Shout out to our fire fighters from San Francisco (and around the state)

who headed down south to help manage the Witch fire.

I heard the head of the International Association of Firefighters blast Bush tonight because of funding cuts to first responders. We all know what Bush is.

GO, STATION SEVEN!

Stay safe and get your tails back home asap.

Cuts in assistance could take millions from San Diego County

By Dana Wilkie and Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

February 6, 2004

WASHINGTON – President Bush's new budget would cut by one-third the money that thousands of fire departments rely on to keep their communities safe – including at least 10 departments in San Diego County that fought October's wildfires.

The nation's firefighters are outraged by the White House plan, which would take $250 million away from grants that help rural agencies buy firetrucks, protective clothing, breathing apparatus, water tanks and other equipment.

In the past three years, fire agencies in the county received almost $6 million of that money; departments heavily involved in fighting the wildfires used nearly $2 million.

"We're very grateful and lucky to have been selected to receive these funds in past years, but the job is far from finished," said Dave Nissen of the San Diego Rural Fire Protection District. Its units were among the first on the firelines in October.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/20040206-9999_1n6firecuts.html

Bush ignores sick firefighters

“Toxic chemicals and metals are being released into the environment around lower Manhattan by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and by the fires still burning at Ground Zero,” the Daily News wrote on 26 October 2001. “With the city facing heat from cops and firefighters who say they became sick working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill, we would do well to remember the warnings,” the same paper noted two and a half years later (25 May 2004). Indeed!

But while President George W. Bush exploits these workers for campaign purposes, the fact is that he ignores the sick and cuts funding for rescue workers and equipment.

The Daily News based their first article on the World Trade Center “Toxic Zone” on hundreds of pages of environmental tests undertaken by the federal government. The tests showed that asbestos, benzene, heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs were being released into the environment. But a spokesperson for the federal Environmental Protection Agency said there was “nothing to worry about”. Several other officials chimed in. And, as could be expected, they sent this message to the thousands of workers on the rubble pile: “Respirators, when used properly, protect workers from exposure to contaminants.”

Today, some 1,700 firefighters and police officers, who assert they became sick while working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill*, have filed lawsuits against New York City. Several have developed cancer. While experts would normally expect many more years to pass before cancer developed, the combination of toxics these people were exposed to was probably unprecedented. Last May, a summary report of scientific studies on Ground Zero pollution was published. It begins: “The destruction of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 caused the largest acute environmental disaster that ever has befallen New York City.”

http://www.world-psi.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=2318&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

WE ARE LOSING OUR BEST PEOPLE!!!!! :mad:

:grr:

Bush budget squeezes first responders
2007 spending plan would hurt state and local programs
By Dibya Sarkar


No one expected to be spared from President Bush’s proposed belt-tightening budget, but police officers, firefighters and others feel particularly squeezed. “I think ‘surprised’ is understated,” said Thomas Frazier, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, whose membership includes 57 law enforcement agencies. “We certainly didn’t anticipate a lack of support at this point in time for public safety,” Frazier said. “These departments have had support for many years…and to see the president zero it out of the budget is disturbing at best.” According to the proposed fiscal 2007 budget, the president would substantially decrease or eliminate funding for several major programs that first responders have relied on to buy technology, interoperable communications equipment, gear and vehicles. For example, the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program has a $480 million budget this year, which includes $140 million for technology and interoperable communications. But the president has proposed cutting the program’s budget to about $102 million for 2007. The Byrne Justice Assistance Grants program, which has about $416 million, would lose all funding. Bush administration officials said the programs have either reached their goals or have not shown results. The administration’s spending plan shows increases for other grant programs such as the Urban Area Security Initiative, which would get $838 million in fiscal 2007, and Targeted Infrastructure Protection, which would get $600 million in fiscal 2007. But first responders said those budgets are a result of consolidating several other funding programs. Harlin McEwen, a retired police chief who now leads the Communications and Technology Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said the COPS cutback “will have a big impact because the grants…have been a tremendous help in improving interoperability.” Frazier, director of the COPS office from 1999 to 2000, said funding cuts could hamper law enforcement efforts to develop information-sharing systems. “That’s an all-crimes issue,” he said. “If you have good data interoperability,… you will be able to find hidden associations than before, not only in terrorism but in drugs and right on down the line.” Matt Socknat, government affairs director for the National Sheriffs’ Association, said even the Homeland Security Department’s $400 million Local Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program is on the chopping block. “It’s just a real disturbing trend since 2001,” he said. “We’ve seen funding for a lot of these programs reduced by more than half.” Socknat said sheriffs’ offices are adding responsibilities, such as helping curb illegal immigration. But if they’re not given the proper resources, they won’t be able to fulfill those extra duties, he added. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the highest ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the cuts have become unfunded mandates and make it difficult for first responders and others to do their jobs. But he said that in budget talks with other committee members, he has heard significant support for restoring those funds. “A lot of us are real concerned that our president talks tough on terrorism, but when it comes time to put the resources there to really address it, he comes up woefully inadequate,” Thompson said. “Nobody who has any real knowledge of our vulnerabilities feels good about these cuts.” Firefighters would also experience cuts in federal grant programs. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program would be cut from $545 million this year to a proposed $293 million in 2007, and the $110 million budget for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program would be eliminated under the president’s proposed budget. Socknat said he would be shocked if Congress didn’t restore the funding. But he added that Congress is working to try to balance the budget and that could mean asking law enforcement agencies and others to make difficult decisions about which initiatives to fund and which to cut. “Who is to say these anti-gang initiatives aren’t as important as Internet crimes trafficking of children?” Socknat said. “It’s very difficult.”

