Secret team to combat terror
Top FDNY brass go to class

By FERNANDA SANTOS
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU
Being prepared and trained will send FDNY brass back to school. 
 
 FDNY wants to be prepared in the face of an event like the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004. 
 
The Fire Department has set up its first-ever terror school, where New York's Bravest are studying how to respond to almost unimaginable attacks, the Daily News has learned.
The 33 students - top fire chiefs, captains, marshals and medics - have been working secretly at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island, attending frighteningly frank lectures by leading experts in nuclear, radiological and biochemical warfare.

The goal is to combat terrorism by learning to think like terrorists - devising doomsday scenarios in a bid to ultimately generate strategies that could save thousands of lives.

"We're actually playing the role of the bad guy because that's the only way we can understand our vulnerabilities and the magnitude of the damage a certain attack may cause," said Joseph Pfeifer, deputy assistant fire chief of operations.

"Unless we get into the mind of the enemy, unless we start thinking like the enemy, it's very hard to ready ourselves," Pfeifer said. "We're learning about evil, and more than ever, we're realizing that knowledge is power."

The course, developed by instructors at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, began Jan. 13 and has touched on everything from the potency of nuclear weapons to the possibilities of suicide attacks and dirty-bomb attacks in the city.

"It is all but inevitable that some type of dirty bomb will explode somewhere within the next coming years," Dr. Charles Ferguson, one of the nation's leading experts in nuclear and radiological terrorism, told the class recently.

It was typically blunt talk.

The lectures are peppered with examples disturbing enough to keep the students awake at night. But they keep poker faces and take it all in, jotting notes on pads and tapping on laptop computers.

"It's not easy to sit through these classes sometimes," said Battalion Chief Richard Schlueck, a hazardous materials expert. "A lot of us go home and have nightmares."

The students have been divided into eight groups, each of which is "planning" a specific terror strike. Among the scenarios are a chemical attack in the subway, a nuclear explosion and a suicide bombing on a crowded city corner.

But first, the groups study different terrorist organizations to determine how each operates and its weapon of choice.

Then, each group compiles a profile of the organization its members think is most likely to carry out a certain type of attack.

The group studying a chemical attack in the subway has come up with the following scenario: A terror group releases a certain chemical in a crowded rush-hour subway train. Scores of commuters are overcome and firefighters need to move fast to avoid mass casualties.

"If we're able to plan better ... we will be lessening the probability that an attack will be totally successful," said Pfeifer, whose group is working on the subway attack scenario.

The Bravest are driven by the memories of the 343 FDNY members lost on Sept. 11, 2001. The March 11 commuter train blasts in Madrid have only turned up the intensity and urgency of their work.

"What we're seeing is that terrorism is global, with transnational players, and no place in the world is immune to an attack," said Assistant Chief of Special Operations Command Michael Weinlein, who is part of a group studying a nuclear attack in the city.

Weinlein's group is striving to answer vital questions: How close can firefighters get to the blast point after detonation? Could a nuclear attack trigger a firestorm over the city?

"Of course, everybody fears the ultimate weapon, a nuclear device in New York," said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

"New York has some natural barriers to the spread of such catastrophe, like the water around lower Manhattan and the skyscrapers," he said. "But how do you create other ways to contain a firestorm? How do you fight it?"

The groups will present their final projects to the faculty before graduation day, set for April 27. The projects and their recommendations will be used to overhaul response procedures and training.

That task will be undertaken at the Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness, a cutting-edge counterterrorism center being created by the FDNY at Fort Totten in Queens. The center will be funded by a Homeland Security grant.

The Fire Department got 160 applications for the West Point terrorism training program and plans to run its terror school annually.

"This is a department that knows how to handle the traditional emergencies very well," Scoppetta said. "But times have changed, as we learned on 9/11."

Originally published on March 22, 2004                                               to top
 
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NY TIMES
April 28, 2004
Lack of Emergency Training Is Cited by New York Officials
By MARC SANTORA and MICHELLE O'DONNELL
 
ALBANY, April 27 - More than two years after 9/11 and nine years after a Japanese cult released a toxic gas on the Tokyo subway system, the majority of New York City's emergency medical technicians are not properly trained to enter a contaminated zone and treat victims, officials said Tuesday.

Of 3,000 paramedics and emergency medical technicians in the city, only 133 have the necessary training.

"We find it appalling," said Robert A. Ungar, counsel to the Uniformed Emergency Medical Technicians-F.D.N.Y. "It is as if we haven't learned anything."

Mr. Ungar blamed the federal government's funding formula for shortchanging New York City by not providing money for more training.

