EMA Director Warren Fired
WPRO (630 AM) is reporting that Robert Warren has been fired as the state Emergency Management Agency director, presuambly over his handling of last Thursday’s snowstorm.
Developing…
WPRO (630 AM) is reporting that Robert Warren has been fired as the state Emergency Management Agency director, presuambly over his handling of last Thursday’s snowstorm.
Developing…
Andrew,
I think he may have been fired for his “lack of handling” last Thursday’s storm!
I’m glad to see the Governor moving decisively to correct the problems from last week. There are certainly some things RI EMA, RI DOT and cities could have done to prevent what should have been a small storm from turning into the mess that occurred.
Some examples:
1. Banning tractor trailer trucks from the roads once it became obvious that we’d be getting over an inch of snow per hour.
2. Posting cops at key intersections to facilitate the flow of traffic and keep people from stopping in the middle of intersections.
3. Notifying businesses and other employers of the situation and letting people know that if they leave for work, they better plan on having a full tank of gas.
I’m sure that Carcieri had trouble comprehending how a 6-10 inch snowstorm could have caused the problems it did. But it seems like he is taking the problems seriously and is taking appropriate action. Most importantly, I’m glad to see the Governor sending the message to the executive branch that they had better perform or face consequences.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel more comfortable when I know Carcieri is in RI.
Now let’s see what David Cicilline does.
That interview this morning made my skin crawl. I’m glad that the governor “got it.” Scapegoat, maybe. But he at least got the right goat. I agree with Anthony, it shows there is a consequence for poor performance. I think it will encourage more decisive action and better performance when the next time a problem strikes.
Will,
When Warren gives an interview and tell the entire world he was not actively engaged in doing his job at a time when he needed to be engaged and doing his job then his firing can hardly be described as scapegoating.
Remember the governor didn’t get back into the country until Saturday night. He’s still sorting out who was doing or not doing their job last week. Warren’s interview made the discovery process for the governor quite easy in his case.
Don’t think he’ll be the only one.
FYI Robert Warren’s lineage is the Cranston Fire dept.
Need I say more?
Speaking of the Thursday storm, we in Cranston still have six inches of ice on our side streets. The two times in a week we saw a plow he came through with the plow up so high he was leaving more than he was pushing.
I’m not saying that the guy didn’t deserve the axe — he clearly did. He came off as completely incompetent. When I heard him, I was wondering if he’d get a pass and a “Heckuva job, Brownie.” Fortunately, he got exactly what was coming to him and in near record time. I guess my point is that there should be at least a few other people joining him. If he ends up being the only one to get axed, and nothing else changes, then he might be seen by some as a scapegoat. Hopefully, we’ll see some positive change as a result of this fiasco.
Classic … fire the guy in the middle …meanwhile Bray (BTW Whats up with the full camouflage… Is he getting ready if CF invades Pawtucket?) and Williams Skate ….
AS THE GOVERNOR POINTED OUT … THEY WERE IN CHARGE
VOTE NOW @ http://WWW.FIREJEROMEWILLIAMS.COM
It’s unbelievable that the state EMA director left his office to go home early and wasn’t even on the job when the snowstorm hit.
I would add to Anthony’s list: if in doubt, cancel school. It’s bad enough when adults have to sit in traffic for up to 8 hours. It’s completely unacceptable for children to go through that.
Speaking of which, does Leo “they’ll get home eventually” Messier still have his job? Robert Warren either didn’t know there was a problem or didn’t respond adequately. Messier either didn’t know there was a problem or, judging from his comment, he did and he THOUGHT IT WAS AN ACCEPTABLE SITUATION.