http://www.fcw.com/print/12_4/news/92420-1.html

Firefighters Deserve Support from Washington
Representative Miller Calls on Bush Administration
to Match Action to Rhetoric

Monday, February 23, 2004

WASHINGTON --Despite all the Bush Administration’s rhetoric about homeland security, local emergency responders are still not adequately equipped to do their jobs, Representative George Miller (D-Martinez) said today. Budget analysts and local firefighters agree that even now, nearly two and a half years after September 11, the federal government fails to provide sufficient resources for local fire departments.

“I have heard from Bay Area firefighters that they don’t have the people they need, and they don’t always have the equipment and training, either,” said Miller. “These are the men and women on the front lines of emergency response - they deserve all the support we can give them."

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has not provided that support. In its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the Bush Administration drastically cuts federal assistance to first responders, cutting First Responder grants by $207 million. And although the Bush Administration has proclaimed that the budget increases homeland security funding by ten percent, that number is the result of misleading budget math.

In reality, the budget cuts $800 million from the Office of Domestic Preparedness, which distributes federal homeland security dollars to states and cities. President Bush has also claimed credit for providing $500 million for the Assistance to Firefighters grant program. But this figure is a third less than the $750 million that Congress appropriated last year.

Meanwhile, local emergency responders are often forced to work with outdated equipment, and many police and fire departments do not have enough men and women to respond to emergencies. Last fall, Representative Miller surveyed emergency responders in his congressional district, and found that nearly three quarters of the police departments, fire departments, and other emergency services did not have adequate funding for homeland security needs. Some were using World War Two-era gas masks, while others could not afford to purchase HAZMAT suits.

http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/press/rel22304.html

:grr:

Firefighters Association Leader Calls for Bush's 'Firing'
By Lois Gormley
The Desert Sun

Saturday 15 May 2004

PALM SPRINGS - The president of the International Association of Fire Fighters blasted President George W. Bush and his administration for failing to support firefighters, and called for its members to "fire" the commander- in-chief.

Harold Schaitberger, who also is the national co-chair of presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry's presidential campaign, sharply criticized Bush's plans to cut existing federal funds going to the fire service. He said the upcoming election was the most critical in a generation.

"The next president is going to determine whether working men and women, working families, have a chance," he said during a speech Friday morning before union leaders and delegates during the final day of the California Professional Firefighters' annual convention at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs.

Schaitberger, a former Virginia firefighter who leads the IAFF's efforts in Washington, D.C., and nationally, received several standing ovations during his remarks Friday.

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/9/4483

And that was YEARS ago.

:loveya:

July 11, 2005
Protecting America From Terrorism

More Must Be Done Here at Home

Once again, the Bush administration has failed to make protecting America from terrorism here at home a top priority. The Bush budget falls far below the needed resources to defend Americans from terrorist attacks. It fails to provide the needed resources to hire, train, and equip our first responders, increase rail and transit security, protect chemical and nuclear plants and strengthen port security. More must be done and Democrats will fight to ensure that the needed investments will be made.

THE BUSH BUDGET FAILS TO PROTECT AMERICANS

Bush Cuts Support for Firefighters. Though reports have raised concern about severe staffing and equipment shortages at fire departments nationwide, the Bush budget cuts funding critical to hiring, training, and equipping firefighters. His budget falls $450 million below the authorized funding level and $215 million below this year’s appropriation.

Bush Cuts Funding for Police. Once again, President Bush has attempted to severely limit funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, one of the most successful federal law enforcement programs ever created. This year, Bush requested only $2.8 million compared to the nearly $1 billion spent just two years ago. Less funding will mean fewer police officers available to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.

Bush Cuts National First Responder Programs. The Bush budget also cuts funding to national first responder programs that provide needed training, technical assistance, rural preparedness and other programs. Bush proposed cutting funding to this program by nearly $180 million.

http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=240446&

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/2193/702/

LAKE COUNTY – Local firefighters remain at work in Southern California as fires continue to wreak havoc in the region.


