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Governmental Affairs Committee |
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GAC Resources For GAC documents, announcements, and information please click here to visit the microsite. Home Day 2007 Toolkit To download the Home Day 2007 Upcoming Events
HELP THE GAC!
Dear FAMA/FEMSA member: In January, you received an e-mail from the FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) asking you to complete a survey that will help the GAC and its consultants learn what congressional relationships FAMA/FEMSA member companies have established. This information is essential to the GAC’s work to increase FAMA/FEMSA’s dialogue with federal government agencies in an effort to educate key officials on the important role our industry plays in providing equipment and services to the nation’s first responders. To help us enhance these efforts, we once again ask you to take a few moments to complete the enclosed survey. Specifically, this survey will help the GAC compile a comprehensive list of FAMA/FEMSA members’ locations and the congressional senators and representatives for those locations, an important step in establishing an educational network with the members of Congress and the administration. Please note that the survey can be conveniently completed online here. We also ask that the survey be completed as soon as possible. We have tried to keep this survey as simple and straightforward as possible. We thank you in advance for your assistance in this important effort. Sincerely, FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee
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DHS Coordinates Federal Response to California Wildfires Secretary Chertoff Describes IED Prevention Strategy IAFC and the U.S. Department of Transportation Partner to A Brand New World: Virtual Emergency Operations Centers Chertoff Slams FEMA’s Fake News Conference NVFC Testifies to Congress on Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act
DHS Coordinates Federal Response to California Wildfires Secretary Chertoff and FEMA Administrator David Paulison, followed by President Bush, last week toured southern California as the region experienced the worst wildfires since 2003. DHS, through FEMA, continued to coordinate the assets and resources of the federal government, in conjunction with the state of California and local agencies, as firefighters started to gain the upper hand and bring most of the fires under control. Damage estimates exceed $1 billion, nearly 1 million people evacuated their homes, and there were 14 deaths reported due to the fires. Arson is suspected in some of the fires and an investigation is under way. On Wednesday, Secretary Chertoff toured the area and visited Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Administrator Paulison, and participated in a news conference to report the actions that the department and the rest of the federal government were taking. Secretary Chertoff, addressing the International Association of Fire Chiefs on Friday, spoke highly of the entire response effort, including that of state and local governments and the private sector. “We’ve really leaned forward and been aggressive in providing support for this disaster. I think it’s clear that the lessons we learned from Katrina and the work we’ve done over the past two years to plan and prepare for these kinds of events are now paying off,” he said in prepared remarks. A transcript of his remarks is available at: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1193431068145.shtm. Here are some of the actions taken by DHS components in response to the wildfires:
The department coordinated many of its actions with other federal agencies and departments, as well as with the American Red Cross, which provided shelters and more than 3,000 staff and volunteers to the area.
Source: DHS Secretary Chertoff Describes IED Prevention Strategy On Friday, in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Secretary Chertoff referred to a Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD), to be issued very soon, that will document the department’s actions in detecting and preventing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He stressed that the HSPD will “memorialize” in some national planning documents what the department has put into effect in the real world, saying that deeds and actions are more important than words on paper. Noting that the vast majority of terrorist attacks are carried out with IEDs, and that dealing with IEDs is a global challenge, the secretary made four general observations about preventing IED attacks: First is the need to stop the chain of events that leads up to the construction of an IED—interfering with the funding, the development of the terrorist organization, and the entry into the country by outside operatives who can build and deliver a bomb. Second, he said that we must recognize that IEDs are not only a federal problem, but that the private sector plays a big role in designing and building the devices that can detect and prevent IEDs. Third, he emphasized the importance of targeted intelligence as a method of preventing attacks that also minimizes the disruption and inconvenience to the vast majority of people. Fourth, he cited the importance of public observation, as was demonstrated in London and Glasgow this summer, in countering IED threats. In closing, after detailing the department’s many initiatives and accomplishments in managing the risk of IED attacks, the secretary said, “All of these things put together are what I think constitute a soup-to-nuts, left-to-right, full-spectrum strategy for countering IED threats…We’ve had this strategy in place, it is currently working. We expect to continue to build it. And I believe that in so doing we are continuing to make this country safer.” To read the full text of the secretary’s remarks, go to http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1192831792023.shtm.
