Meeting the Needs of the Fire Service: H.R. 4548

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is E. James Monihan and I am the Former Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and currently serve as the Delaware State Director and Chairman of the Legislative Committee.  The NVFC represents the interests of the nation's nearly 800,000 volunteer firefighters, who staff over 90% of America's fire departments. I currently serve as a volunteer firefighter with the Lewes Fire Department in Lewes, Delaware.  I have served as a firefighter for 43 years and still respond regularly to calls.  I have had experience in all phases of the life of a first responder, including chemical and hazardous materials incidents, EMS, rescue and fire.

In addition to serving as Chairman of the NVFC’s Legislative Committee, I have represented the NVFC on a variety of panels and committees, including the 1998 Blue Ribbon Panel, which provided recommendations on improving the operation of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA).  I earn my livelihood in hospital administration, which has allowed me to get a unique view of the emergency services from both the medical and fire service perspectives.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), nearly 75% of all firefighters are volunteers.  In most years, more than half of the firefighters that are killed in the line of duty are volunteers.  In addition to the obvious contribution that volunteer firefighters lend to their communities as the first arriving domestic defenders, these brave men and women represent a significant cost saving to taxpayers, a savings sometimes estimated to be as much as $40 billion annually.

On behalf of the volunteer fire service, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, including legislation (H.R. 4548) that would reauthorize the program as a distinct program separate from the consolidated FEMA First Responder block grant program proposed by the Administration in its fiscal year 2003 budget request.  I also appreciate the opportunity to clarify the NVFC’s position on H.R. 3992, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Firefighters Act.  The SAFER Act would provide grants to local government entities to help hire additional firefighters.

The September 11, 2001 tragedies in New York, Arlington, Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania made it clear to all Americans that the fire service is the first responder to all terrorist attacks this country may face. Administration officials and Members of Congress continue to warn Americans of the certainty of a future terrorist incident.  As America’s domestic first responders, the fire service will be on the front lines of any incident and must be prepared to respond to and defend our citizens from the aftermath of a terrorist attack using conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction. This expands our normal services beyond the delivery of fire, EMS, rescue, and technical specialty services to our citizens. These services already have time and training demands that are escalating annually.

FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

One of the largest problems faced by America's volunteer fire service is funding. Thanks to your leadership Chairman Boehlert, and the leadership of many members of this Committee and throughout Congress, the Federal government took a giant step in addressing the basic needs of America’s fire service by creating the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Every fire department across the country is now eligible for funding for safety and firefighting equipment, apparatus, training, fire prevention and education, emergency medical service equipment and training, and wellness and fitness programs.

In the first year of the program, which was funded at the $100 million level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) received grant requests totaling $2.99 billion. In the end, FEMA awarded 1,855 competitive grants to local fire departments, including 1,375 to volunteer and combination fire departments. Of these, 1,379 grants totaling $55,377,798 were awarded in communities with populations below 20,000 people. Many of these were rural and suburban volunteer fire departments that struggle the most to provide their members with adequate protective gear, safety devices and training to protect their communities.

These fire companies, in towns across America, are being asked to respond to emergency calls involving hazardous materials, structural fire suppression, clandestine drug labs, search and rescue, natural disasters, wildland fires, emergency medical services, and terrorism.  Many of these emergencies occur at federal facilities and buildings and on federal lands. In addition, these incidents can damage America’s critical infrastructure, including our interstate highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, financial centers, power plants, refineries, and chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. We as a fire service are sworn to protect these critical facilities and infrastructure.

In these difficult times, while volunteer fire departments are already struggling to handle their own needs and finances, they are now forced to provide more services. Often, local governments are unable to afford the extensive training and specialized equipment that these activities require.  The funding problems in America’s volunteer fire service are not just limited to rural areas.  As suburbs continue to grow, so does the burden on the local fire and EMS department.  Even though many of these departments have the essentials, they are unable to gain access to new technologies.   At no other time have advances been greater in equipment to protect them and make their jobs safer.  Yet because the newer technology is so expensive, many volunteer fire departments are forced to forgo the purchase of the new technology or use outdated equipment.

Again, thanks to the leadership of many members of this committee, funding for the program was increased to a total of $360 million in fiscal year 2002 and FEMA is currently in the process of awarding this year’s grants. Late last year, Congress also passed a reauthorization of the program for $900 million for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2004 and the Senate Appropriations Committee has fully funded the program for FY 2003. On behalf of America’s volunteer fire service, I strongly urge the House to follow the Senate’s lead and fully fund this vital program at the authorized level of $900 million for fiscal year 2003 and keep it as a separate and distinct program under FEMA and USFA.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program has proved to be the most effective program to date in providing local volunteer and career fire departments not only with the tools they need to perform their day-to-day duties, but it has also enhanced their ability to respond to large disasters as well. As we move to prepare for terrorist incidents at home, we must first make sure that local fire departments have the basic tools they need to do their jobs on a daily basis, before we can ask them to be fully prepared to respond to terrorist incidents.

