the world in general, you just cannot please everyone.  Of course you can imagine that I really don’t try that hard to please EVERYONE.  Funny thing though, I actually received an email from one disgruntled reader who warned me not to take credit for any of the people who sent their applications in after I wrote my two articles on the FIRE Bill program that appeared at www.HarryCarter.com and www.Firehouse.com.

A strange request, but it was one that merited an answer from me.  Okay, my dear reader, I won’t take any credit.  However, I am pleased to say that I will graciously accept the appreciative comments of all who thanked me for bringing the grant application situation to their attention.  And I will also graciously accept the thanks of my friends at Emmitsburg.

I reassured one reader that personal glory was not the issue here for me.  The true issue was the success or failure of a critically important fire service program.  I didn’t do what I did for the notoriety.  However, I was concerned that if we, as a fire service, didn’t bombard the USFA with applications, next years’ program might be in jeopardy.   It is now possible to think about the coming battle to ratchet up the FIRE Bill funding to the next level.

Let me take a moment and share a few of the scores of kind words that flowed into my email mailbox:

·                    From Missouri I heard, “I would like to compliment and thank you for your dedication and assistance to the fire service. It is not necessary for everyone to agree with you or anyone else for anyone's efforts to be of benefit to the fire service.”

·                    From Louisiana came the words, "Your kick in the butt" to the fire service concerning the grants was well timed and well received.  I have e-mailed the 30 or so fire departments in my address book, repeating some of your comments, and encouraged them to thank USFA/FEMA for keeping the application simple and "red tape" free.

·                    From Arizona came the words of the small town fire person who stated, “I appreciate your column in Firehouse and just wanted to let you know you are heard out here in the boondocks.  I guess some of us (myself included) needed a boot in the keister to get us started.”

·                    From the Chief of a small fire department in Louisiana, came the words, “ … I think your editorial got a lot of people moving.  Certainly did in my case.”

·                    From a young firefighter in Alabama, “… Once again you have hit the nail on the head.  In your commentary this week, you talked of the deadlines for the applications for the FIRE ACT.  I agree they were too short, but I did find that in my department we were the ones who fell short.  Thank you for being honest, and helping us young ones see the mistakes for what they are, so we can maybe change them in the future.”

·                    And lastly from a Brother Mason in the great state of Maine.  With regard to my comments on apathy, he said quite proudly, “… we aren’t apathetic in Aroostook County Maine!!  At the County Chiefs meeting today, one or two departments had not filed for the grant program.  Boy, were they ever chastised by us into applying. One is a small  fire department, funded by the county. Their chief said that the County would not support a request. He was told by the members that if he should receive the grant we would pressure the County Commissioners into supporting their needs.”

These types of comments give me great hope for the future of the fire service.  And for those of you who take serious issue with what I have written over the past two weeks, I also want to say thank you.  I want to thank you for taking the time to share your views with me.

As I pause to draw a fresh breath of clean, New Jersey suburban air, I want you to know that it is my intention to monitor the entire process as closely as I possibly can.  By studying the entire system, we can ascertain what went right, and what did not.  Only through an honest evaluation of the system can it be made better for the next round of FIRE Bill grant applications in 2002.

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