Francis X. Gribbon, a spokesman for the city Fire Department, agreed with Mr. Ungar that New York should be getting more federal money, but he defended the use of the resources that are available.

In the past two years, the Fire Department has increased the number of crews trained to work in a contaminated area. Those on call, at any given time, have increased to 16 or 17 from 10, Mr. Gribbon said. Officials are working to get that number above 20. Each crew consists of one ambulance staffed by two people.

Mr. Ungar put the cost of training 3,000 emergency medical service workers so they could work in a contaminated zone at $1.4 million. But Mr. Gribbon said the Fire Department wants to go further.

Currently, every worker gets basic hazardous awareness training. Mr. Ungar wants them to get an additional eight hours of training so they would be able to work in an area contaminated by chemical agents. The Fire Department wants all of its members to have the maximum level of readiness, which requires 64 hours of training and would cost significantly more than $1.4 million.

Mr. Gribbon also said the emphasis, so far, has been on getting firefighters trained to work in contaminated areas. The city has trained more than 1,000 firefighters, he said.

"The purpose here is to have a sufficient number of trained people to go into the area and offer assistance to the first responders who need help or the people who need help," Mr. Gribbon said. "These people are rarely going to treat victims in a bad environment. You want to get them out."

Outside experts familiar with New York's emergency services said that progress is being made, but that the emergency services had, at times, been neglected.

"People have always looked at E.M.S. as a stepchild and don't recognize the critical role E.M.S. plays in these kind of events," said Jerome Hauer, who worked as New York's Director of the Office of Emergency Management for nearly five years under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

He said he started at the agency after the sarin gas attack in Japan in 1995. After conducting a drill in New York, he said, "we found a number of holes in the preparedness."

The city began outfitting ambulance crews with little red bags that contained an antidote to nerve agent attacks and training personnel to work in a contaminated area.

The antidotes that are available only work in the event of a release of nerve agents, such as sarin or parathion, or cyanide. Mr. Hauer said.

Mr. Ungar made his comments on Tuesday during a news conference by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan.

Mr. Silver proposed legislation that he said was designed to prevent and respond to terrorism, which Republicans have attacked him for ignoring. In his plan, he called for federal money to be set aside specifically to train medical technicians in the city.

"Our first responders are being shortchanged the funding, the equipment, the training that will help them save lives," Mr. Silver said.

He was also sharply critical of the Pataki administration for failing to make progress in developing a statewide communications system. Many officers said radio operations are as bad now as they were on Sept. 11.

Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for Gov. George E. Pataki, said the Assembly was wrong and reckless.

"New Yorkers know that no one is fighting harder to prepare our first responders than Governor Pataki,'' she said.


Marc Santora reported for this article from Albany and Michelle O'Donnell from Long Island.
The city began outfitting ambulance crews with little red bags that contained an antidote to nerve agent attacks and training personnel to work in a contaminated area.

The antidotes that are available only work in the event of a release of nerve agents, such as sarin or parathion, or cyanide. Mr. Hauer said.

Mr. Ungar made his comments on Tuesday during a news conference by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan.

Mr. Silver proposed legislation that he said was designed to prevent and respond to terrorism, which Republicans have attacked him for ignoring. In his plan, he called for federal money to be set aside specifically to train medical technicians in the city.

"Our first responders are being shortchanged the funding, the equipment, the training that will help them save lives," Mr. Silver said.

He was also sharply critical of the Pataki administration for failing to make progress in developing a statewide communications system. Many officers said radio operations are as bad now as they were on Sept. 11.

Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for Gov. George E. Pataki, said the Assembly was wrong and reckless.

"New Yorkers know that no one is fighting harder to prepare our first responders than Governor Pataki,'' she said.


Marc Santora reported for this article from Albany and Michelle O'Donnell from Long Island.

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Cops, Bravest to rally vs. GOP
 
By JOE MAHONEY and MICHELE McPHEE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
 
Feeling shortchanged by Washington, some city firefighters and police are vowing to protest against President Bush and the Republicans at their convention in New York this summer.
Unions representing cops and firefighters have requested permits to protest at the Republican National Convention in August at Madison Square Garden.

"There's going to be a lot of discontent by a lot of people when this convention gets to town," Al O'Leary, spokesman for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said last night.

Cops and firefighters are angry that New York gets less homeland security funding per person than virtually any state in the nation.

Firefighters and police are also upset that the city has yet to give them a contract they can ratify.

"If police and firefighters don't have a contract, we are going to voice our disgust at this administration," said United Firefighters Association President Stephen Cassidy.

The city has said it needs $900 million for counterterrorism programs, including special training as well as overtime for cops and firefighters. The city has received only $84 million from the federal government so far.