This program has been successful because it is the only federal program that provides funding directly to fire departments. Far too often federal funds intended to aid fire departments are diverted to other uses by state and local officials. In addition, the program’s success can be attributed to the fact that members of the fire service have been involved in nearly every aspect to ensure that it addresses our current needs.  We have helped to write the legislation, set the criteria for each category, and have staffed panels to grade the applications.

I would like to take this time to commend FEMA and U.S Fire Administrator David Paulison and his staff for the outstanding work they have done in administering the program.  The Grants Office, under extremely tight deadlines, has performed remarkably in processing the nearly 20,000 applications totaling approximately $2.2 billion it received this year and has been very responsive to the needs of the fire service.

However, there are ways the program can be improved.  Although the FEMA regional offices did an outstanding job last year holding grant writing workshops across the country, we are still hearing that some of the neediest departments are being turned down or not applying at all. The NVFC looks forward to working with FEMA to redouble our efforts in the coming year to increase our outreach to all corners of this country.

Finally, the NVFC strongly supports Chairman Nick Smith’s legislation (H.R. 4548) to reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.  The legislation is very similar to the current authorizing language for the program that was included in the FY 2002 Defense Authorization bill (Public Law 107-107).  However, Mr. Smith’s bill strengthens the United States Fire Administration’s oversight of the program, mandates the current peer review process, and adds support for volunteer training as one of the purposes for which a fire department may request money.  Authorizers of a successful grant program, such as this one, must constantly look at ways to improve the program to keep it effective. Mr. Smith’s legislation does just that.

First Responder Initiative

Terrorism and hazardous materials response training and equipment are of vital importance to America’s fire service. Even the best-prepared localities lack adequate resources to respond to the full range of terrorist threats this country faces.  Many jurisdictions, especially those in rural and suburban areas protected by volunteers, have little or no capability to respond to terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction.

Although the fire service is very pleased that the President's fiscal year 2003 budget request included over $3.5 billion to assist our nation’s first responders with training, equipment, and planning, we are concerned that the budget recommendation would negatively impact the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.  The administration has proposed to consolidate this grant program into a completely new state-based block grant initiative called the First Responder Initiative. We look forward to working with the Congress and Administration to assure that this new counter-terrorism initiative is successful and positively impacts local fire departments in suburban and rural communities. However, we believe that it would be counterproductive for the new program to replace the valuable and proven Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is targeted at basic response to everyday emergencies while the First Responder Initiative is geared toward larger disaster response issues, such as weapons of mass destruction.  Though some issues are similar, those departments without capability to handle routine emergencies are greatly impeded in preparing for and responding to disasters in a cooperative manner.

The NVFC is also concerned about the possibility that a large portion of this new funding for equipment and training would get bogged down in state agencies and would not get down to the local fire departments that need it most. In addition, although we understand the special needs and concerns of America’s large metropolitan areas, Congress and FEMA cannot forget smaller communities, whose fire, rescue and EMS personnel also need the basic training and equipment to recognize and respond to these incidents.  While these communities may not seem to be prime terrorist targets, it is this very perception that makes them especially vulnerable.

Finally, we have had many concerns regarding the use of the term “first responder.” The definition must be clearly articulated from the onset, placing heavy emphasis on response times and exposure to risks. First responders are fire and rescue, emergency medical services and law enforcement personnel. Period. This definition will determine to a large extent the distribution of federal funds to local, state and federal response agencies.

In a March 27, 2002 speech in Greenville, South Carolina, President Bush said, “homeland security in the heartland is just as important as homeland security in the big cities.” We fully agree with the President and we look forward to working with the Congress and FEMA to ensure that these concerns are addressed and that this program is a success.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Firefighters Act (H.R. 3992)

Personnel shortages are another large concern of America’s fire service. Many departments, in communities of all sizes, struggle on a daily basis to adequately staff local fire stations and respond to calls. Personnel shortfalls endanger the safety of firefighters and hinder the ability of first responders to effectively protect the public from fire and other hazards.  Many studies and standards indicate there needs to be a minimum numbers of personnel on-scene to perform lifesaving measures safely.  Other studies indicate proper staffing required to adequately protect property.  Simply put, when firefighters cannot safely work, they are unable to save lives and property.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters Act (H.R. 3992) authorizes the U.S. Fire Administrator to make grants to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, other public entities, to hire additional career firefighters.  The NVFC supports passage of this legislation.

