By Joseph DeBell
The Frederick News-Post
EMMITSBURG, Md. — FEMA says staffing at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg has remained relatively stable despite agencywide workforce reductions. The agency says recent course cancellations were driven primarily by government shutdowns.
A Government Accountability Office report released this month found that more than 4,300 employees — about 17% of FEMA’s workforce — were “separated” from the agency during fiscal 2025, a 55% increase from the previous year.
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Another 2,545 employees “separated” between Oct. 1, 2025, and May 16, 2026, while 134 new employees were hired during that period, according to the GAO.
The GAO found that FEMA’s workforce reductions resulted in a loss of experienced personnel and institutional knowledge and that the agency made workforce decisions without first conducting an analysis of whether it had enough employees with the necessary skills to meet its mission.
But FEMA told The Frederick News-Post that the broader reductions have not produced a comparable staffing decline at the National Fire Academy, which is still carrying out its mission.
“Current staffing at the academy remains in line with the previous year,” a FEMA spokesperson said.
FEMA has not responded to The Frederick News-Post’s request for exact academy staffing totals, vacancy numbers or figures showing how many courses were canceled outright as opposed to being rescheduled, renamed or recoded.
Shutdowns blamed for cancellations
The National Fire Academy’s website lists a number of individual course offerings as canceled in 2026 and 2027.
FEMA said 2026 cancellations were driven primarily by government shutdown periods totaling 120 days, which the agency said significantly restricted its operations.
The shutdowns happened in three stretches: a 42-day government-wide funding lapse from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025; a three-day lapse from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, 2026; and a 75-day Department of Homeland Security funding lapse from Feb. 14 to April 30.
The academy has added classes and moved affected students into future offerings, FEMA said, and the agency does not currently anticipate additional cancellations beyond normal levels.
Charlotte Green of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs said an Incident Safety Officer course scheduled for Aug. 29 and 30 was listed as canceled because it had been renamed “Applications of Operational Safety” and assigned a different course code.
The course remained scheduled for the same weekend and the change did not affect firefighters planning to attend, Green said.
In March 2025, FEMA canceled all on- and off-site National Fire Academy classes while it reviewed agency programs and spending.
A National Weekend sponsored by Women in Fire, scheduled for May 17 and 18, 2025, had already been canceled after a Department of Homeland Security directive.
The academy said at the time that the decision followed DHS policy “consistent and compliant with all applicable Executive Orders.” The news site Firehouse reported the cancellation amid the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Frederick County personnel affected
Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services personnel periodically attend National Fire Academy courses, particularly Maryland Weekend programs, fire investigation courses and Executive Fire Officer projects, Battalion Chief Frank Malta said.
Malta estimated that eight to 12 county personnel attended academy courses in 2025 and 2026.
Some county personnel have had courses canceled or changed, Malta said, but the reason they were given was the government shutdown.
Malta said he hasn’t noticed a broader decrease in course availability, although he hasn’t monitored the academy’s overall schedule closely. He isn’t aware of staffing or operational changes at the academy affecting county personnel.
Fire investigation training is particularly valuable because comparable classes can be difficult to find quickly, Malta said. When academy courses have been unavailable, the county has used programs offered by the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute.
Malta said the academy remains important to Frederick County because of its training opportunities, partnership with local fire and rescue personnel and exposure to new research.
Volunteer departments concerned
Ryan Woodward, chief of legislative and regulatory affairs for the National Volunteer Fire Council, said the academy is particularly important for smaller volunteer departments that may not have access to comparable specialized training locally.
Its online programs and partnerships with state academies are especially valuable to volunteers, he said.
Woodward said council members experienced delayed or canceled classes during government shutdowns, with some losing money on airfare.
He said he knows courses were postponed, but couldn’t say whether firefighters lost training opportunities.
Woodward said conditions have improved and classes are getting back on track, but another shutdown or prolonged disruption could make the academy unreliable for firefighters who must plan training around jobs and family responsibilities.
He expressed concern about FEMA staffing reductions generally, but said he had not been told directly that the reductions caused problems specifically at the academy.
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