A Daily News investigation in November showed that even Wyoming, Vice President Cheney's home state, gets more counterterrorism money per capita than New York.

"We're definitely expressing our feelings that New York City is a high-threat area and there should be more money coming into New York City than to Wyoming," said UFA Vice President Jim Slevin.

Asked why uniformed officers were planning to target the Republican convention, Mike Palladino of the Detectives' Endowment Association said, "It's a Republican administration in New York City. What better place to bring our message than the Republican National Convention?"

"We want to get the message across that New York City detectives have been doing more with less and they are not being compensated," Palladino said.

Originally published on April 28, 2004
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Their mission: Foiling terror attacks
By FERNANDA SANTOS
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU
 
Newly minted graduates of 14-week FDNY anti-terror school attend City Hall ceremony yesterday.
 
A group of elite firefighters graduated yesterday from the FDNY's first-ever anti-terror school, a program detailed exclusively by the Daily News last month.
In a City Hall ceremony, Mayor Bloomberg praised the graduates - top fire chiefs, captains, marshals and medics - who spent 14 weeks delving into the minds and means of the world's vilest terrorists.

"I feel safer already," the mayor said as he addressed the 34 grads. "The excellence, the scholarship, the training, the courage that you exemplify is what makes this the greatest Fire Department in the world."

The course - modeled after a Combating Terrorism Center program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point - encompassed frighteningly frank lectures taught by leading experts in nuclear, radiological and biochemical warfare.

The students used what they learned to devise mock attacks in the city's subways, harbor and reservoirs in a bid to identify the FDNY's weaknesses and ultimately reshape its counterterrorism response.

"It's not all about fighting fires and responding to car accidents anymore," said Battalion Chief Peter Hart, one of the graduates. "The threat is out there, it's going to be there for a long time and this course has made us keenly aware of it."

The training began Jan. 13 at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island. The students worked in groups to plan and analyze the impact of specific terror strikes in the city.

"You've had a truly unique opportunity to get into the mind of terrorists," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said yesterday, adding the graduates are now prepared to "fight a war against an enemy we know much more about now."

Originally published on April 27, 2004
___________________________________________________________________________

Mike: City's unprotected 3/5/04
 
A simple ceremony to name a new commissioner yesterday ended up being an unnerving seminar by Mayor Bloomberg on how the city is "unprotected" against disasters.
The event, held to name state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bruno as commissioner of the city's Office of Emergency Management, began with Bloomberg praising the NYPD and the FDNY as the best in the world.

Then Bloomberg went on to say, "We have, however, 30 or 40 other agencies and lots of private companies that do not have adequate emergency plans for the kinds of things that are likely to befall this city.

"And we have left this city, I think, unprotected because we have had to focus on other things," Bloomberg added.

An aide later said the mayor was not talking about terrorism, but rather snowstorms, floods and other "more mundane contingencies."

Bloomberg has greatly increased the number of police officers devoted to anti-terrorism.

He also has initiated a series of "war games" with police, fire and other officials that play out mock attacks involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

David Saltonstall
_________________________________________________________________________________

Chuck rips W's security $ cuts
 
By LISA FLEISHER
DAILY NEWS WRITER
 
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused the federal government yesterday of once again stiffing New York City out of critical security funds, this time money needed to upgrade communications between the Fire and Police departments.
The Homeland Security Department axed a $54 million grant program that New York's Bravest and Finest were banking on to fix a problem in their radio systems that prevents them from talking to each other in the field.

Last year, New York City applied for a cut of the funds but was denied, Schumer said. Gov. Pataki instead chose Erie County as the state's nominee for the competitive grant program, and the county won $6 million.

"This year, we were promised that we would get the money if we applied - that we had a very good chance of getting the money, is how they put it," Schumer said. "And now they've pulled the grant."

A report issued after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks blamed faulty radios for the deaths of 120 of the 343 members of the FDNY who died that day.

Police could not warn firefighters in the north tower of its imminent collapse, Schumer said.

"You don't have to be an expert to know that ... it's really vital that our police and our firefighters can talk to one another," Schumer said. "When radios don't work, lives are in danger."

In President Bush's State of the Union speech last month, he said he would keep increasing money for Homeland Security. However, Schumer said, "... the President has said he's putting in more money for Homeland Security, but he's taking the money out of all of the other programs that are needed for Homeland Security."

The city now may be forced to abandon the project.