However, any initiative by Congress to address the personnel shortfall in the fire service needs to include a significant recruitment and retention component to account for the more than 90% of America’s communities protected by volunteers. The recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel has become the number one challenge facing America’s volunteer fire service. The ranks of the volunteer fire service have decreased over 10% in the last 20 years.

The biggest factor contributing to the decline is increased time demands on the volunteer. This results from increased training hours to comply with more rigorous training requirements, increased fundraising demands, people living further away from their jobs, combined with an increased volume of calls. Many volunteers firefighters become frustrated because they have to spend much of their time raising money to buy life-saving equipment, when they could be training or at home with their families. The increased call volume is a result of the fire services’ ever-expanding role into areas such as EMS, terrorism, vehicle extrication, natural disaster response and more.  In addition, in many of our communities the lack of affordable housing makes it hard to keep young firefighters in town.

Moreover, expectations of the fire service have changed over the years due to perception and standards development.  In many cases this is a positive change, however it has caused many to leave the volunteer service.  A study of volunteerism within the Gaston County, North Carolina fire service indicated annual turnover of personnel exceeding 25%.  This equates to tremendous loss of talent each year, thus departments are less able to meet their staffing needs and advanced training is rarely offered because members are consumed with basic functions.

A reduction in standards would reduce service levels, therefore we feel the answer is to maintain current standards while providing incentives for departments and their members to maintain those standards.   Providing incentives intended to reduce departure from the fire service is essential to maintaining a healthy system.

Some possible solutions include: funding for national and local recruitment campaigns; tax credits and deductions for volunteers; funding for length of service award programs and other pension programs for volunteers; incentives for employers to allow employees, who are volunteers, time off for training or emergency calls; tuition assistance for higher education and increased proliferation of on-line training on-demand for volunteers.

Finally, another concern our organization has is the growing trend of career firefighters being harassed by their local unions for volunteering in their home communities during their off-duty hours.  Article XV of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) constitution says that a firefighter may be reprimanded, fined, removed from office, suspended, or expelled for “advocating or encouraging any labor or any other rival organization, or acquiring or maintaining membership in any such organization including volunteer fire departments or associations.”

In recent months there have been many reports that local union affiliates are threatening to take action against their members if they do not stop volunteering. The NVFC has received reports from concerned firefighters in California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington State, Ontario, Canada and more.

Unless this situation is remedied, passage of this legislation may actually proliferate the problem.  As you may know, when a fire department looks to hire additional personnel, they very often employ firefighters that already serve as volunteers in surrounding departments because they are already trained and experienced.  If you couple that with the current union policy that prohibits their members from volunteering, you may severely affect the staffing and expertise levels in many volunteer fire companies.

In the last year the President of the United States has been encouraging all Americans to commit to service of their neighbors and their nation by becoming volunteers. We hope that we can all work together to heed the President’s call to community service. We furthermore urge members of this Committee to include language in the SAFER Bill to ensure a career firefighter, especially those who are hired under the provisions of this bill, the right to volunteer in his or her community.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your time and your attention to the views of America's fire service, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

E. James Monihan, FACHE

Professional
* Fellow and Past Regent for Delaware - American College of Healthcare Executives

* Member and Past Delegate to the House of Delegates - American Society of Hospital Pharmacists

* Founding Secretary, Vice President and President
Delmarva Council of Hospital Executives

Fire Service

    * President and Deputy Chief - Lewes Fire Department

    * President Sussex County Volunteer Firemen's Association

    * President, Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association

    * Chairman, National Volunteer Fire Council (12 years)

    * Chairman, Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations

    * United States Director, Federation of World Volunteer Firefighters Association

    * Currently Delaware Director, National Volunteer Fire Council and Chairman, Legislative Committee

Associations

    * Represent Delaware Healthcare Association (appointed by Governor)
      Delaware Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (DEMSAC)
      Delaware Paramedic Advisory Council

    * Founding Chairman, Association of Delaware Hospital
      Committed Group Purchasing Program (10 years)

    * Chairman, City of Lewes (Delaware) Project Impact Hazard Mitigation Steering Committee

Publications

"Improved Productivity through Cooperative Planning," Published in the International City Management Association's publication, Fire Management.

Awards

    * "Board of Hygeia," 1975, Delaware Pharmaceutical Association for Community Service

    * American Red Cross Service Award

    * Personality of the Year, 1994, The Coast Press

    * Regent's Award, 1998, American College of Healthcare Executives

    * First Annual Mason Lankford Award for Fire Service Leadership from the Congressional Fire Services Institute, April 1999. 

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