Fire Department Company Officer (3rd Edition)
Chapter 8 - Government Structure
Test Review
NOTICE: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT IS NOT COVERED
§ In municipal (city) government, officials are generally elected by eligible voters in the community, though some may be hired into office.
§ In an at-large election, candidates can reside in any part of the city, with all eligible voters being able to vote for one or more candidates, and is intended to free legislators from undue influence (most common in small communities).
§ Most cities use an at-large or ward form of representation.
§ The council-mayor form of city government generally consists of one official elected at-large (the mayor), and a group of representatives who serve districts, wards, or precincts.
§ Council-mayor governments may be classified as weak- (mayor has no vote, except with ties) or strong-mayor (most common, substantial influence) forms.
§ It is often desirable to maintain a separation between political planning and day-to-day administration.
§ In a council-manager government, a professional public administrator manages the daily affairs of the city.
§ Often the fire chief reports directly to the city manager in a council-manager government.
§ A commission government is similar to a council system and may or may not have a mayor.
§ Each commissioner in a commission type government is like a city manager for that portion of the city's operations.
§ Commissioners usually rely more directly on the fire chief and other department heads for the day-to-day operation and planning for their departments.
§ Commissioners serve as advocates on behalf of those functions under their supervision.
§ Township governments are generally commission-type bodies (board of trustees).
§ Responsibilities for a township government are divided amongst the trustees.
§ County and parish governments were originally formed in order to de-centralize state and provincial governments.
§ County governments generally consist of county commission, county commission-manger, and county commission-executive types.
§ The commission form of county government continues to be the most common form of county and parish government.
§ In a county commission, commissioners/supervisors are elected at-large and assume responsibility for a specific set of operational functions OR the county is divided into districts, and commissioners are responsible for the operation of their represented districts and jointly for overall operation.
§ The county commission-manger form of government is equivalent to the city form of the same.
§ The county commission-executive form of government is the equivalent of the council-mayor with a strong mayor type of city government.
§ Most fire districts operate under an elected board of directors.
§ In most cases, the state or province will designate one of the existing agencies to oversee and coordinate the actions of fire districts.
§ Local government impacts fire protection agencies by governing body decisions (allocating funds) and by oversight of agencies with which the fire departments work (policies, procedures).
§ At the local level, legislation is enacted by the council, commission, or board that has jurisdiction.
§ Local police and sheriff's departments may share the same department head or supervisor.
§ Building departments are responsible for ensuring that building codes and fire codes are enforced during construction and renovation.
§ Local water departments have the responsibility for the sewer and storm drain systems within a community (important with HazMat incidents).
§ The zoning commission coordinates use of land within a community and determines the types of structures that can be located within a given area.
§ Local street departments not only maintains roads, but they also keep fire departments informed of street repairs in progress that may impede emergency responses.
§ The street department usually has a role in HazMat incidents on public roads.
§ Local courts render decisions in cases of arson, insurance fraud, failure to comply with fire codes, and some proceedings may require appearance by fire personnel.
§ The Office of Emergency Preparedness is responsible for preparing for and responding to disasters
§ Civic groups (non-governmental) which assist fire departments include Chamber of Commerce, fraternal organizations, service clubs, and local businesses.
§ (State Government) Legislative braches are responsible for enacting laws.
§ (State Government) The head of a state's executive branch is call the governor who is generally given powers to veto or approve legislation, call the legislature into session, and serve as commander of the state's militia and law enforcement agencies.
§ (State Government) The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting state constitutions and overseeing the state's court system.
§ A key responsibility of fire marshals is that of advising the legislature or assembly of fire-related legislation and to oversee the fire prevention progam.
§ Fire training programs often provide technical advice and planning assistance to local fire protection agencies.
§ A few states establish fire commissions to conduct fire service training and certification (funding comes from legislature).
§ Fire Chiefs Associations (normally non-governmental) meet to consider common problems and objectives.
§ Firefighters Associations generally meet to influence legislative action, establish benefits, implement fire protection awareness/training, and promote efforts to improve public safety and working conditions.
§ State police may assist with arson investigations that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
§ The state fire marshals office is under the jurisdiction of the state police.
§ Highway departments or turnpike authorities are generally responsible for roadway planning, maintenance, and control at the state level.
§ Environmental Protection Agencies often assist in the development of response plans and frequently deploy to incident sites to support local response efforts.
§ Health departments are responsible when a medical facility, food vendor, place of lodging, or public building is involved in an incident.
§ The Forestry Department is often a mutual aid agency with which fire departments contract.
