Absolutely. I also know where they're going. Regional managers are supposed to coordinate between different agencies. New Orleans regional manager fubared, Houston's didn't, nor did Florida's. What's taking place, though, is the slow federalization of the emergency services. Fire departments are all required to adopt the National Incident Management System now, to improve interoperability. At this time, they're funding fire departments through grants as a carrot, with a stick being to accept certain standard operating procedures. Currently, these are not particularly onerous, but they're getting more so. One example is required use of the National Incident Management Reporting System (NFIRS). These are filled out online and collected in a national database.
They also sell firefighting as being more hazardous than it actually is. This creates a "great need" for improved safety. I receive notification of all firefighters killed "in line of duty". They allow 77 year old volunteers who died from a heart attack a day after the run to be declared as line of duty. They've also listed line of duty deaths from guys having heart attacks mopping up the truck room.
Don't get me wrong, bad stuff can happen. 9/11, for example. However, if you look individually at the number of firefighters killed in the "line of duty" nationwide, annually, usually about twenty of them were killed in something other than a vehicle accident or from a heart attack. It's our dirty little secret, but firefighting is probably less dangerous than being an electrician.
You're correct. FEMA is a joke, but it's a joke that wants to have operational control over all emergency services in the US.
Currently, I train people to be firefighters. I have to meet requirements set out by FEMA, the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, Natrional Fire Protection Association standards, the International Fire Service Accredidation Congress, and OSHA requirements as adopted by the state.
Some of these requirements are not bad, but they operate on the premise that everyone is an idiot. For example, new OSHA regulations require two in, two out. That means firefighters cannot enter a fire structure, except for rescue purposes, unless four firefighters are on scene. Two then enter the structure, and two remain outside in case they need rescuing. There's very little risk in entering a structure, even alone, with a line, as long as you can see your exit point. However, because most units staff with three personnel, you have to stand by on scene until a second unit arrives, delaying attack by up to five or six minutes. My contention is that it's safer to make an initial attack earlier with two personnel inside and one out, reading the structure for collapse signs, than to stand around for six minutes waiting for the next unit. Most single family structures are a total loss after fifteen minutes of unrestricted burn time, so the additional wait makes the initial attack a moot point. Beyond that, my costs to outfit personnel have gone from $2800 to over $4,000 in the last two years because of new requirements for gear. Some of the stuff they want is just stupid. For example, new bunker coats have to have a grab handle so if you're unconscious, people can drag you out. It costs an extra $100, and is no more convenient than using the SCBA strap that's already there. They require all this new, expensive gear, then declare we have to stand in the front yard until the house is beyond saving. And all of that's because the state requires me to. The state requires me to because the feds require them to. What's the difference between that and a federalized fire department?
I guess you were in Atlanta taking cultural awareness classes while New Orleans was flooding then...all I know is that when the Doppler Radar says Category 5, I am not waiting around for FEMA to tell me what to do. I would advise that you do the same. Good luck and thank you for the work you do.