By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
DALLAS — FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate pledged to help put the “fire back in the USFA” during a keynote address to Fire-Rescue International in Dallas on Friday.
Administrator Fugate condemned the fact the United States is not a leader in fire safety and has per capita losses that are still too high.
He went on to address the frequency of vehicle crashes during emergency responses, and said it was vital not to continue to refer to them as “accidents.”
Administrator Fugate said it is a “leadership issue” and expressed alarm at the number of firefighters being killed responding to and returning from calls.
He was appointed FEMA secretary earlier in the summer having been Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, where he steered the Southern state through numerous hurricanes since 2001.
He began his emergency management career as a volunteer firefighter, emergency paramedic, and finally as a lieutenant with the Alachua County Fire Rescue.
Administrator Fugate told the audience at FRI the ability to share resources was one of the nation’s greatest strengths, and said the current economic climate was testing everyone.
“We are seeing a trend where we are having to reduce services, having to lay people off … but disasters don’t stop coming just because our budgets aren’t healthy,” he said.
Administrator Fugate said the importance of effective, strong mutual aid has been heightened, not just neighbor to neighbor and region to region, but state to state.
He told the audience that FEMA was only part of a team, which includes the fire service.
“We depend upon our first responders every day and more importantly in disasters,” Administrator Fugate said.
It’s important citizens aren’t seen as a liability in a disaster, he said, but as an “untapped resource.”
“The public needs to be part of the team, too,” Administrator Fugate said.