§ For large-scale disasters, departments may work with higher-level agencies such as the Office of Emergency Preparedness or Civil Defense.
§ Special interest groups such as the insurance commission may call on the fire department to assist in addressing special problems or situations.
§ The President is the nation's chief executive and is responsible for enforcing federal laws, appointing federal officials, commanding armed forces, conducting foreign affairs, recommending laws to Congress, approving/vetoing laws, and serving as ceremonial head of the nation.
§ A bill is the written description of the legislation that is presented to Congress.
§ Bills are written by Congressional staff specialists called legislative counsels or by lawyers.
§ Any bills dealing with taxes and spending must originate in the House of Representatives.
§ Bills are assigned to a House Committee for review by the Speaker of the House and to a Senate Committee for review by the Senate Majority Leader.
§ To "table" a bill means to take no action.
§ Released bills are placed on the Congressional calendar for debate and vote by the members of the originating house.
§ Bills approved by both houses go to the conference committee, which includes representatives of both houses of Congress and their job is to work out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.
§ Once a bill is approved by both houses, the Government Printing Office prints the final version and the bill is enrolled as an act (then sent to President).
§ Citizens or groups can challenge legislation by presenting it to the courts to rule on constitutionality.
§ The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an executive agency that serves as a single point of contact within the federal government for emergency management activities.
§ FEMA's organizations structure reflects the functions of emergency management: preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery.
§ FEMA oversees operations of the US Fire Administration, Federal Insurance Administration, and Urban Search & Rescue (US&R).
§ The USFA is headquartered in Emmitsberg, MD and administers an extensive fire data and analysis program and provides overall fire policy and coordination.
§ The USFA coordinates with NIOSH on firefighter safety and health.
§ The USFA administrator reports to the Director of FEMA.
§ The National Fire Academy (NFA) is part of the National Emergency Training Center (NETC), co-located in Emmitsberg, MD.
§ The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) provides training of civil defense forces through the NETC.
§ EMI superintendents report to FEMA's Associate Director of Training.
§ The fire protection programs of the US Department of Agriculture are aimed at fire prevention and education in rural areas which are carried out by the US Forest Service and Farmers Home Administration.
§ The Farmers' Home Administration makes loans to public bodies and nonprofit corporations in rural areas for construction of fire stations, water supplies, and equipment.
§ The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces rules regarding safety and durability of manufactured homes, including fire safety.
§ The Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID provides logistic support for the USFS, BLM, NOAA, NPS, and Fish & Wildlife agencies.
§ (DOT) The Federal Highway Administration is responsible for interstate highways.
§ (DOT) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is responsible for on-road vehicle safety hazards and accidents.
§ (DOT) The Urban Mass Transportation Administration is responsible for buses and subways.
§ (DOT) The Materials Transportation Bureau is responsible for HazMat.
§ (DOT) The Transportation Safety Institute is responsible for safety/security management and training.
§ (DOT) The Transportation Systems Center is responsible for applied reasearch.
§ The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) is under the direction of the Department of the Treasury and conducts arson investigation programs, including training and technical assistance to local law/fire agencies.
§ The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for the Fire and Thermal Burn Program which investigates injury patterns, collects data, performs research, and enforces mandatory standards with respect to consumer products.
§ The Congressional Fire Services Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the task of educating members of both houses of Congress on issues of importance to emergency services.
§ The International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) is an accreditation system operated by member organizations.
§ IFSTA's objectives are to develop training materials and visual aids, to add new techniques/developments, to delete obsolete methods, to validate training material, to provide student materials/instructors, and to upgrade the fire service through training.
§ The IMSA produces a bimonthly publication called IMSA Signal Magazine.
§ Objectives of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) include: to unite for mutual benefit, to provide exchange of technical information, to further fire prevention through cooperation with agencies, to encourage high professional standards of conduct, and to continually strive to eliminate all factors that interfere with administration of crime suppression.
§ The IAAI produces a quarterly bulletin called The Fire and Arson Investigator.
§ The IAFF is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
§ The sole objective of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is the promotion of public safety through the conduct of "scientific investigation, study, experiments, and tests".
§ UL has no capital stock and exists solely for the service it renders in the field of fire, crime, and casualty prevention.
§ The Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC) conducts research and development in the field of property loss control.
§ The Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL), formerly the National Bureau of Standards' Center for Fire Research, conducts research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersberg, MD to improve codes and standards.
§ The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) produces the SFPE Bulletin, the Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, and a series of "Technology Reports" covering technical developments of interest to the engineering community.