"We need this for this city to protect the people who protect the city," said Robert Straub of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

Originally published on February 15, 2004                                                                to top
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GOV'T STILL NAPPING AS NEW 9/11 LOOMS   NY POST

By DEBORAH ORIN and DAN KADISON

June 30, 2003 -- A frightening new report claims America is "dangerously unprepared" to cope with another terror attack like 9/11.
The report by the Council on Foreign Relations contends the United States needs to spend another $98 billion to brace for an attack - a figure that the federal Department of Homeland Security insisted was "grossly inflated."

"I believe in the next five years - can't tell you when, where, what or how - there will be an attack," former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-N.H.), who chaired the panel that produced the report, told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"And God forbid it's an attack with either chemical or biological or worse, some sort of nuclear device. We are not prepared to deal with that . . . This is a question of protecting the American people from unspeakable horror."

The report says that in most cities, the police and fire heroes who would be on the front line lack vital equipment like breathing apparatus and even radios. It calls for a national 911 system.

Rudman suggested that better equipment could have avoided "the horrific loss of life of New York firefighters" on Sept. 11, 2001.

The council called for sending more federal preparedness money to probable targets like New York - instead of a "share the spoils" approach that has given Wyoming more money per capita.

The council is a private advocacy group. The director of the report, Jamie Metzl, served in the Clinton White House at the National Security Council and was a Democratic Senate staffer.

"New York is probably one of the best-prepared cities in the United States," Metzl told The Post. "However, there are still significant gaps that need to be addressed."

Metzl said one example is difficulties faced by the FDNY, NYPD and other emergency responders in communicating with one another because of problems with their radio systems.

The city and state "can't do all they need to do without additional support from the federal government," he said.

The report says that nationally, it isn't even clear how much states and local governments now spend on homeland security - it could be anywhere from $26 billion to $76 billion on top of $27 billion from the federal government over the next five years.

It also acknowledges that it isn't clear where the money should be spent, but nevertheless concludes that $98.4 billion more is needed, based on what local agencies reported.
______________________________________________________________________________

Terror-aid formula budges in our favor
 
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
 
WASHINGTON - New York City stands to gain new terror-fighting funds in the $2.4 trillion budget President Bush unveiled yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg hailed the budget for ditching an old funding formula that wound up distributing more money per person to low-risk places like Wyoming rather than to locales where the threat of a terror attack is high.

A Daily News investigation found last November that man for man and woman for woman, Wyoming (pop. 493,782) did better, with $38.31 per person, compared with the paltry $5.47 in counterterrorism funds spent on each New Yorker.

Those funding formulas have been ditched in the new budget.

"Washington is listening to us, abandoning its population-based funding schemes and moving more money towards New York City where it is needed," Bloomberg said.

But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the city is being buffaloed if it thinks it will see a significant chunk of change. While the feds have increased the overall homeland anti-terror pot to $1.45 billion, it has also increased the number of cities eligible for a piece of the pie.

"They seem to be stuck on this idea that you can improve security without spending the dollars. It's a 'rob Peter to pay Paul' strategy that doesn't add up," Schumer said.

Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly were open in their criticism in recent months that the city hasn't been getting its fair share, and it was still unclear yesterday just how much New York stands to benefit.

And while they clamored for more money for housing, health and school lunch plans, Democrats also took shots yesterday at Bush for his budget's record $521 billion deficit.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) bemoaned Bush's "chronic fiscal irresponsibility."         to top
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A 20/20 investigation (ABCNEWS.com) 

Unprepared for Terror
First Responders as Vulnerable to Terror as Those They Protect

June 21— They're training for doomsday, preparing for a different and even deadlier kind terrorism than we've ever seen before on American soil — the worst-case scenario: a chemical, biological or even nuclear attack.

Specialized hazardous materials units are carrying out drills in New York, Miami, Seattle, and Chicago. But the government warns it could happen anywhere, anytime.

It's certainly an impressive message of readiness in the face of fear and panic. The HAZMAT units are equipped with state-of-the-art gear to respond to an attack. This is how prepared the government wants us to think we are, but there's one big problem.


First Responders as Vulnerable as Citizens

The HAZMAT crews won't be the first responders in the event of an attack — your local firefighters and police officers will, according to Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Firefighters.

This troubles Schaitberger, who said our local fire and police crews are going to be in trouble if they're facing an incident involving weapons of mass destruction. "They are likely going to be the victims just as much as the citizens that they're there to serve," he said.

Schaitberger says the first responders — the frontline firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians — simply do not have the equipment they need to protect themselves — much less you — from weapons of mass destruction.

State of Disarray, Not State-of-the-Art

Firefighter Larry Jenkins is typical. He will be first on the scene of a terrorist attack in Fairfax, Va. Jenkins is only equipped with an ordinary firefighter's suit and mask, which will protect him from smoke and not much else. It won't protect him from ricin or anthrax or sarin gas.

