September 10, 2005

National Politics

FEMA Wasting the Bravery and Dedication of Providence Firefighters II

Carroll Andrew Morse

Further evidence, this time from a group of Indiana firefighters, that firefighters sent by the city of Providence to assist in Katrina relief will not be put to good use…

"Our job was to advertise a phone number for FEMA," said Portage Assistant Fire Chief Bill Lundy. "We were going to be given shirts and hats with a phone number on it and flyers, and sent to shelters, and we were going to pass out flyers."…

"There was almost a fight," said Portage Assistant Fire Chief Joe Calhoun. "There was probably 700 firefighters sitting in the room getting this training, and it dawned on them what we were going to be doing. And then it got bad from there."

Lundy and Calhoun's first task was an eight-hour course on sexual harassment and equal opportunity employment procedures, Rogers reported. Neither firefighter would be involved in technical rescues of trapped people or any of their other specialties.

Apparently, the Federal government is not satisfied with having turned its own response to emergencies over to a bunch of paper pushing bureaucrats. Now they want to reach down to the local level, take individuals ready and willing rescue others away from their calling, and make them push paper too. FEMA must be abolished.

10:27 AM