As a nation we have declared war on terrorism, but there's another war brewing on our own soil. It's a battle for the funding to combat terrorism here at home.

State departments of homeland security and defense are sprouting up across the nation waiting for federal funding to be funneled to them. Dozens of other organizations and agencies are lining up at the trough, making a pitch as to why they should receive a piece of the pie to make our nation safer.

Obviously, many of the agencies should receive consideration when it comes to this sort of funding. Yet the phenomenon I am witnessing is particularly disturbing because the fire service hasn't produced a united front to make its case as to why we need to be at the forefront of domestic homeland defense.

The men and women of the fire service have dedicated themselves to a profession that places them on the front line of catastrophic events in a community. Regardless of the type or magnitude of the emergency, the agency that will be the first to arrive on the scene is the fire service, whose members have assumed this responsibility and have taken the lead by preparing themselves to become the all-risk agency.

We are not just a fire department anymore. We are EMTS and paramedics; hazmat technicians; and high-angle, confined-space, trench, agricultural and vehicle rescue specialists. We are fire inspectors, code enforcers, investigators, and fire prevention and child safety advocates. We are incident commanders and strategists, ready to manage the most complex of incidents. What we lack is input at the highest levels of government to ensure we're included in the decisions that affect our ability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and provide recovery efforts for our communities.

Common ground

The decisions that are made early in an incident will set the tone for the event's outcome. As a result, it's imperative to have an agency at the helm with a proven track record of effectiveness in the face of chaos.

It doesn't matter whether the disaster is a tornado, earthquake or act of terrorism, the principles used to manage the incident are the same and do not change, the phases of each type of disaster are the same and do not change, and the only agency that has consistently trained and prepared for all of the aspects of these eventualities is the fire service.

Fire departments across the country have adopted a common system for managing every incident, be it mundane or catastrophic in nature. This system meets all the criteria found within NFPA 1561, Emergency Services Incident Management System. In fact, both OSHA and EPA regulations require organizations that respond to hazmat incidents to have all responding personnel trained in an incident command system. In other words, the federal government now recognizes and indeed requires this systematic approach to controlling hazmat disasters.

So if chemical and biological agents fall under the category of hazardous materials, how can any agency legally direct the operation without being competent in a compliant incident command system? It can't be done without violating OSHA and EPA regulations, not to mention compromising the event's outcome, risking the lives of citizens and emergency responders, and damaging the environment.

Federal-level recognition

The fire service knows all too well that it can't provide all the physical and human resources to control an incident that exceeds the capabilities of the local jurisdiction, crosses jurisdictional boundaries or involves multiple agencies. The incident command system takes this into account using the unified command concept, which allows all the participating agencies to have input into the command decisions that affect their particular operations. This model is used across the nation with great success.

FEMA recognizes a concept known as the Integrated Emergency Management System. Its specific objectives are to:

• Save lives and protect property threatened by hazards.
• Reduce duplication of efforts and resources.
• Increase jurisdictional flexibility in upgrading the capacity to handle potential hazards.
• Integrate FEMA support and objectives with those state and local operational requirements.

The fire service has been at the forefront of the IEMS approach to incident management for three decades. The principles within the IEMS approach and unified command are very simple but profound:

• Assess local risks and identify possible disaster types and their likelihood.
• Establish strong working relationships with all potentially responding or affected agencies and entities.
• Develop comprehensive contingency plans, anticipating all potential problems that may be encountered in advance of the disaster.
• Provide both tabletop and full-scale exercises regularly, designed to tax the incident command system.
• Evaluate the success and shortcomings of the exercises and make adjustments accordingly.

FEMA and the IEMS concept recognize the necessity of an integrated, unified approach to combating disasters. Over the last two decades, it has become increasingly evident that the fire service has been the major player at both the executive and tactical levels in the planning and preparing for natural, technological and manmade disasters. Not only have we become the authority in this arena, we are also willing to teach and impart our knowledge and experience to all the agencies and organizations with which we interact.

Agency roles

There's no question that a unified command or IEMS approach will be needed and used during most any disaster, regardless of origin. However, close examination of the agencies that normally would become involved in the response to terrorism incidents reveals some stark philosophical differences in each agency's approach, frame of reference and role.

