Elfreth Joins Maryland Delegation, Other Democrats in Letter to DHS and FEMA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (D-MD 03) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and 65 of their Congressional colleagues in a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton. The letter pressed for further explanation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) move to cancel training programs for firefighters and first responders at the National Fire Academy (NFA) and Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The NFA and EMI connect first responders to leading experts to train with stress-tested technology, share best practices on fire and hazard safety, and develop innovative emergency response methods to enhance public safety. Programs at the NFA and EMI include emergency medical services, fire prevention, arson and explosion investigation, leadership development, wildfire response, and firefighter health and safety. The cancellation of training programs jeopardizes safety preparedness and the plans of first responders to receive essential emergency training. 

“We write to express our serious concern with the Administration’s immediate cancellation of all in-person first responder training courses at the U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) and the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), collocated at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland,” the lawmakers began. “According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) March 7th announcement, classes were canceled to review NFA and EMI ‘programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities.’ This action undermines first responder public safety and potentially poses an equal threat to public safety,” the lawmakers wrote. 

“Firefighters and other first responders lay their lives on the line every day for our communities. The abrupt cancellation of courses has affected dozens of firefighters, educators, and local departments that rely on the National Fire Academy’s and Emergency Management Institute’s resources, classes, and expertise to promote safe and effective fire prevention, enhance firefighter safety, and reduce the loss of life and property to fire, floods, and other natural disasters. We call on the Administration to reverse course and reinstate these critical classes for first responders,” the lawmakers continued.

In their letter, the lawmakers press for information on the following:

• The rationale that FEMA used to justify the cancellation: to review programs to ensure they aligned with “Administration priorities;” 
• The duration of FEMA’s review process;
• The status of travel reimbursement to first responders for now canceled courses;
• Whether FEMA will follow Federal Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island’s preliminary injunction on March 6th that prohibits the freezing of federal funds.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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