Over the past few years, one phrase that has peppered industry conferences, training sessions and the media has been “Since 9/11….” In a recent conversation about the history of the fire service and the upcoming five-year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, Asst. Chief Brian Crawford of Shreveport, La., commented that he thought 9/11 was a defining moment for the fire service, a sort of “B.C. and A.D.” How often do we speak of pre-9/11 and post-9/11?

One month before Sept. 11, 2001, the first of the $100 million in FIRE Grants was being awarded. There was a heated battle over NFPA 1710 and its controversial staffing deployment requirements. And the search for a new U.S. Fire Administrator was still under way, although David Paulison was a finalist.

To say that Sept. 11 changed the American fire service is an understatement. The national call for help — “911” — was slashed into 9/11, which would change the fire service more than any single day in the last 200 years of its history.

Is five years long enough to acknowledge that some positive actions came from 9/11? The heartache is still there, but life moves on, and we build on the lessons learned.

There has been a significant increase in public agencies working together for coordinated response. Although there's still some debate over NIMS versus ICS, there is a common goal to standardize agency responses at every level.

There is a heightened awareness of the physical and emotional health of emergency responders. Reports of lung disease, cancers and mental breakdowns of workers who were at Ground Zero are increasing. Studies will support protective personal gear for recovery workers and the importance of critical incident stress management.

According to a July 25, 2006, article in the New York Daily News, “Six hundred firefighters have been forced into retirement; 25% of active-duty FDNY and Emergency Medical Service workers developed lung conditions since the disaster, and at least four responders died after giving their all at Ground Zero.”

No fire department was hit harder than FDNY. A department of legends, FDNY is still a legend today, if only for the fact that it is fighting back and rebuilding itself following the devastating effects of Sept. 11 on its personnel and their families.

On that day, every city and town across North America looked around and said either “it can't happen here” or “what if….” Was Katrina a post-9/11 test to see if our nation was prepared for another disaster? Many people saw failures, some saw progress, but still some holdouts are convinced that “it can't happen here.”

Last month, two buildings exploded in a small Wisconsin resort town. Two people were killed and several others were sent to hospital. Afterward, one of the volunteer chiefs commented that he was impressed with how well the local fire departments worked together during the response, even noting the professional way they handled the media, because they had trained and were prepared. The implementation of ICS on a remote peninsula in Wisconsin proved that it works on a propane gas explosion, too.

What's changed since 9/11? Life is more frustrating for travelers, but most Americans really haven't really changed their lifestyles. On the other hand, most first responders and their state and federal backups have seen changes in training, equipment and reporting systems.

How often do you find yourself saying, “Since 9/11…”? Look around your department at your sops, training drills, equipment and apparatus purchases, or employee assistance programs to see what's changed in the past five years. Send us a note and tell us. Did life get too complicated to be chief and you retired? Or were you challenged to grow in your career? We'd like to hear from you and include some of your comments in our September issue.

Since 9/11, Fire Chief has become more aware of the changing and much broader role of fire chiefs and officers today. A new world order was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and it has made great strides in many agencies working together. “Two hundred years of tradition, unimpeded by progress” took a big hit that September day, and there's no more looking back.