Source: DHS Leadership Update: President Intends to Designate Paul Schneider Acting Deputy Secretary; FEMA Names New Law Enforcement Advisor President Bush last week announced his intention to designate Paul Schneider, currently the department’s Under Secretary for Management, as acting deputy secretary. Current Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson announced last month that he would resign, effective Oct. 26. Secretary Chertoff issued a statement regarding this appointment saying, “Paul has exhibited tremendous leadership and dedication as the Under Secretary for Management. He has the respect and admiration of staff and my full support. I am grateful for his service and look forward to his achievements in this capacity.” In his statement, the secretary said that Schneider will serve as chief operating officer with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations of the department, noting Schneider’s extensive federal experience. Schneider’s federal service began in 1965 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a project engineer. His years of experience include such challenging positions as the deputy director of NAVSEA’S Auxiliary Systems Sub-Group, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, and the Senior Acquisition Executive of the National Security Agency. In a separate announcement, FEMA Administrator David Paulison announced that Charles “Rick” Dinse has been appointed law enforcement advisor to the administrator. The new position was created by the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006. “Rick’s more than 40 years of leadership in law enforcement, and his background in disaster preparedness, critical incident management, and media and community relations will benefit FEMA as we continue to rebuild the agency,” said Paulison. Dinse will provide FEMA with a law enforcement perspective on agency plans and policies. He will also be the senior advisor to FEMA on law enforcement programs and will support FEMA’s growing interaction with law enforcement associations, fusion centers, and terrorism task forces, and will provide expert support to preparedness, prevention, and protection programs.
Source: DHS IAFC and the U.S. Department of Transportation Partner to Fairfax, Va., Oct. 30, 2007... The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHSMA) to lead the development of a new data center that will collect and analyze hazardous-materials incident data in order to enhance first-responder tactics, operations, policy and training. The Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Fusion Center (Hazmat Fusion Center) will build a secure, web-based network to facilitate information sharing for first responders training for and responding to hazardous materials incidents. This knowledge-base will help ensure that hazmat incidents are handled safely and securely. It will be the first such hazmat data center for the first-responder community, but both the effort to create it and the results it will produce will encompass a broader range of stakeholders. It will provide crucial knowledge for all decision makers on the transportation and delivery of hazardous materials. “Our new partnership will help us do a better job accessing and sharing information to improve the safety of hazardous materials transportation,” said PHMSA Acting Administrator Krista Edwards. “It will prevent accidents and improve our capability to respond to those we cannot prevent.” Under the agreement, IAFC will spearhead the project, providing program management, technical advisors and subject matter expertise, and will establish initial data-collection efforts. The cooperative agreement is for a one-year period, with options to renew for four additional one-year terms. Year One of the program will focus on establishing the data center’ technical and human elements from the ground-up. “The IAFC is proud to be a part of this landmark project with the Department of Transportation,” said IAFC President Chief Steven P. Westermann, CFO. “The days of moving forward on program policy decisions and technical solutions without data are over. The fire and emergency service, government and industry will finally have the national-level information they need to create effective, data-driven practices for response and mitigation to hazardous materials incidents.” The Hazmat Fusion Center will serve three purposes. 1. Information collection, which will include: Developing a central location for the collection of information on the nation’s hazmat teams (location, capabilities, equipment, etc.) Developing effective practices, planning tools and resources for first responders Recommendations for safely responding to hazmat incidents
Source: IAFC A Brand New World: Virtual Emergency Operations Centers The primary function of any EOC is to establish and manage the Four C's: Control, Communication, Collaboration, and Coordination. So, what does an EOC look like when it "goes virtual"? Regina Phelps expounds. Click Here to Read the Full Article
