On March 9, IAFC President Chief Jim Harmes testified at the House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee’s hearing on “Preparing for Disasters, Natural and Otherwise.” This hearing was an important first step in the process of appropriating funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the upcoming fiscal year.
Chief Harmes was joined on a panel by International Association of Fire Fighters President Harold A. Schaitberger; Mike Selves, president of International Association of Emergency Managers; Bruce Baughman, immediate past president of National Emergency Management Association; and Chief Jeff Cash, North Carolina state director, National Volunteer Fire Council.
Former IAFC President and current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director R. David Paulison also testified at this hearing on a panel with William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director for Homeland and Security and Justice Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the federal government’s role in the preparing for disasters. Chief Harmes discussed a number of issues important to America’s fire service. He called for the U.S Fire Administration’s (USFA) budget to be increased from $46.8 million in fiscal year (FY) 2007 to $50 million in FY 2008. The USFA has begun a number of new initiatives that need to be fully funded. Recently, the USFA began to staff a desk at the DHS’s National Operations Center. This development should increase the ability of the local fire chief to receive threat information at the same time as the local police chief.
Chief Harmes called for making the National Fire Incident Reporting System web-based and easier to use. He also urged Congress and the Bush administration to hire more policy staff at USFA. These personnel are needed to ensure the fire service has greater input in a new credentialing system, training doctrine and other new programs. Chief Harmes highlighted the importance of funding these initiatives to help America’s fire service reduce the loss of life and property due to fires and other natural and manmade disasters.
Chief Harmes also called for increased funding for the FIRE and SAFER grant programs. He described how these programs are designed to meet the needs of the fire service. He cited a number of examples from the USFA/National Fire Protection Association’s October 2006 report titled “Four Years Later—A Second Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service” to show that there is still a demonstrated need for these programs.
For example, an estimated 65 percent of fire departments don’t have enough portable radios to equip all emergency responders on a shift. An estimated 60 percent don’t have enough self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to equip all firefighters on a shift and about half (48 percent) of fire departments don’t have enough personal alert safety system (PASS) devices to equip all emergency responders on a shift.
Chief Harmes also urged the committee to support Chief Paulison’s efforts to reform the FEMA by hiring a cadre of experienced emergency managers and improving the agency’s logistical operations. Last year, Congress passed legislation to move the USFA and the Office of Grants and Training into the FEMA and protect the FEMA’s budget and mission from the DHS’ constant reorganizations. Chief Harmes urged the committee fully fund FEMA’s budget to ensure that the agency was prepared for future disasters.
“It was a great opportunity to educate Congress on the important role of the fire service in promoting preparedness for all hazards,” said Chief Harmes.