"The gear we have is meant for firefighting. It's not meant for weapons of mass destruction," Jenkins said.

In the face of weapons of mass destruction, experts say, Jenkins and his fellow firefighters need Level-A state-of-the-art personal protection suits. These suits cover every inch of skin and filter out gases and other deadly agents.

20/20 took a look at how well first responders across the country were equipped, and found not state-of-the-art, but a state of disarray. Many had little or no protection at all — no gas masks, no chemical suits, nothing.

The standard protection for an EMS worker, for example, amounts to boot covers, rubber gloves, a shower cap and goggles. You could buy this stuff yourself at a local hardware or drugstore.

Shocked? Don Walsh, who represents emergency medical technicians and paramedics on a national terrorism task force, isn't. Walsh says almost two years after 9/11 and the anthrax attacks that followed, they also don't have the gear.

And the crisis for police departments is the same. A Chicago police sergeant showed us what his department was ordered to use in the face of a chemical or biological attack — latex gloves.

The sergeant didn't want his identity revealed. He was afraid he'd be fired for showing us their gear.

Waiting on the Feds

Even in a big city like Los Angeles, a known target for al Qaeda, with a police force of 9,000, most of the force has little to no protective gear.

"This is a brave new world. This equipment is needed and it is needed yesterday," said John Miller, a former anchor at 20/20, who is now the chief of the LAPD's counterterrorism bureau.

So, what's the delay? Miller said responsibility lies at the federal level. "The city of Los Angeles, like most other cities in this country, relied on the assertion of the federal government that this money was coming right away. 'Right away' turned into six months, six months turned into a year. A year turned into 18 months," Miller said.

The Department of Homeland Security says that almost $4 billion have been made available to state and local responders. While politicians quibble, the threat level has risen to code orange, the second-highest level, four times since 9/11. But most local fire and police departments say they still haven't seen a dime.

Who's to blame?

Congressman Christopher Cox, R-Calif., heads up the homeland security committee. Cox wouldn't accept responsibility for the current plight of first responders. He did, however, admit they are not the first priority. Instead, he said the priority should be to prevent another terrorist attack and that equipping state and local governments to respond to such an attack should be a distant second.

"The truth is that intelligence is relatively less expensive, and you might say more cost-effective for that reason," Cox said.

Cox's response angered Schaitberger, who said, "I'd love to take Chris Cox and … let him roll into an incident that these firefighters and every firefighter in this nation is going to respond to, and then let him decide at that moment what is important."

Congress Protects Itself

Of course, congress won't be rolling out with first responders anytime soon. But on Capitol Hill, they're protected. Congress spent $5 million to buy 25,000 "escape hoods" for Cox, his staff, and everyone else on Capitol Hill.

So Congress members and their staff don't mind spending money on themselves, while they've left big cities vulnerable. That means the people on the front lines might have a harder time rescuing you.

No Money, No Standardized Equipment

And when smaller cities and towns manage to scrape together the funds to buy equipment, what they can buy might be worse than nothing at all.

Mario Martinez, who trains police officers across the country in how to protect themselves against the most lethal biological or chemical agent, says for many departments the bottom line is money, not safety.

Martinez said most departments will make decisions based on the lowest bid. "It boils down to how much it is gonna cost and what I can get for my dollar," he said.

But what they often get for their dollar is equipment that is obsolete, defective or, at best, intended for industrial use. And first responders won't know whether the equipment really works until they're in a situation where they need it.

Without a central clearinghouse to tell local authorities what equipment works in which scenarios, many departments get their gear from ads, trade fairs, and the Internet. Some of it is used. Martinez said the military will sometimes issue out some equipment that no longer meets the need of the military and they just get rid of it.

Martinez showed us a mask, recently issued to a police officer in Texas. The chemical respirator on the mask expired in April 1989, but the officer was issued the mask in the year 2003.

Martinez said, "He might as well just throw it in the trash."

Persistent Complacency

Until the money comes through, America's first responders are left vulnerable to the next terrorist attack with pre-9/11 gear and pre-9/11 fixes.

"It happened in 1993," Martinez said, referring to the first attack on New York's World Trade Center, "and then it happened in the same place in the year 2001. You would've thought in 1993 somebody would've said, 'hey, let's make sure this doesn't happen again.' And yet we let it happen again, because of complacency."

Complacency that leaves first responders wondering what will come next: a chemical, biological or radiological attack — or the equipment they need to fight it.   to top
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TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SPACE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
ON
THE NEEDS OF THE FIRE SERVICE IN RESPONDING TO TERRORISM
OCTOBER 11, 2001
BY
GENERAL PRESIDENT HAROLD A. SCHAITBERGER
Mr. Chairman. I thank you for the opportunity to appear before this subcommittee today.

