USFA

N e w s i n R e v i e w

An Electronic Newsletter for First Responders and Allied Professionals

Message from Deputy Administrator Charlie Dickinson

When I walk by someone I don’t recognize at NETC, I wonder who that is. I 

wonder where he/she works and what 

they are doing here. Most likely they’re 

here to take a course. They are those 

who we, here at NETC, constantly talk 

about, the very ones that we budget for, 

design curriculums, and develop projects 

for. When I have time, I stop and talk to 

them. Of course I am talking about the

continued on page 2

Critical Infrastructure Center Gets 

Name Change

The name of the U.S. Fire Administration’s Critical Infrastructure Protection 

Information Center (CIPIC) has been changed to the Emergency Management 

and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC). USFA 

officials explained that the new name more accurately reflects the duties of 

its critical infrastructure protection center and is consistent with the system 

of ISACs supported by Homeland Security Presidential Directive-7, which 

promotes the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructures.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the major purpose of 

an ISAC is to serve as an information sharing facilitator for a designated 

national critical infrastructure sector (e.g., water supply, transportation, 

telecommunications, emergency management and response, etc.). Specifically, 

an ISAC is the mechanism for the two-way trusted exchange of information 

in order to analyze and disseminate actionable intelligence on threats, attacks, 

vulnerabilities, anomalies, and security best practices involving a particular 

sector.

Since its creation on October 1, 2000, in response to Presidential Decision 

Directive-63, the CIPIC has performed the work of an ISAC, while serving the 

emergency management and response (EMR) sector of the United States. Now, 

as the EMR-ISAC, it will continue to benefit emergency managers, firefighters, 

and emergency medical personnel by conducting daily research for current CIP 

issues, receiving and processing threat intelligence, preparing and distributing 

weekly INFOGRAMs and periodic CIP Bulletins, forwarding sensitive CIP 

information to sector key leaders, developing instructional materials and 

providing technical assistance to sector members.

To acquire EMR-ISAC materials, sector members should subscribe to the USFACIP INFOGRAMs on FEMA’s DisasterHelp website at https://disasterhelp.gov/

portal/jhtml/index.jhtml. For more information, contact the EMR-ISAC at 

301-447-1325. You can also reach the center through fax at 301-447-1034 

and by a new e-mail address: emr-isac@dhs.gov. The old e-mail address of 

usfacipc@fema.gov will remain effective only until March 31, 2004.

Volume 2, No. 1, January 2004

In This Issue: January 2004

Behavioral Mitigation

of Smoking Fires 2

USFA Issues Firefighter Fatality 

Figure for 2003 2

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Draws Visitors in 2003 3

Fire/Arson Investigation

Management Studies 3

USFA Reviews New Jersey

Boardwalk Fire 4

Building Partnerships With

Tribal Governments 5

Well-Known Staffer Retires 5

Multi-Hazard Risk Management 

Series Released 5

USFA Advocates Development of 

Incident Management Teams 5
2 

Deputy Administrator’s Message

continued from page 1

first responders and allied professionals who come here. Some call 

them students. I guess I call them practitioners and remind myself 

they are doing the real responder preparedness work everyday. I’m 

not. They are the experts.

Our collective work involves trying to help them be successful for 

whatever role or responsibility they may have. It’s pretty interesting stuff, when you talk to them. Most, if not all, seem highly 

motivated and pleased they are here. Most seem intent on learning 

“something” and taking “it” home to “make a difference.” All are 

away from their families, and some are here on their “own time!” 

More than a few face serious budget/funding battles at home in 

their own organizations.

So here they are, with their nose stuck under the NETC tent seeing 

what there is to see and learn. Some days I think we should put all 

of them together and just listen – listen to re-validate what we’re 

doing well for them and what they see both now and in the future in 

their work/organization. That’s where we are trying to go – to the 

future. We want to continue to help them.

Funny how easy it is to look right past them in our business. I am 

trying to talk/visit with as many “practitioners” as I can. They 

are a gold mine. I encourage you to stop and talk with me the next 

time you are at NETC.

USFA and National Fire Protection Association Initiate 

Project Examining Behavioral Mitigation of Smoking 

Fires

USFA has partnered with the National Fire Protection 

Association (NFPA) to develop sound, research-based 

recommendations for behavioral mitigation strategies to 

reduce smoking fire fatalities in the United States. Smoking 

continues to be the No. 1 cause of residential fire deaths.

In 1999, for example, residential fires started by smoking 

materials claimed an estimated 776 lives in the United 

States and injured more than 1,900 more people, 

according to the National Fire Incident Report System and 

NFPA. Nearly half of the victims were in the USFA target 

age groups of age 14 and under and age 65 and older.

USFA has a long history of partnerships aimed at reducing 

the loss of life from fire and officials say they are pleased 

to be working with the NFPA in this research initiative. 

