In his latest edition of Chief's Corner, Acting U.S. Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson notes that the U.S. Fire Administration has been designated as the lead agency for staffing the newly created Fire Desk at the Department of Homeland Security National Operations Center.

According to Dickinson, having qualified USFA personnel located at the NOC addresses two critical needs:

1. To serve as a subject-matter expert for the nation's fire service that provides valuable first responder insight to decision-makers in support of the DHS mission, and
2. To act as a vanguard for the fire service in information sharing and intelligence information analysis.

"The primary role of the Fire Desk staff," said Dickinson, "is to provide technical assistance directly in support of the DHS core missions to provide situational awareness and a common operating picture for the entire federal government, and for state, local, and tribal governments as appropriate, in the event of a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster; and ensure that critical terrorism and disaster-related information reaches government decision-makers."

The Fire Desk staff has offered expertise regarding the validity of several purported terrorist threats against major cities' water supplies, as well as provided first responder insight to numerous hazmat incidents, plane crashes, and wildland fires.

As part of this effort, the USFA encourages the senior leadership of every fire or EMS department to become registered users of the USFA's Emergency Management and Response–Information Sharing and Analysis Center, where they can directly receive critical information.

To learn how to become a user of EMR-ISAC information, visit Chief's Corner at the USFA Web site.