On Monday, four Lake County fire agencies – Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District, Lake County Fire Protection District and South County Fire Protection District – each sent an engine and a total of 14 firefighting personnel to Southern California, as Lake County News reported Tuesday.


An engine and three firefighters from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County accompanied the Lake County contingent, according to Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells.


On Wednesday Wells reported that the local firefighters are working shifts of 24 hours with 24 hours off. Wednesday was a day for them to rest, he said.

--snip--
Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Battalion Chief Redhawk Palleson said the unit already had laid off about half of the seasonal personnel it employs, but kept the rest.


Information provided by Fire Prevention Specialist Suzie Blankenship shows that Cal Fire employs about 400 seasonal fire personnel.


Palleson said the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit has sent 150 personnel – including firefighters and command personnel – along with 15 engines and three bulldozers to Southern California. “We've sent just about as many people as we can right now.”

:yourock:

Bush Fights Firefighters with Fire

By Molly Ivins, AlterNet. Posted March 9, 2004.

Bush screwed the firefighters in a famous case of his favorite bait-and-switch tactic, and now he has the chutzpah to exploit them anyway.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Living proof that the Democrats haven't gotten any smarter since the last time they ran a candidate for president. Much huffing (and a huffy Democrat is a terrifying sight) over the fact that George W. Bush used images of 9-11 and of the firefighters at Ground Zero to tout his candidacy in his first campaign ad. How crass, said the D's. Exploiting a national tragedy for political purposes -- oh, how tacky.

Dammit, the problem is not that the ad is in bad taste, the problem is that Bush screwed the firefighters in a famous case of his favorite bait-and-switch tactic, and now he has the chutzpah to exploit them anyway and that, my friends, is gall. Bait, switch and then claim credit anyway.

For those of you who have forgotten what happened (apparently including the entire Bush campaign): Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, President Bush promised a $3.5 billion aid package to provide equipment and training in dealing with such attacks to local police and fire departments. For over 18 months, no money appeared, and when money finally did appear, it was nowhere near the promised levels (hey, he had to cut those taxes on the richest 1 percent of Americans).

Furthermore, the New York City firefighters who worked Ground Zero were specifically screwed. They were promised $90 million to monitor the long-term health effects of breathing in all that ash for months while they cleaned up. The money was to have been included in the overall post 9-11 aid package for New York City, but it got shifted to another bill that Bush rejected the following August. About half the workers screened before the money ran out suffered from respiratory problems.

http://www.alternet.org/story/18073/

Dems slam Bush for planned visit to fire-ravaged California

Oct 25, 2007 8:47 AM (14 hrs ago)
by Bill Sammon, The Examiner

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - President Bush is pushing ahead with a visit to fire-ravaged California Thursday, despite complaints from the state’s top Democrat that the trip is a “public relations” stunt that will distract firefighters.

“I got some doubt about the value of President Bush coming out here,” said California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi on MSNBC. “How many times did he go to New Orleans and still made promises, but hasn’t delivered?”

It was a pointed reference to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans in 2005 and exposed weaknesses in the emergency preparedness of local, state and federal authorities. Although Bush was criticized by liberals for not visiting New Orleans soon enough, Garamendi accused the president of visiting California too soon.

“It’s public relations,” Garamendi said. “OK, President Bush comes out, we’ll be polite. But frankly, that’s not the solution. How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq so that we have those people available here to help us?”

http://www.examiner.com/a-1008951~Dems_slam_Bush_for_planned_visit_to_fire_ravaged_California.html?cid=rss-Washington_DC

Terrific line-up of articles, sfexpat.

(Yeah, right. What about funding our first responders, frat boy.)

Bush: Feds won't forget SoCal fire victims

Published: 25, 2007 at 3:51 PM

ESCONDIDO, Calif., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush assured victims of California’s wildfires that they won't be forgotten by the federal government once the flames are snuffed out.

The president said in brief remarks Thursday in northern San Diego County that the federal government was pulling out all stops in assisting the firefighting efforts and would also be lending a hand to people who lost their homes and businesses.

“We are not going to forget you in Washington, D.C.,” Bush said at a park in Escondido, Calif., where he shook hands with squads of soot-stained firefighters still engaged in the battle.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/10/25/bush_feds_wont_forget_socal_fire_victims/7998/

WASHINGTON — Hurricane Katrina has many legacies for the Bush White House, none pleasant.

One is the guarantee that as soon as disaster strikes in the United States, President Bush's every move is closely scrutinized to gauge the speed and tone of his response to the suffering.

This became clear yet again Tuesday, as the enormity of the wildfires sweeping across Southern California became apparent.