My name is Harold Schaitberger, and I am the General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). I started my career in 1966 as a professional fire fighter with the Fairfax County, Va., Fire and Rescue Department and I now have the honor of representing more than 245,000 professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of our nation's population.

The 344 firefighters, who made the ultimate sacrifice one can make in our profession and rescued tens of thousands of civilians from the hellish carnage of the World Trade Center tragedy, are my brothers, as are the thousands of fire fighters who responded to the terrorist attacks in New York and at the Pentagon on September 11.

Mr. Chairman, I come before this committee as a man on a mission to improve public safety, to better protect the safety of our nation's fire fighters, and to ensure our nation's fire service is prepared to respond to the inevitable terrorist attacks our nation will face in the future.

Like all Americans I watched the television with horror as the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Within minutes of those attacks, I knew that hundreds of my firefighters were responding to the call, entering those buildings, and placing themselves at risk. When the first tower collapsed, I also knew we had lost hundreds of firefighters under millions of tons of jagged steel and debris - and it was time for the IAFF to pull its crisis team together and go to work.

Within hours, I was at the Pentagon meeting with our fire fighters there. By the next morning, we had reached out to Congress for help, and you responded by passing a resolution to streamline the process for putting Public Safety Officers Benefits into the hands of the families of our fallen heroes.

By Wednesday afternoon, we were in New York with our people there. We worked with our New York affiliates to create the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund to provide assistance to our devastated families. We established an office in Manhattan and put IAFF staff in the offices of our two affiliates to help them deal with the many issues faced by our New York fire fighters and fire officers. And we met with senior Fire Department of New York officials and FEMA officials to put a comprehensive counseling program in place, involving trained IAFF members from fire departments across the nation.

The world has seen the images of Ground Zero on television, but video and photographs cannot capture, nor words describe, the utter devastation of the scene we witnessed in New York that day on the site of what was once two tall proud symbols of the American spirit.

For a week following the attacks, I stayed in New York to oversee our operations there and I continue to return each week. Day after day, night after night, our New York fire fighters continue to dig through the mountains of rubble in search of their fallen brothers. They are working beyond exhaustion, but they are working with a determination that is the hallmark of our profession.

For our fire fighters in New York, it is still September 11.

All of us - our fire fighters, the widows and the 1,000 fatherless children of our IAFF family in New York, and citizens across this nation - must now live with the knowledge that we have suffered an unthinkable loss that will be etched in our hearts and our souls for the rest of our lives.

As profound as the loss and the devastation we face, is the enormous challenge that lies ahead-preparing the nation's fire service for its role in the coming war against terrorism.

Only a few weeks ago, the evils wrought upon our nation by these unrepentant terrorists were only a remote, nightmarish threat. Now the reality of such evil will always be with us as we wait and wonder what will come next. And come it will. As the U.S. intelligence agencies have told the members of this chamber and as Administration officials like Attorney General Ashcroft and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld have stated publicly, the likelihood of other terrorist acts is "100 percent."

In this first war of the 21st Century, the battle lines are drawn in our own communities and civilians and the places we frequent are explicit targets. In this war, the fire fighters are the nation's domestic defenders.

In many ways, this is not a new role for us. For nearly 100 years, IAFF members have been protecting the citizens of our nation from all hazards. We are the first on the scene when there is an incident involving hazardous materials, we are the nation's primary providers of emergency medical care, and we are the ones who search for and rescue people who are trapped and in danger.

But while the job we need to perform in this war is familiar, the magnitude of the challenge before us is unprecedented. In the past, we have had to respond to isolated incidents. In this new world, we need to be prepared for a coordinated, well-orchestrated series of attacks on American citizens. While we all tend to look toward the military in time of war, the reality is that in this war on terrorism, it is fire fighters who will be our first line of defense.

 If we are to be successful in fulfilling our mission, we must have adequate resources. Sadly, as of today, we do not. The need for additional fire fighters, on-going training, and equipment is tremendous and it can no longer be born solely by local jurisdictions. As evidenced by the response to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, where fire departments from many different jurisdictions responded to the attacks, the federal government must recognize that terrorist acts are not local incidents, but national tragedies that need a federal response.

Just days after the September 11 attacks, FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh highlighted the need for additional resources. Fire fighters, he said, "put their lives on the line everyday and yet they are always the first in line for budget cuts and the last in line for recognition. That's got to stop."

