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Stateside Comment FIRE’s US Correspondent Catherine Levin reports on the government shutdown and the powerful Congress fire caucus
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nvoking the spirit of Talking Heads, Paul Krugman writing in the New York Times on October 18 said: ‘This week we have managed to avoid driving off a cliff. But we’re still on the road to nowhere’. He was right, the government shutdown was a farcical game of who blinks first and in the end achieved very little apart from sending home government workers, shutting down national parks and irritating tourists who had booked to visit the Statue of Liberty. I missed my regular emails from the US Fire Administration. Its website forlornly told me that ‘this website was last updated on September 30, 2013 and will not be updated until after funding is enacted’. The US Fire Administrator confessed in a recent speech that only he and one other member of staff were exempt under federal rules and had to work; everyone else got to go home for a fortnight. Asked how his department was faring in the current uncertain climate, he was clear that “we stay on focus, with the same goals, it just slows us down”. To achieve this, he cautioned: “We must focus on what we can do, not what we can’t do”.
“The fire caucus, as it is known, has drawn support from some well-known names, with Vice President Joe Biden and Republican veteran John McCain both involved” On a completely selfish level I wanted the shutdown to end because I wanted to go to Washington DC and attend the bi-annual meeting of the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI). I was privileged to get an invite to attend this lobbying group’s gathering of around 50 fire-related organisations drawn from across the US. I think it’s pretty impressive to claim that 250 members of Congress support the Fire Service. The fire caucus, as it is known, has drawn support from some well-known names, with Vice President Joe Biden and Republican veteran John McCain both involved. Feeling a bit like I was in an episode of the West Wing at times, the impressive Executive Director of the CFSI, Bill Webb, talks the talk of Josh and Sam, erstwhile members of the cast
of one of the best political shows ever made. Luckily my months of decoding the New York Times helped and I found myself understanding all the talk of authorisations and appropriations. All of which are relevant to the vast fire grants that I’ve mentioned before; they depend on the largesse of Congress for their continued payment – although I learnt that there is a sunset clause in the enabling legislation that activates in 2017, so the good times may be over at that point. And that’s what CFSI will have an eye on, killing that sunset clause and keeping the Fire Service on the radar of those 431 members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators who make up the 113th US Congress. Webb, during his update to members, cautioned: “It’s a squeaky wheel that gets the oil here
in Washington DC, there’s no doubt about that”. So next time you get an invite to an event held by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fire Safety and Rescue and a chance to go in to the even more impressive Palace of Westminster, hoping for a splendid lunch out on the Terrace, just think about your colleagues here in the US doing the same on Capitol Hill. Keep reminding your MP who you are and your value and take comfort that there’s no equivalent of the recent US government shutdown in the UK.
emergency community hubs for all three services. The economic benefits with shared support services would also enhance operational efficiency, mutual respect and understanding and – without compromising legitimate organisational and managerial boundaries. The front-line emergency arm of the NHS is now widely recognised as a world-class benchmark for emergency medical services. Incidentally, as originally envisaged and
more recently demonstrated, it is also more than capable of handling 24-hour NHS communications. That it has earned this reputation by taking innovative initiatives should bring considerable comfort to those within, those it serves – and those charged with determining its future best interests. Yours sincerely, John Wilby OStJ Former Chief Executive, Scottish and London Ambulance Services
FIRE’s US Correspondent Catherine Levin
Letter to the Editor Fire without fire Dear Editor, he currently revived politically inspired debate about combined fire and ambulance services needs to be seen in context. As one who commenced his career with a combined service, I am intimately familiar with the pros and cons of such an alliance. The governmentdirected ‘60s separation threw off the shackles of a ‘Cinderella Service’ with unionised manual worker status and led
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to the ‘80s paramedic ethos. Such hard won progress was achieved by career managers and trainers and leading clinicians, prepared to think and act outside the box. Naturally, it makes sense to train selected firefighters as first responders and to use fire stations as emergency stand-by points. Straightened times and the emergence of coterminous national and regional services also offer the opportunity to commission operational
6 | November 2013 | www.fire–magazine.com