I know all of you are hashing out the political fallout of the what, where, why, how when of RIEMA Executive Director Robert J. Warren was doing during the very small snow fall last week that no state of RI emergency was declared by the Governor Thursday. RIEMA has no authority over cities and towns till state emergency is declared by Governor. Also please note Major General Robert T. Bray is the RIEMA Director. So I’m going to add my two cents in by providing the National Weather Service bulletin that was publically issued before the storm hit RI. Any State of RI, City, Town, Newspaper, TV station, school system and business that monitors the weather and received this free bulletin knew ahead what was going to happen. “One product issued by NWS for: East Greenwich RI ——————————————————————————– Heavy Snow Warning URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA 351 PM EST WED DEC 12 2007 …A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM WILL BRING HEAVY SNOWFALL TO MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY EVENING… CTZ002>004-RIZ001>005-130500- /O.UPG.KBOX.WS.A.0010.071213T1800Z-071214T0400Z/ /O.NEW.KBOX.HS.W.0002.071213T1800Z-071214T0400Z/ HARTFORD CT-TOLLAND CT-WINDHAM CT-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI- SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-WESTERN KENT RI-EASTERN KENT RI- BRISTOL RI- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…HARTFORD…WINDSOR LOCKS…UNION… VERNON…PUTNAM…WILLIMANTIC…FOSTER…SMITHFIELD… PROVIDENCE…WEST GREENWICH…WARWICK…BRISTOL 351 PM EST WED DEC 12 2007 …HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 11 PM EST THURSDAY… THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 11 PM EST THURSDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. A SHORT DURATION BUT HIGH IMPACT SNOWFALL WILL AFFECT NORTHERN CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES ARE LIKELY…WITH MOST OF THE SNOW FALLING IN A 6 HOUR PERIOD. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AROUND NOON… Read more »
Warren may have not had actual authority to do anything until a state of emergency has been declared. However, as Exec. Dir., he should have been on top of the situation so that he could be prepared to start acting immediately when such a declaration was made. It was obvious almost immediately that the situation was going to go from bad to worse when the snow started before noon and began to pile up on the roads.
If it has been me, I would have been listening to the radio and watching the DOT cameras. Futhermore I would have been making phone calls to my bosses asking them for instructions or authority.
Just a note:
Governor Carcieri will join Helen Glover in-studio from 9-10am on Wednesday morning. You’re more than welcome to call in or e-mail questions/comments to the Gov at 866-920-WHJJ(9455) or helen@920whjj.com
Tim Staskiewicz
Executive Producer
The Helen Glover Show
920 WHJJ
After hearing the governor on with Helen this morning it’s clear he’s still fact finding about everyone’s role from last week. Don’t see how his Chief of Staff survives after Brian Stern tells all he was in constant communication with the governor when we later find out the governor was on a flight to Kabul Afghanistan and was sleeping.
But imo the state’s inept response is dwarfed in comparision to Providence. Cicilline has big big problems ahead politically because of the mess that is his city. The media blackout has finally been lifted on Providence city hall and it’s not pretty.
He’s a slug just like his brother , a politically appointed Fire Chief in Providence. I’m glad he got the boot, now the mayor of prov should follow suit and do some housecleaning too
Greg,
The side streets in Cranston are a dangerous slippery mess. You cannot drive on any side street on the eastern side of the city without bouncing around in and out of holes in 6 odd inches thick packed ice and getting yanked from left to right, nearly sliding into parked cars through ruts and lumps.
For the heck of it I took a ride out to Crest Drive where Nappy lives. There is not a spec of snow, not even a single ice patch on the roads in his neighborhood. What is outrageous is that per pound of snow, the folks living in Eden Park, Edgewood and Forest Hills contribute a great deal more to the City’s revenue than do those in the sparsely populated Ridgewood neighborhood.
The City workers must figure that if he sees clean streets from his mansion he’ll think they did a great job. He is just dumb enough to fall for it.
Lost of mis-information here. The worst of this storm occurred in Providence. The Mayor of Providence should have been up on what was happening in his town. He should have asked for assistance from the state through his local EMA director. Whitout that request from the City of Providence, the state can’t send assistance…unless the Governor Declares an Emergency. There was no such declaration. Without opennig the EOC there is not much the State EMA director can do. General Bray did not open the EOC. So Mr. Warren couldn’t send help to Providence and the General, probably on the Governor’s orders would not open the EOC. What was Mr. Warren supposed to do? His hands were tied. Ultimately the General is in charge at RIEMA. The fact that he did not stand up for Mr. Warren speaks volumes to me about his (the Generals) charecter. Mr. Warren has done a lot to improve things at RIEMA and for the State of Rhode Island. The General undid all of it in about 30 seconds. The General should be canned. Take some time, get informed about how RIEMA works, and how disaster are declared and you will be able to figure where the blame should fall…and it isn’t on Bob Warren. 6 inches of snow in New England…are you all nuts. 1-3 inches an hour and you’re all out on the road. Some of you people are at fault too. Either get to your destination before the snow starts, or wait till they clear the streets. Schools should have been dismissed earlier, or cancelled for that day. Sometimes there really is nothing you can do…humans can’t control the weather. NWS was pretty good about telling you what to expect for this one…we all knew what was coming days in advance. Come on… Read more »