To address this crisis, the nation's leading fire service groups came together to compile a list of 12 items Congress should address immediately to prepare the nation's fire service for our role in protecting America against terrorism. We have entitled this document, "Protecting Our Nation: the Immediate Needs of America's fire service." There are two areas to which I would like to draw your attention.

First is the need for training. As fire fighters are being called upon to protect the public from terrorism, I cannot stress enough the need for specialized training in terrorism and hazmat response and mitigation. I am proud to note that the IAFF, in partnership with DoJ, DoE, DoT, EPA and HHS, offers training programs to fire departments-free of charge-in terrorism and hazmat response. Our program utilizes the expertise of hazmat technicians who are also certified instructors to teach the course to fire fighters.

Unfortunately, the demand for our training program far outpaces our funding to deliver it. Our ability to deliver the training is only limited by the funding we get from our federal partners. If our grants from the various federal agencies are increased, the IAFF can dramatically increase the number of fire departments trained in terrorism and hazmat response and mitigation.

The second area of need, and the one stands above all others, is adequate staffing. Adequate staffing is important for public safety as well as for the safety of fire fighters performing that mission. The IAFF has long recognized that fire ground safety is inextricably linked to adequate staffing.

There are numerous studies that attest to the dangers of inadequate fire fighter staffing. Attached to my written statement is a bibliography of the studies to which I refer. But I don't need studies to tell me something that I've known for a long time. As a fire fighter on the hose line and now as the general president of the IAFF, I have witnessed firsthand the grave consequences of short staffing. I

n Memphis, Tennessee; Worcester, Massachusetts; Keokuk, Iowa; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Chesapeake, Virginia; Stockton, California; Lexington, Kentucky; Buffalo, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, fire fighters were killed because of a lack of staffing. In each of these cases, if there was a team in place that accounted for the fire fighters who were performing interior structural fire fighting, they would be alive today.

Yet, numerous jurisdictions are not taking to heart the lessons from these tragic events. Currently, 2/3 of all fire departments-large and small-operate with inadequate staffing. Across the nation, in cities like Buffalo, New York and Baltimore, Maryland, fire stations are being closed due to budget cuts. In fact, the lack of adequate staffing hampered the ability of the Baltimore Fire Department to respond to the hazmat incident caused by the train derailment in downtown Baltimore back in July.

In the face of the mounting evidence of a severe shortage of fire fighters, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-the consensus, standard making body of the fire service-this summer issued its first standard on minimum staffing for fire departments. Ten years in the making, NFPA 1710 sets minimum acceptable standards for adequate personnel per fire fighting vehicle. With this new benchmark we now know that our nation needs an additional 75,000 fire fighters to safely and effectively protect the nation.

 That is why the IAFF along with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and several Members of Congress have strongly endorsed the SAFER Fire Fighters Act that was unveiled just today. The SAFER Fire Fighters Act uses the procedures established by the highly successful COPS program to place 75,000 additional fire fighters in our communities.

Using the model of the COPS program's Universal Hiring Program, the SAFER Fire Fighters Act provides federal grants to communities to hire additional fire fighters. The federal government would cover the cost of 75% of salary and benefits for a three-year period, not to exceed $90,000 over the three years. Local jurisdictions would then be required to retain the fire fighter position for at least one additional year. The experience of the Universal Hiring Program is that once a jurisdiction invests four years in an individual, it is highly likely that the individual will be retained.

The SAFER Fire Fighters Act is an innovative approach to solving the nation's need for more fire fighters. It is an example of the new type of federalism that our country needs to combat terrorism. Numerous federal studies and reports bemoan the lack of coordination between the different levels of government. The SAFER Fire Fighters Act would be a step towards better cooperation and coordination amongst local, state and federal governments to respond strongly and decisively to terrorism.

Despite the pain, the grief and the sorrow we feel and despite the unspeakable loss we have suffered, the nation must forge ahead and honor the memories of our fallen by taking steps to ensure that from this point forward we take all necessary steps to prevent such tragedies from ever occurring again.

As our nation prepares for war, we must not forget that the battles to come will be fought on our soil as well. The fire fighters of the IAFF will be ready when terrorists strike again. But our ranks are thin and reinforcements are needed quickly.

Thank you for this time to present the view of the IAFF. We appreciate the heartfelt expressions of condolences and the prayers that Congress and America have offered for our fallen comrades. I ask that you honor their memory and sacrifice by building a living memorial. Provide us with resources to ensure adequate staffing so that we can operate safely and effectively and to provide necessary training so that we will be able to play our role in fighting the war on terrorism. I will be available for questions by the committee.

Bibliography of Studies on Fire Department Staffing

American Insurance Association, "Fire Department Efficiency," Special Interest Bulletin No. 131, December 1975.