The White House reacted with what has become a familiar pattern: Bush dropped a few lines of sympathy and promised assistance into an already scheduled speech.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/24/analysis-bush-struggles-find-disaster-footin/

Katrina missteps still haunt White House
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer

Screens that keep debris out of the water intakes are seen at pump station No. 6 on the 17th Street Canal in New Orleans Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. The city's system of pumps and drainage canals, while nearly back to its capacity before Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, couldn't keep up.

WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina has many legacies for the Bush White House, none pleasant. One is the guarantee that as soon as disaster strikes in the United States, President Bush's every move is closely scrutinized to gauge the speed and tone of his response to the suffering.

This became clear yet again on Tuesday, as the enormity of the wildfires sweeping across Southern California became apparent.

The White House reacted with what has become a familiar pattern: Bush dropped a few lines of sympathy and promised assistance into an already scheduled speech. Across the administration, aides volunteered as many facts and figures as possible about the federal contribution to the disaster response, a federal emergency to speed relief funding was declared in the middle of the night, and a presidential visit to the affected area was quickly arranged.

The White House's handling of Katrina in the days before it hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in late August 2005 seemed set to follow this model. Bush and his aides issued repeated warnings to worried locals, conferred with officials in the region and promised Washington would do all it could to help.

http://www.star-telegram.com/190/story/278262.html

October 25, 2007 -- As the more than 7,000 IAFF fire fighters on the ground in southern California continue working 96-hour shifts to contain the 12 major wildfires, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger, California Professional Firefighters (CPF) President Lou Paulson, CAL Fire Local 2881 President Bob Wolf and San Diego Local 145 President Ron Saathoff are on the ground surveying the damage, talking to exhausted fire fighters and meeting with policy makers, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Fire fighters never blink when they’ve got a job to do, no matter how imposing,” says Schaitberger. “Once again, fire fighters are in the eye of the storm, putting their lives on the line for their communities. I want to make sure that they know they have the entire nation supporting them as they do their duty.”

Schaitberger reports that there is a vast difference in California’s response from Louisiana’s response in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina. “We have fire fighters responding from four states. And Governor Schwarzenegger and local governments are responding faster,” says Schaitberger, who congratulated Governor Schwarzenegger for his state’s response to the devastating wildfires during a press conference with the governor in Escondito.

The state also recalled 1,800 seasonal fire fighters to assist in fighting the fires. The IAFF is advocating for seasonal fire fighters to become year-round personnel statewide.

http://www.iaff.org/07News/102507Wildfire.htm

California Burns and Bush Basks in Glow

President Cuts Funding for Fire Fighters, First Response, Rushes to Wildfire Front to Show Support

Washington – Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, issued the following statement on the situation in southern California and President Bush’s visit there today:

“It is unfortunate that President Bush has decided to inject himself into the California wildfire fight even while he has been resisting efforts to fund national programs that provide equipment, staffing and training to communities most vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters.

“Fire fighters will respond no matter what. Our brave members put themselves in harm’s way because it is their duty. President Bush’s duty is to ensure that we have the right number of fire fighters and the appropriate resources to protect our communities. He hasn’t lived up to his part of the bargain.

“Earlier this year, President Bush proposed slashing funding for the first responder grants – the FIRE and SAFER programs. His 2008 budget proposal slashed funding for the FIRE Act by 45 percent and eliminated the SAFER program altogether. FIRE and SAFER both are authorized for $1 billion a year, but FIRE now receives about half of its full funding, and SAFER gets only 10 percent of its authorized level of funding.

http://www.iaff.org/Comm/Press/102507WildfireBUSH.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7061310.stm

Be safe, my friends.

White House pouring water on firefighters' funding plea
Chiefs seeking $7.6 billion federal grant to boost staffing

Bill Miller, Washington Post

President Bush and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge have often praised the courage of the nation's firefighters, noting the critical role they play as "first responders" in U.S. anti-terror efforts. But, at the same time, the White House is resisting pressure from fire chiefs, firefighters' unions and lawmakers to use federal money to help departments hire more personnel.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Fighters maintain that the nation's fire departments are vastly understaffed and unprepared to cope with a terrorist attack. They want the Bush administration to create a federal grant program that would help communities hire 75,000 new firefighters over the next seven years, at a cost of $7.6 billion.

The United States has roughly 1 million firefighters, a number that has remained fairly steady over the past 20 years. But that total isn't nearly enough for fire departments to meet staffing standards set last year by the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit organization that provides guidance to governments about fire and building codes. Most of the nation's fire departments don't have enough personnel to meet the standards, association leaders said.

"We do not have enough firefighters to do the job," said Garry Briese, executive director of the association. "We're asked to work at maximum capacity on an infrequent basis. But it could have catastrophic consequences if we do not perform well."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/18/MN110782.DTL