Legend has it that the unicorn scampered about instead of boarding Noah's ark. When the floods came, the unicorn was left behind and disappeared from the earth. Is the fire service at risk of becoming the unicorn of homeland security? In those few days that former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was the nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, did you think about what Kerik would do for law enforcement when it came to positions and dollars within DHS?

In October 2001, R. David Paulison was named U.S. Fire Administrator, the first fire chief to hold that position. Paulison is popular within the fire service for breaking through the political barriers. Things appeared to be looking up for the fire service.

When the Department of Homeland Security was formed in March 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the USFA were rolled into the new Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. Paulison became director of its Preraredness Division and maintained his role as U.S. Fire Administrator. We were assured that the fire service still had a strong voice to the president, but the new DHS organizational chart had put the USFA in a smaller box.

Last month it was announced that the USFA would be “separated” from the Preparedness Division, according to DHS Undersecretary Mike Brown's memo, “after careful review and consideration of the critical education and training delivery requirements in support of our many partners in the Fire, First Responder, and Emergency Management communities.” Instead of Paulison, an interim division director was appointed and Paulison would remain USFA director.

Critical education and training delivery requirements? Last month, students of the Executive Fire Officer Program were advised of severe cuts to the program. The National Fire Academy is suffering from a tight budget, in need of course revisions and a means to get training to local departments. In fact, according to IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese, a recently published NFA course catalog “has nothing on terrorism or WMD — three years after 9/11 — not one thing!”

At the IAFC Leadership Summit, Gen. Ed Eberhart, commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM in Colorado Springs. explained that the military was always there to back up the fire service. “When it gets out of hand, then you call on us; we need to be called in sooner.” His job is to oversee domestic military support to civilian authority. The military is proactive in homeland security.

Is it too late for the fire and emergency services to stand up and take back some lost ground? I think it is. Nice guys not only finish last, they become followers. While the military's traditional position has been to protect the country on foreign soil, our homeland soldiers, the National Guard, are overseas. Who's left? You and your department.

What are you going to do about it? For starters, attend the Congressional Fire Service Institute's annual National Fire & Emergency Services day and dinner in Washington, D.C., scheduled for April 7. Call your Congressional representatives and make an appointment to meet while you're there to explain your concerns and your needs. Bring other chiefs with you. Massachusetts had 75 chiefs present last year. Delaware and Indiana chiefs attended, and Illinois fire chiefs increased their numbers.

There will never be another American fire service like the one there is today. Good, bad and in between, the fire and emergency services need to step up and be heard. Take a lead in preparing to respond to any type of incident, and maintain that incident until additional expertise can arrive. One hour or 10 hours, the responsibility will fall on you and your department for the initial response.

Don't let the fire service miss the boat and become extinct by being rolled into the military or law enforcement. Every state or county homeland security manager named who does not have fire or EMS experience is one more step away from the ark.