The fire service has been talking till it's been blue in the face about funding and training for weapons of mass destruction and the need for protective clothing, equipment and detectors. Certainly, some urban areas are at a higher risk than others. One speaker at the recent "East Meets West Conference" in Los Angeles County said that the threat of domestic terrorism and violence is something much more common and a real potential for first responders each and every day. Finally, we thought after 9/11 that the politicians were heeding the word from first responders on the street. In recent days, talk of the potential for a dirty bomb being made and the threat of it being exploded somewhere within the United States have surfaced.
Our Hal Bruno discussed homeland security and proposed budgets in April. The mood in Congress was supportive of the fire-rescue service. In last month's Fire Politics column, Hal explained that there was much talk, but little help for first responders. He quoted a chief who said, "It will take another disaster to restore a sense of urgency and get things going at a faster pace."
What are they waiting for? We are the first responders who will be there when everyone else runs the other way. Shouldn't we get what we need so desperately to protect ourselves and our customers?
Once again, the nation has had to endure an early wildland fire season. Since Jan. 1, there have been 33,806 wild fires burning 1,403,203 acres. This is about 6,000 fires fewer at the same time last year, but almost double the acreage of 59,214. At the present time, 19 large wildfires have burned 553,244 acres. A large fire near Denver had burned 86,925 acres, as this was written. A mandatory evacuation was in place for 6,000 homes. One recent order had manpower and equipment responding from 100 miles away.
In the Los Angeles area, only one-fourth of the normal rainfall has fallen. North of Los Angeles, a wildfire was being battled in a national forest that reportedly hadn't burned in 70 years.
On page 46 we continue to bring you the incredible stories from the firefighters, officers and chiefs who were on the scene before, during and after the collapse of the World Trade Center. In this installment, we present the accounts of firefighters who searched the complex for hours and were finally able to locate the trapped firefighters still alive in the north tower. In their own words, the firefighters who responded from home on a total department recall describe their observations as they arrived at "ground zero."
Hank Christen, Paul Maniscalco and Rob Walker teamed up to prepare an article titled "Situational Awareness" when dealing with terrorism and tactical violence responses. Thousands of times a day, EMS, firefighters and police respond to myriad incidents. However, no terrorism/tactical violence event is a "garden-variety incident." Initial responders are confronted with an unfamiliar, unpredictable and unsafe scene. Read more on page 100.
Also in this issue, Chief Dennis Rubin details another installment of crew resource management and its relevance to the fire-rescue service, which can be found on page 119. In this issue, Rubin talks about critical decision making. Charles Werner takes a look at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Following 9/11, the foundation was asked by FDNY to provide immediate intervention to families and members of the FDNY. The foundation plans an annual memorial service and offers support programs. The story can be found on page 108.
Just to set the record straight, someone has been spreading false rumors that our Firehouse Expo is moving to Philadelphia in the future. Nothing could be further from the truth. The upcoming dates for future Firehouse Expo exhibits and inside seminars - in Baltimore - are as follows: July 24-26, 2003; July 15-17, 2004; and July 28-30, 2005.
In addition we are proud to announce a new show Firehouse World, premiering in San Diego, Feb. 18-20, 2003. Subsequent dates are Feb. 3-5, 2004, and Feb. 2-4, 2005. Please mark your calendars. We'll see you there.