Source: Disaster Resource Guide Chertoff Slams FEMA’s Fake News Conference The much maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency is getting slammed again during a disaster – and this time, even Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is piling on the criticism. Why did FEMA stage a phony press conference in the first place? The Associated Press says Chertoff tore into his employees for staging the fake press conference about assistance to the victims of the California wildfires late last week. FEMA staffers posed as reporters at the press conference, lobbying “soft” questions to deputy director Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson. “I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I’ve seen since I’ve been in government,” Chertoff told AP. “I have made unambiguously clear, in Anglo-Saxon prose, that it is not to ever happen again and there will be appropriate disciplinary action taken against those people who exhibited what I regard as extraordinarily poor judgment.” However, when AP asked Chertoff specifically if he planned to fire anyone at FEMA, which is part of his department, he declined to say, citing personnel rules. “There will be appropriate discipline,” he told reporters at a real news conference last week. He added he knew nothing about the matter until after it happened and that he “can’t explain why it happened.” The White House and the press have also been critical of FEMA after the faux press conference. “The agency, much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago, arranged to have FEMA employees play the part of reporters at the event,” AP says. To read the full article, click here: link Source: Disaster Resource Guide NVFC Testifies to Congress on Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act On October 17, NVFC Connecticut State Director John McAuliffe called on Congress to pass the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (H.R. 943) at a hearing held jointly by two subcommittees of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. H.R. 943 would prohibit the federal government from taxing benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel by state and local units of government. “Volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel are essential to our nation’s safety and security,” said McAuliffe. “A 2004 study revealed that volunteer first responders save American taxpayers $37.2 billion per year. Without volunteer first responders, many communities simply would not be able to afford to provide firefighting and emergency medical services at all.” Over the past 20 years, the number of volunteer firefighters in the country has decreased from about 900,000 to about 800,000. To enhance retention and recruitment efforts, state and local governments have started providing volunteer first responders with benefits. The federal government taxes these benefits as income, diminishing their value and undermining their intended purpose. Additionally, federal taxation of volunteer benefits places a significant administrative burden on units of government in small communities. The services provided by volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel are vital to our nation’s safety and security. Considering the challenges of retention and recruitment, benefits are needed to preserve and increase the ranks of volunteers. The NVFC supports H.R. 943 and will work toward its passage through Congress. Read the testimony.
Source: NVFC
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatalities: Name: Ralph Cross Rank: Assistant Fire Chief Age: 73 Gender: Male Status: Volunteer Years of Service: 34 Date of Incident: 10/27/2007 Time of Incident: 1500hrs Date of Death: 10/27/2007 Fire Department: Charlevoix Township Fire Department Address: 204 Park Row Ave., Charlevoix, MI 49720-1393 Telephone: (231) 547-3279 Fire Department Chief: Curt Thompson Incident Description: Collapsed and passed away from an apparent heart attack while performing public fire prevention and education duties. Funeral Arrangements: Pending Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending Tribute is being paid to Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Cross at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/ Name: Bob Phillips Date of Incident: 10/25/2007 Time of Incident: 1130 hrs Name: Scott Mumm Rank: Lieutenant Age: 34 Gender: Male Status: Paid-on-call Years of Service: 13 Date of Incident: 10/29/2007 Time of Incident: 1718hrs Date of Death: 10/29/2007
Fire Department: Mendota Fire Department Address: 610 Main St., Mendota, IL 61342-1983 Fire Department Chief: Dennis Rutishauser Fire Department Website: http://www.mendotafire.com/
Incident Description: Lieutenant Mumm responded to a coal rail car fire and assisted with tanker water supply operations. The train car burning was fully extinguished approximately two hours later and all firefighters were released at 2010hrs. Lieutenant Mumm returned home and went to bed for a nap prior to his other job at midnight. When Mumm’s wife attempted to awaken him at 2130hrs, he was unresponsive. The fire department and EMS responded to Mumm’s residence, and paramedics found him not breathing with no pulse. Lieutenant Mumm was transported to the hospital, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Funeral Arrangements: Pending. Please visit http://www.mendotafire.com/ for details as they become available. Memorial Fund Contact and Address: In honor of Lieutenant Scott Mumm, Mendota Fire Department, 610 Main St., Mendota, IL 61342-1983 Tribute is being paid to Lieutenant Scott Mumm at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/
Source: USFA |
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