American Insurance Association, "Fire Department Manning," Special Interest Bulletin No. 319, December 1975.

Brunacini, Alan V., "Shrinking Resources vs. Staffing Realities," NFPA Journal, May/June 1992; pp. 28 & 120.

Casey, James F., "Manpower - How Much Do You Need?," Fire Engineering, October 1969; pp. 111-113.

Centaur Associates (conducted for FEMA), "Report on the Survey of Fire Suppression Crew Size Practices," June 30, 1982; pp. 18-20.

Cushman, Jon, Seattle, WA Fire Department's "Abstract: Report to Executive Board, Minimum Manning as Health & Safety Issue," 1981.

Eisenberg, M.S., et al, (1993), "Predicting Survival From Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Graphic Model," Annals of Emergency Medicine; November 1993.

Gerard, John C. and Jacobsen, A. Terry, "Reduced Staffing: At What Cost?," Fire Service Today, September 1981; pp. 15-21.

International Association of Fire Fighters, "Analysis of Fire Fighter Injuries and Minimum Staffing Per Piece of Apparatus in Cities With Populations of 150,000 or More," December 1991.

International City Management Association, Managing Fire Services, 2nd Edition (Washington, DC:ICMA) 1988; pp. 119-120.

International City Managers Association, Municipal Fire Administration (Chicago, IL:ICMA) 1967; pp. 161-162.

International City Management Association, Managing Fire Services, (Washington, DC:ICMA) 1979; pp. 80, 214-215, & 218-219.

International City Management Association, Managing Fire Services, (Washington, DC:ICMA) 1979; pp. 80, 214-215, & 218-219.

Jermyn, B.D., Response Interval Comparison Between Urban Fire Departments and Ambulance Services," Prehospital Emergency Care, Vol.3-1;1999.

Kerber,R.E., Statement on Early Defibrillation from the Emergency Cardiac Care Committee, AHA," Circulation, 83:6; 1991.

Kern, Karl B., et al, "New Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care: Changes in the Management of Cardiac Arrest," JAMA, March 14, 2001: Vol. 285, No. 10, pp. 1267-1269.

Kimball, Warren Y., Manning for Fire Attack (Boston, MA:NFPA) 1969.

McManis Associates and John T. O'Hagan and Associates, "Dallas Fire Department Staffing Level Study," June 1984; pp. I-2 & II-1 through II-7.

Metro Chiefs/International Association of Fire Chiefs, "Metro Fire Chiefs - Minimum Staffing Position," May 1992.

Morrison, Richard C., "Manning Levels for Engine and Ladder Companies in Small Fire Departments," 1990.

National Fire Academy, Executive Development Program III, "Fire Engines are Becoming Expensive Taxi Cabs: Inadequate Manning," February 1981; pp. 2 & 4.

National Fire Protection Association, "Decision of the Standards Council on the Complaint of M.E. Hines, Texas Commission on Fire Protection, concerning a Formal Interpretation on NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program," April 6, 1994.

National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 1410 Training Standard on Initial Fire Attack, 2000.

National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, August 1997. National Fire Academy, "Fire Risk Analysis: A Systems Approach," student manual, National Emergency Training Center, NFA-SM-FRAS, July 20, 1984.

National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 197 Training Standard on Initial Fire Attack, 1966.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Reports for Sedgwick County, KS, Nos. HETA 90-395-2117 and HETA 90-395-2121, June 1991.

Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Review Board, Administrator of the Division of Occupational Safety & Health v. Clark County Fire Department (Statement of Position and Stipulation), Docket No. 89-385, October 1990.

Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario, "Fire Ground Staffing and Delivery Systems Within A Comprehensive Fire Safety Effectiveness Model," December 3, 1993.

Ohio State University/Columbus Fire Division, "Measuring Firefighting Effectiveness," September 15, 1980.

Onieal, Denis G., "In Response to the Demand for Fire Department Cutbacks," Ed.D, Fire Engineering, August 1993.

Phoenix, AZ Fire Department," Fire Department Evaluation System (FIREDAP)," December 1991; p. 1.

Pell, JP et.al., Effect of Reducing Ambulance Response Times on Deaths From Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Cohort Study, BMJ 2001;322:1385-8.

Roberts, Bill, Fire Chief, City of Austin, "The Austin Fire Department Staffing Study," March 1993.

Staffing and Equipping EMS Systems: Rapid Identification and Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction. National Institutes of Health, 1993; NIH/NHLBI, No 93-3304.

Valenzuela TD, et. al., "Outcomes of Rapid Defibrillation by Security Officers After Cardiac Arrest in Casinos," New England Journal of Medicine, October 26 2000; pp. 1259-60. to top