The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., last week was one of the best meetings I have ever attended. Many powerful speakers participated, and so many echoed the same warning, referring for the need for preparation, training and education for anti-terrorism: “It’s not ‘if,’ it’s ‘when.’”

The IAFC holds the summit every two years, alternating annually with its strategic planning session. This year’s two-day Summit was the largest to date, with 137 leaders of IAFC sections, divisions and committees attending, representing 37 states and 25 state associations.

Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary Michael Brown emphasized the importance of starting Citizen Corps Councils, referring to prepared citizens as a “layer of defense.” “Do you want to be one of the first responders with citizens that are prepared for a disaster? Encourage your citizens to have a ‘go’ kit,” said Brown. “If we prepare the citizens, we can secure the incident sooner.”

Brown noted the 2004 federal budget again includes $750 million for the FIRE Grants, and reiterated that the grant process wouldn’t change with the program’s transfer from the U.S. Fire Administration to the Office of Domestic Preparedness.

Amy K. Donahue, Ph.D., NASA’s senior advisor to the administrator for Homeland Security, provided an in-depth report about the recovery operations of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The shuttle breakup was the first major disaster under DHS and the largest recovery effort in NASA history. The search for wreckage involved 450 associations and 25,000 people.

“Why did it work? Highly capable, compatible people,” she said.

One particularly helpful factor: the state of Texas includes a statewide emergency 800 phone number on the back of all drivers’ licenses. Citizens across the state assisted in locating pieces of the shuttle by calling the statewide emergency number.

Chief James Broman of Lacey (Wash.) Fire District 3 introduced the new “Officer Development Handbook” created by the IAFC’s Professional Development Committee with input from 22 “stakeholder” organizations and associations. Three years in the making, the handbook provides a systematic program for developing your professional fire service career, outlining steps for moving into four fire officer categories: supervisor, manager, administrator and executive.

Chief Bill Killen, IAFC’s Second Vice President, said the handbook would be printed and distributed by the IAFC Foundation early next year. More information will be available upon publication.

“All terrorism is local,” said Jerome Hauer, acting under secretary, Office of Public Health Preparedness, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. During a SARS outbreak, “20 to 25% of the health care workers will not show up,” he said. Hauer encouraged “clinical recognition” and cautioned against reliance on field essays. “They simply don’t work; they don’t meet the standards,” he said.

Hauer strongly recommended pre-planning and awareness of “healthcare surge capacity.” Surge capacity is a multi-dimensional problem, involving beds, people and equipment, he explained. It requires augmentation of patient-care facilities, an influx of medical personnel and sufficient equipment to handle masses of people. “Getting patients into beds will be vital,” he stressed.

My favorite quote from Leadership Summit? Tough. It was an excellent meeting, but I’d have to say a Chinese proverb that Hauer shared:

“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”

Job well done, IAFC Program Committee!

Janet Wilmoth, editor
jwilmoth@primediabusiness.com