By Jon Hughes
FireRescue1 Staff
As it has been across the country this month, honoring the victims and heroes of 9/11 was a prominent theme at Fire-Rescue International 2006. The IAFC’s annual expo, held this year at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, kicked off on Friday with a well-attended general session paying tribute to those affected by 9/11 and honoring some of the top achievements in the fire industry over the past year.
The morning session commenced with a lengthy ceremony honoring 9/11. With safety candles donated by Smart Candle (powered by batteries, not fire) spread throughout the audience, Rev. Alphonse Mascherino of Somerset, Pa., read his powerful 9/11-inspired essay “Thunder on the Mountain.”
 Members of the Navy Fire & Emergency Services Department in Rota, Spain receive the International Ben Franklin Fire Service Award for Valor from IAFC President Bill Killen (center) Photo by Riverside Photography, © IAFC |
The session was attended by a number of 9/11 officials, personnel and affected families, who stood from their seats to be recognized in the front of the auditorium. The group included firefighters and FBI officials who participated in the response at one of the three disaster scenes – New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania on 9/11.
One of those recognized and the first to speak was Chris Ganci, son of legendary FDNY Chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., who died at Ground Zero. A Brooklyn firefighter himself, Ganci told a personal story of loss and inspiration, recalling words and lessons from his father.
A Yale graduate, Ganci had planned to go into business after graduation, but his career path was changed by 9/11 and the death of his father. He said he laughs when imagining his father’s reaction upon finding out he had “dropped a hundred grand so his son could pull hose in Brooklyn for $40K a year.”
 Bill Killen waves to the audience during his speech at the Fire-Rescue International general session Friday. Photo by Riverside Photography, © IAFC |
Ganci touched upon the similar qualities and values shared by all firefighters, and poignantly closed with his memories of embracing his father and the distinct “smell of a firefighter, a smell only a firefighter’s son could appreciate.”
The ever-entertaining IAFC President Bill Killen followed with his State of the IAFC address. Killen opened on a serious note, highlighting several areas of concern and frustration in the fire service, and sharing sobering stats such as the fact that the United States has the highest fire death rate of any industrialized nation in the world.
He displayed frustration in pointing out that many of the fire services in communities on the Gulf Coast still need much help following the 2005 hurricane season, and lamented the fact that many area firefighters make less money than Burger King employees. He called for increased support of these services during their long rebuilding process.
Killen called attention to a positive step forward in addressing failures in emergency response to large-scale disasters: the IAFC’s recently released Mutual Aid Strategic Plan (see related article), which specifies processes for coordinating intrastate and interstate mutual aid.
 FEMA Chief R. David Paulison addresses the crowd at the Fire-Rescue International general session Friday. Photo by Riverside Photography, © IAFC |
He then touched on the continuing problem of firefighter deaths and injuries, referencing the recent deaths of two New York City firefighters in the basement of a burning thrift store – an incident referenced a number of times throughout the general session. The recent Firefighter Safety Stand Down, he said, was a good example of a successful effort to bring attention to the issue, and called for it to become an annual event until line of duty deaths are reduced by 50 percent.
“The ability to achieve our goal of reducing firefighter deaths and injuries rests with you,” he said. “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Killen closed with a slightly customized quote from the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers”: “We’re on a mission from God. And this mission is worth it.”
FEMA Chief and former IAFC President R. David Paulison followed Killen with a frank discussion of the current state of the embattled agency. Acknowledging the large amount of criticism FEMA has received in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he implored the audience to move beyond past mistakes and focus on the future of the agency.
Paulison focused on a few specific areas of improvement for FEMA, including incident management, operations planning, disaster logistics, emergency communications and improvements in business/cultural efforts.
The single greatest failure of FEMA’s response to the hurricanes, he said, was the difficulty with communication between agencies.
“We have to be able to share information with each other, regardless of where it comes from,” he said, highlighting a need for a unified command system in the event of disasters.
Among the steps he said the agency has taken recently to remedy such problems is the purchase of 20,000 GPS devices to track supplies headed to affected regions. Misplaced aid shipments were a significant issue in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Paulison said another area of emphasis has been bringing new leadership into FEMA, with an emphasis on finding people “who have been there and done that.”
He said he hopes to establish FEMA as the pre-eminent emergency management agency in the United States, one that works with states to resolve issues “before disasters – not after.”
The IAFC also handed out its yearly awards during the general session, including the prestigious International Ben Franklin Fire Service Award for Valor, sponsored by Motorola, which “recognizes firefighters around the world for their expert training, their loyalty to their profession and their dedication to saving lives.” This year’s award went to the members of the Navy Fire & Emergency Services Department in Rota, Spain. The crew of four braved perilous conditions to rescue 28 people at an apartment fire in Rota, which claimed the lives of two people.
 Chief Alan Brunacini (center) receives the Fire Chief of the Year award at Friday’s Fire-Rescue International general session. Photo by Riverside Photography, © IAFC |
The FIRE CHIEF Magazine Fire Chief of the Year awards went to Chief Thomas Kuntz of the Red Lodge (Mont.) Fire Department and the recently-retired Chief Alan Brunacini, longtime chief of the Phoenix (Ariz.) Fire Department. Unsurprisingly, Brunacini, clad in an ostentatious yellow Hawaiian shirt, drew a lengthy, enthusiastic round of applause as he accepted his award.
The general session concluded with an appearance by now-retired NASCAR veteran Rusty Wallace, whose keynote speech was billed as a lecture on “running a winning organization.” Wallace deviated from the previously-discussed outline and instead focused on highlighting his and his son’s racing successes. Representatives from the IAFC said they were “unhappy with his performance and plan to pursue a full-refund.” While his speech missed the mark with the audience, Wallace did succeed in driving attendees to the opening of the show exhibits, as attendees filed out en masse when Wallace opened up the floor for a question-and-answer session that was short on questions.
Despite Wallace’s speech, the Fire-Rescue International general session succeeded in paying a sincere and moving tribute to the heroes of 9/11 and recognizing recent achievements in the fire service, while also reminding attendees of the current issues that must be faced in the years to come.