Former President of the 12,000-member International Association of Fire Chiefs, Rich Marinucci has been the Chief of the Farmington Hills Fire Department since 1984.  He manages a department that serves the community through traditional fire fighting as well as emergency medical services (EMS), fire prevention, hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response, advanced life support transportation service, and public fire safety education and training.  Last year, Chief Marinucci’s department responded to 6,850 emergency calls, trained 1,100 residents in cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and raised $50,000 for the families of fire fighters and police impacted by the terrorist attack on New York City.

Four years ago, at the request of James Lee Witt, former Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Marinucci spearheaded the Action Development Working Group, a task force that developed the 1998 Action Plan that now guides the way ahead for the United States Fire Administration (USFA).  An expert with degrees in both fire science and fire administration, Chief Marinucci has also been an effective advocate at the national level for the role of first responders in the fight against domestic terrorism.  In March 1998, Marinucci testified before the House National Security Committee and stated, 

“Local emergency response begins at that point immediately following notification of the terrorist act...that intense and vivid period of several hours when local first responders cope with the aftermath of a major incident.  It is that time when local first responders work alone…The first two or three hours of work by the local fire force will greatly determine the number of lives saved and the eventual outcome of the incident.

“When federal assets arrive, the ICS (Incident Command System) will be in place.  They will be plugged into that system by the Incident Commander.  Therefore, there is an urgent need for every federal agency that responds to any type of emergency to adopt the Incident Command System - the one taught by the National Fire Academy…The federal government must understand completely its supplemental, supportive role to the local incident commander. 

”The fire and emergency services need assistance from the federal government in the areas of training, detection equipment, personal protective equipment and mass decontamination abilities…It is incumbent upon federal departments and agencies to involve the fire and emergency services in the conception, design and review of all federal plans that relate to the response to terrorist incidents.”

In the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we recently followed up with Chief Marinucci to ask how the Farmington Hills Fire Department is improving its terrorism preparedness.

Chief, what is your fire department doing to be better prepared for terrorism?

“With respect to preparation, we are sending some personnel to training and raising the awareness of all our people.  We also are part of a regional hazardous materials team that will be a major responder to an event.  The team has received extra training and equipment.  Our City and Mayor are trying to organize a citizen committee to coordinate the entire community response.”

What do you believe you need to be fully prepared if a terrorism incident occurs in Farmington Hills?

“I believe more people need to be added to the department staff for preparation.  In order to train more, I bring back fire fighters on overtime.  They are resisting this more all the time, as they don't want more overtime. There are lots of other areas of responsibility that require training: fire, EMS, HAZMAT, special rescue, fire prevention, etc.  I need to figure a way to integrate the training into existing programs.  From a fire/rescue perspective, much of the terrorism acts fall into existing responses.  For example a chemical attack is a HAZMAT response.  The only difference is that there was a motive behind the attack (kind of like an arson fire still requires us to put out the fire but then there is the investigation).  If there were a biological release causing illness, that would be a mass casualty incident response.  Bombs require stabilizing the incident scene and then an investigation.  There are some nuances that must be considered, but that is more an issue of awareness than a change in response procedures. So to summarize, we need better training, the appropriate equipment and the time to prepare.”

Emergency management professors of at George Washington University would say that funding needs to be devoted to developing coordinated response systems, not just to purchasing equipment.  Are they right? 

“I think your professors are right.  Even though there will be money available, I hope it makes a difference.  If the federal government provides funding for equipment, I need a place to store it (my fire trucks are full), someone to maintain it (most equipment needs monthly or weekly attention to make sure it functions and I don't know who on my staff has time available), and training on its use (our fire fighters are busy, when do I do this?).”

The emergency management students at GWU thank Chief Marinucci for his insights, and we wish him continuing success.