Fire service

The fire service likely will be the first agency on the scene of an act of terror or other disaster. The role of the fire service has, and will continue to be, that of managing the incident. This includes properly sizing up the situation and developing an action plan based on the priorities of life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation. Other responsibilities include establishing an organizational structure that will meet both short- and long-term objectives.

When the incident crosses jurisdictional boundaries or involves multiple agencies or organizations, the order and structure that was provided by the fire service allows for the seamless integration of the affected agencies within the unified command structure. Our experience, proficiency and diplomacy can help reduce the turf battles that often occur at these complex incidents.

The members of the fire service are not the students in this discipline, we are the experts. In reality, we are the only agency that can assume this level of responsibility to comply with federal OSHA and EPA mandates. This distinction makes the fire service the only agency capable of being a sanctioned “first responder.”

Military

The armed forces, be it an active or reserve component, will be highly trained and well-equipped to assist in the event of a chemical or biological act of terrorism. The major shortcoming with relying on the military will be the significant, inescapable delay in response. However, this doesn't diminish the importance of their role. A terrorist incident soon will overtax the resources of the local agencies, and the military will play a significant role after the initial wave of terror.

Office of emergency management

Another key player in the response to disasters, the office of emergency management handles facilitation and resource procurement. In many jurisdictions it may play a role in the activation of the emergency operations center and assist with a communications component. Although most of these agencies are minimally staffed, they are well-versed in ICS and the IEMS approach. However, this office will not be in a position to perform size-up, establish priorities, develop initial action plans or direct the operation.

Law enforcement

This general term refers to all local, state and federal law enforcement officials, whose role is to secure the scene, protect and preserve evidence, conduct interviews, and bring perpetrators to justice. Law enforcement, in effect, controls the scene.

However, controlling a scene and managing an incident are two different functions. Law enforcement doesn't have the training or personal protective equipment to enter hot zones. Their lack of experience in incident command precludes them from directing the operation of those managing the incident inside the hot zone.

Another deterrent from relying solely on law enforcement, particularly at the state and local levels, is their lack of personnel trained in the incident command system and the IEMS approach to dealing with disasters. There is currently a problem of epidemic proportions around the country whereby law enforcement has yet to buy in to either concept.

Speak out

If this nation's fire service doesn't assert itself during this window of opportunity, we will be leaping backwards. Think about it. The federal agencies see and know the value of ICS, unified command and the IEMS approach, but there's no central authority with the know-how to manage a vast expansive incident except for the fire service.

If we sit silently, federal agencies will bastardize ICS, destroying our common language with new acronyms and jargon that will prohibit our ability to communicate on scene. The landscape of large-scale incidents will be dotted with multiple command posts, each doing its own thing because our common language will have been confounded, keeping us segregated.

We need to speak out now as one voice so our input will be heard at the highest levels of government. If we don't, I anticipate the incident command system will be relegated to local fire departments dealing with wildland and structure fires. It will cease to be the all-risk system we know it was meant to be.

And the funding that should be directed to the fire service for domestic defense? It will go to the other agencies that stood lock-step with one another to clearly communicate their message to the Capitol. That is what the fire service must do, before the common language that made us successful becomes extinct.

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Greg Neely is the deputy chief with the Broken Arrow (Okla.) Fire Department. He has a master's degree in fire and emergency management administration from Oklahoma State University and is an alumnus of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. Neely holds adjunct instructor status with both the NFA and Oklahoma State University, and he provides promotional assessment centers, assessment center training. He can be reached via his Web site at www.neelyenterprise.com.

What needs to happen

The fire service must speak with one voice to ensure the following is accomplished:

• Implore the legislative and executive branches of both state and federal governments to include the fire service in the executive-level decisions concerning domestic defense.
• Provide a platform at the local, state and federal levels from which to impart our expertise in using an integrated approach to disaster management so that we will speak a common language with other responding agencies when disaster strikes.
• Ensure that we receive a commensurate level of funding based on our role as the truly sanctioned first-responder agency so that we can continue to protect the citizens of our communities.