Fire hoses at the ready. (Photo courtesy the U.S. Fire Administration)
Firefighters across the country were stunned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s abrupt announcement Friday that classes at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg were canceled, beginning Monday.
The directive came via email on Friday afternoon and is in effect starting this week, according to a spokesperson for Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th). It applies to all classes that require a federally funded instructor, which encompasses virtually all programs besides “click and watch” instruction.
“The Trump administration’s order to pause lifesaving training in Emmitsburg not only flies in the face of a judge’s most recent demand to resume all federal spending,” McClain Delaney said in a statement Monday, “but also weakens the level of preparedness for our first responders across the nation.”
The sudden cut-off of services also caught local legislators like Del. William Wivell (R-Frederick) by surprise.
“Emergency services was an area we thought the administration was going to protect,” Wivell said Monday night, adding that he hopes, and expects, that operations will return to normal in the near future.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the shutdown.
Peter Matthews, a former firefighter in Laurel who is now editor-in-chief at Firehouse Magazine, said Monday that the academy serves as an opportunity for firefighters and emergency personnel from different parts of the country to share experiences and learn from each other. Without it, he said, they may be in the dark.
“On the whole, because you never know what you’re going to need, it impacts every community,” Matthews said. “Firefighters are called out for everything including police incidents and EMS incidents.
“So the folks that manage that disaster, big or small, are having a negative impact by losing these classes,” Matthews said.
According to its website, the National Fire Academy provides “specialized training courses and advanced management programs” for firefighters, fire service instructors and others in associated fields. The academy also offers off-campus courses of the two and six-day variety. This includes two-day courses co-sponsored by the NFA and state or local fire training agencies, which are delivered in the training agency’s home state.
The training is free, and fire departments and professionals across the U.S. are invited to apply.
On Friday, those opportunities suddenly, and without advance warning, dried up – according to Matthews, the notice from FEMA was unexpected by personnel within the academy. He said that, as it stands, there is “a lot of confusion.”
“Usually there’s somebody that has an answer,” Matthews said. “Everyone always comes to the fire service to solve their problems, well, now they really need help.”
According to a Facebook post from the Maine Fire Service Institute, the notification was such a surprise that one NFA instructor was already in the state when he received notice that classes had been canceled.
While not a direct victim of the sweeping layoffs and budget cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, the cancellations at the NFA align with larger efforts from the Trump administration to reexamine, and in many cases shut off, the flow of federal money.
It is unclear when classes will resume, though FEMA’s email said it would reevaluate after a review.