Last year, Underwriters Laboratories hosted a meeting for 70 fire and emergency chiefs, colonels and directors from major cities around the world. The officials toured UL facilities and observed training exercises at Chicago's Emergency Management Operations Center before going on to Washington, D.C.

This event provided critical networking and learning opportunities. A Chicago chief learned of a new emergency evacuation procedure used in Hong Kong. The chief from Ottawa, Canada, shared a protocol he learned while visiting Sweden for decontaminating firefighters. What could you learn from your international peers?

The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, is a must-read book for every leader and future leader. The first several chapters alone could change your perspective on the future of emergency response in North America.

Friedman writes about U.S. hospitals that transmit X-rays overnight to India for second opinions. The X-rays are returned by morning. Perhaps departments could handle EMS invoicing more efficiently if they home-sourced it to an accounting center in rural Montana or outsourced to Bangalore, India.

As dispatch centers can be located miles away in towns and cities, why can't there be a center thousands of miles away, one that raises the levels of standardization for the National Incident Management System? Technology is available today to make it happen tomorrow.

What would happen if a centralized NIMS center oversaw incident command using cameras and drones from several states away? Agencies would have access to experienced large-scale commanders and biochemical specialists via video feed.

How would emergency services change if video conferencing allowed interactive training between North American chiefs and officers from around the globe? Classes from the U.S. National Fire Academy could be broadcast to Rippongi, Japan, while the U.K.'s Fire Service College Moreton in Marsh or Singapore's Civil Defense training academies could be available on your laptop or to your training facility. Lessons learned could be available to rural, suburban or metropolitan departments globally.

European-manufactured apparatus and equipment have been available in North America for some time. Long before the U.S. economy dipped, Europeans have dealt with exorbitantly taxed fuel, stringent environmental issues and economic woes, and their equipment and techniques reflect that.

The fire service must respond to two critical calls for action this year. First, the Obama administration will select a new Federal Emergency Management Agency director and U.S. fire administrator. The past several years showed the benefits of having former fire chiefs in these positions. Your voice must be heard for this to continue.

Second, the Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program needs to be reauthorized in 2009. Actively participate at all government levels, with your state chiefs association and, if possible, attend the Congressional Fire Services Institute's 21st Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner and Seminars on April 2 in Washington, D.C.

The North American fire service has changed, yet it remains a family. It is maturing and learning to embrace diversity and accept new levels of responsibility and authority.

Friedman cites a memo by Reuters' Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger, who wrote, “Change is hard. Change is hardest on those caught by surprise. Change is hardest on those who have difficulty changing too. But change is natural; change is not new; change is important.”