NFPA has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, 

electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 

1896. Its mission is to reduce the worldwide burden of 

fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing 

and advocating scientifically-based consensus codes and 

standards, research, training and education. More about 

NFPA can be found at www.nfpa.org.

Funding for this program is provided under the FEMA/

USFA’s National Fire Data Center Applied Research and 

Technology program.

More information on this research initiative can be found 

at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/inside-usfa/research/

smoking-mitigation.shtm.

USFA Issues Firefighter Fatality Figure for 2003

Despite advances in firefighting equipment, training and 

communication, 110 firefighters died while on-duty in 

the United States in 2003, an increase over the 100 deaths 

recorded in 2002, according to figures released by USFA. 

According to a review of the deaths, 36 states and Guam 

saw at least one firefighter die last year.

“Firefighters continue to give their lives while serving their 

communities. In 2003, President Bush signed a bill into 

law that will provide benefits to the survivors of firefighters 

who suffer heart attacks and die in the line of duty,” 

said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. “We are 

thankful to the President and Congress for this benefit, but 
3

I earnestly hope that the efforts of the USFA will ensure those 

benefits are used less and less each year.”

According to the USFA, 20 firefighters died in seven incidents 

where more than one firefighter was killed. Eight Oregon 

firefighters were killed in a vehicle accident as they returned 

from fighting wildland fires; two Memphis firefighters 

died while fighting a fire in a business in June; two Idaho 

firefighters were killed in July when a wildland fire spread 

quickly and trapped them; two firefighters died as a result of a 

helicopter crash in Arizona in July; two Ohio firefighters were 

killed while operating at a silo fire in October; two Nevadabased firefighters were killed in an October airtanker crash in 

California; and two Oregon firefighters died in a helicopter 

crash in October.

Career firefighters comprised 30 deaths (27 percent) in 2003; 

volunteer, seasonal, and part-time firefighters accounted 

for 80 deaths. Sixty percent of the firefighters who died 

while on-duty in 2003 suffered fatal injuries or illnesses in 

emergency situations. Twenty-two firefighters died as they 

responded to an emergency or returned from one; many 

of these deaths involved vehicle collisions. Eleven deaths 

occurred during training.

The USFA collects and analyzes information about firefighter 

deaths each year to determine trends, make recommendations 

for further research or to propose changes in procedures that 

may serve to reduce fatalities in the future.

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial

Draws Visitors in 2003

Nearly 4,200 people visited the National Fallen Firefighters’ 

Memorial in 2003 to honor thousands of American heroes. 

The Memorial is located at FEMA’s National Emergency 

Training Center, in Emmitsburg, MD. In addition, thousands 

more training center students and attendees at the annual 

memorial service also visited the memorial.

The Memorial was built in 1981 and officially designed by 

Congress as the national memorial to career and volunteer 

firefighters in 1990. Plaques listing the names of firefighters 

killed in service since 1981 encircle the plaza. The area is 

framed on two sides by a six-foot wall that dates back more 

than 100 years. When a firefighter dies on duty, local fire 

officials notify the U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA. 

A notice of death is immediately posted on the Memorial 

grounds and the flags are flow at half staff.

“We are grateful to those who help us honor the firefighters 

who give their lives each year,” said U.S. Fire Administrator R. 

David Paulison. “The number of names on the Memorial is 

truly staggering. More than 100 new names will be added in 

the 2004 memorial ceremony. The USFA is working hard to 

reduce the number of names added in the future.”

The next National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, 

which includes a candlelight ceremony and memorial 

services, will be held Oct. 1-3, 2004. More information can 

be found at www.firehero.org.

U.S. Fire Administration Offers a New Round of Fire/Arson 

Investigation Management Studies for Fire and Law 

Enforcement Agencies

USFA has announced the beginning of the 15th year of no 

cost technical assistance to state and local fire investigation 

agencies – a project that is part of USFA’s ongoing effort to 

strengthen and enhance the work of fire investigation units 

across the country.

USFA’s technical assistance focuses heavily on improving the 

working relationships among fire, police, prosecutors and 

other state or federal agencies by suggesting strategies for 

closer cooperation. Case prioritization and management, 

arson data collection and analysis, investigation reports, 

training, and time-of-day staffing coverage also are key 

components of the site reviews.

USFA provides this assistance to help improve arrest 

and conviction rates and promote arson prevention by 

highlighting the positive features of a jurisdiction’s arson 

control operations, recommending options for resolving 

problem areas, and identifying potential inter-agency and 

Fatalities by Type of Duty 2003

Returning (9) 8%

Other

On-Duty (24) 22%

After (4) 4%

On-Scene

Non-Fire (11) 10%

On-Scene

Fire (30) 26%

Training (11) 10%

Responding (22) 20%
4 

community anti-arson partnerships. The Arson Control 

Assistance results in a confidential report with guidelines to 

improve arson investigations and case outcomes.

