A Sense of Urgency Garry L. Briese, CAE Executive Director I.A.F.C.

A Sense of Urgency To cause things to happen….

A Sense of Urgency To embrace the concept of a all- hazards, multi-mission fire-service supported by national policy, procedures & doctrine and delivered through local fire departments

A Sense of Urgency To Highlight Fire Service Successes To Quantify Successes in Homeland Security To Analyze Lessons Learned –Near Real Time Analysis –Recommendations for Change –Change Policy, Procedure, Doctrine

A Sense of Urgency To sustain “fire-based” leaders in key DHS positions

A Sense of Urgency To not wait for he Federal Government to solve problems –Mutual Aid –Community Relations Team –Avian Flu Pandemic

A Sense of Urgency To Improve Fire Fighter Safety –Fire Fighter Safety is a leadership issue –To develop a culture of safety & wellness

A Sense of Urgency To Reform Fire Service Leadership Education –Largely linear –Largely Disjointed –500+ locations –Basically independent –Integration & coordination not viewed as priority

–Develop national fire service leadership educational doctrine –Accept dynamic course redevelopment –Focus on company officers leadership –Increase distance learning –Remove academic accreditation requirements at NFA –Emphasize knowledge exchange for fire chiefs

The Future Challenge for the IAFC To sustain the IAFC’s momentum and leadership capabilities