This program already has proven to be a valuable service 

to more than 130 state and local jurisdictions. Any state, 

county, or municipal fire investigation agency interested in 

participating should meet the following criteria:

• Have a sincere interest in ascertaining the strengths and 

problem areas of their fire investigation and arson control 

programs and operations;

• Investigate a minimum of 200 fires per year, a significant 

number of which are determined to be incendiary;

• Provide the necessary application materials and 

background information, and cooperate with the 

designated technical assistance team in scheduling the 

field work; and

• Implement as many of the recommendations as feasible.

To ensure the continued success and quality of the Arson 

Technical Assistance program, USFA requires that all 

agencies selected to participate in this project be willing to 

complete an evaluation regarding the quality of the service 

provided and to report on the status of the implementing 

recommendations contained in the final report.

The field assessment and technical assistance on arson 

control is organized around three stages.

Stage One - Information collection and preparation.USFA 

uses the information on your application to get a basic idea 

of your current situation and the problems you face. To 

obtain a more complete picture USFA asks for a package 

of information to be used to study and prepare for the site 

visit. USFA also works with the jurisdictions, developing a 

list of people who will be interviewed and scheduling the 

interviews and meetings for a site visit.

Stage Two - Site visit and field work. USFA’s fire 

investigation and arson control experts will spend 

approximately three days in your area. USFA will conduct 

interviews and meetings, review additional data, and 

analyze information from all relevant sources. There will be 

a kick-off meeting to explain the project to all principals; 

later, USFA officials meet with selected officials to review 

the main issues and close out the field work.

Stage Three - Preparation of draft and final report. After 

the site visit, a draft report containing a description of 

your jurisdiction and of your arson control measures 

is completed. The report also will highlight the 

positive features found and discuss the problem areas. 

Recommendations for improvements and changes will 

be itemized. You will have three weeks to review and 

provide comments on the draft report before a final report 

is prepared. You are asked to implement as many of the 

recommendations as feasible.

The application is available at www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/arson/arson-unit.shtm

Please return the application no later than February 27, 

2004 to:

USFA-Arson Investigation Technical Assistance Project

Joseph Ockershausen, Project Manager

TriData Corporation

1000 Wilson Boulevard • 30th Floor • Arlington, VA 22209

Phone: (703) 351-8300 • Fax: (703) 351-8383

E-mail: jockershausen@tridatacorp.com

USFA Reviews New Jersey Boardwalk Fire

For Lessons Learned

A technical review of a New Jersey boardwalk fire that 

destroyed three businesses and damaged others – and took 

120 firefighters four hours to control – was released by 

the USFA. According to the review, most of the boardwalk 

businesses are closed for half the year and the absence of 

business owners for long periods of time can impede the 

prompt resolution of code violations.

The review stressed the importance of documenting 

code violations since New Jersey statutes allow local fire 

departments to recover the cost of their suppression if a fire 

can be directly or indirectly linked to code violations.

“The Wildwood Fire Department had implemented an 

aggressive inspection program in the months prior to the 

fire and this meant local firefighters were familiar with the 

general layout of the boardwalk, important to a successful 

response,” said US Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. 

“Two vehicles, modified because of previous fires and 

difficulty with access, also helped in suppression efforts.”

USFA develops reports on selected major fires and 

emergencies, usually involving multiple deaths or a large 

loss of property. The objective reviews are intended to 

uncover significant “lessons learned” or new knowledge 

about firefighting or to underscore ongoing issues in fire 
5

service. USFA, which has no regulatory authority, sends 

an experienced fire investigator to the community after 

a major incident only after conferring with local fire 

authorities.

The boardwalk fire occurred on August 29, 2000, and 

fire investigators later determined it was deliberately set. 

At the time of the report, no one had been charged with 

the crime. The fire went to seven alarms and required 

firefighters from four communities. No one was killed in 

the blaze and one firefighter suffered a minor injury.

A copy of the full report can be ordered by going to:

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/techreports/

tr137.shtm.

New On-Line Course Helps Build Effective Partnerships 

With Tribal Governments

A new on-line, independent study course has been 

unveiled. The course will help those who interact with 

tribal governments learn how to work in concert with 

them to protect native people and their property against all 

types of hazards. The course is open to anyone who has an 

interest in learning more about building partnerships with 

tribal communities.

Specialists at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute 

developed the course, which is part of the Institute’s 

extensive independent study program. The course, Building 

Partnerships with Tribal Governments, IS 650, has seven 

lessons with topics on historical and legal perspectives, 

tribal culture, and challenges in delivering government 

programs and can be completed between four to six hours. 

Those who successfully pass the final exercise receive a 

certificate of completion. The course is located at:

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is650.asp.

Well-Known Staffer at NETC Retires

Known for her cheery, friendly voice, Mary A. Walter, the 

secretary for the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Fire 

Administration, retired last month after 17 years at NETC. 

Mary had attended St. Joseph College before it became 

FEMA’s training facility and has lived in Emmitsburg for 42 

years, where she and her husband have raised five children. 

Mary began her tenure as a clerk typist. She plans to 

garden and do some traveling in her retirement.

New Multi-Hazard Risk Management Series Released

The Department of Homeland Security has announced 

the release of four new publications in the Multi-Hazard 

Risk Management Series developed by FEMA. The 

publications contain guidance on designing, constructing, 

and engineering high occupancy buildings that are more 

resistant to damage resulting from terrorist attack.

The purpose of the publications is to make communities 

aware of science and technology that can be applied to 

protect people and critical infrastructure from the affects 

of terrorist attacks on high occupancy buildings. The 

documents now available are:

• FEMA 426, Reference Manual to Mitigate Potential Terrorist 

Attacks Against Building

• FEMA 427, Primer for Design of Commercial Buildings to

Mitigate Terrorist Attacks

• FEMA 428, Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of 

Terrorist Attacks

• FEMA 429, Insurance, Finance, and Regulation Primer for 

Risk Management in Buildings

An outreach campaign is underway that will promote 

use of these materials by members of the current and 

future emergency management and building science 

professional communities. In addition, each document 

will be promoted to additional key audiences with unique 

interest in the subject matter. The primary users for 

these publications are public policy officials at all levels, 

emergency managers, facility owners and managers, 

architects, and building construction professionals.

The publications are free and can be downloaded from 

FEMA’s Web site at http://www.fema.gov/fima/rmsp.shtm. 

USFA Advocates Development of Incident Management 

Teams

Stakeholders, Experts Come Together to Develop IMT 

Training Roadmap

FEMA has announced a training “roadmap” for the nation’s 

fire and emergency services wanting to develop local 

and regional/metropolitan Incident Management Teams 

(IMTs). This recommendation comes in part as a result of 

a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between USFA, 
6

the International Association of Fire Chiefs/National Fire 

Protection Association Metropolitan Chiefs. The MOU 

signed in 2002 is designed to:

• Establish metropolitan area IMT regional overhead teams 

based on the U.S. Forest Service (USFA);

• Develop IMT capability;

• Develop and train IMTs to support command;

• Provide mutual aid staff -unified command training and 

development; and

• Use the Integrated Emergency Management System.

This IMT training roadmap, developed in partnership 

with USFA, also supports Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive 5 (HSPD-5), which states: To prevent, prepare 

for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major 

disasters, and other emergencies, the United States 

government shall establish a single, comprehensive 

approach to domestic incident management. The objective 

of the United States government is to ensure that all levels 

of government across the nation have the capability to 

work efficiently and effectively together, using a national 

approach to omestic incident management.

“The USFA Incident Management Team training roadmap is 

a result, as well as the next step, of the MOU signed in early 

2002 with the Metropolitan Chiefs,” said R. David Paulison, 

U. S. Fire Administrator. “Today’s fire service leadership is 

faced with extremely complex response requirements. The 

IMT roadmap will ensure all departments will have the 

necessary incident management support they need, if they 

need it to further protect their residents and cities.”

The IMTs have been designed to assist local emergency 

services and support unusually large, complex, or 

long-term emergency incidents, when requested. An 

all-hazards IMT consists of emergency service officers 

from appropriate disciplines (fire, rescue, emergency 

medical, hazardous materials, law enforcement) trained 

to perform the functions of the Command and General 

Staff of the Incident Command System. These functions 

include Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, and 

Administration/Finance, as well as Safety, Information, and 

Liaison. Members of the initial responding departments 

often fill these functions; however, the size, scope, or 

duration of an emergency incident may indicate the 

need for an IMT to support them. The local Incident 

Commander can request, through standard mutual aid 

procedures, an IMT to help support management of the 

incident.

“The operations of IMTs are highly dependant on the 

local community needs, available resources, and the level 

of training/experience,” said Charlie Dickinson, Deputy 

United States Fire Administrator and former chief of 

the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire. “Local jurisdictions may 

establish, train, and control IMTs at their respective levels. 

The USFA and USFS will work together in delivering 

training to develop the IMTs.”

USFA and USFS are also working together in delivering 

specialized training to develop “Type 3” IMTs for regional 

or state level incidents. Type 3 IMTs are recommended 

for States and large metropolitan areas with multiple 

jurisdictions and mutual aid agreements (such as the DHS 

Urban Area Security Initiative locales). Members of Type 

3 IMTs are appointed by a state or metropolitan authority 

having jurisdiction, and respond as a team to support or 

assist a local IMT at major incidents that may have national 

implications.

For further information regarding the IMT efforts, or any 

USFA program, visit www.usfa.fema.gov.