K
Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names
Guest
Trade group founded in 2000 now represents 10,000 private firefighters
SAN DIEGO - After the Great Fire of London in 1666, insurance
companies started issuing plaques to show private fire brigades which
homes to save--and which to let burn. Insurers organized their own
firefighting companies. Not having a plaque didn't mean your home went
totally ignored, but it certainly didn't help.
Today, a decline in public funding for firefighting services has
sparked explosive growth in the private sector. The world's largest
insurance company - American Insurance Group - now has "Wildfire
Protection Units" in 150 US zip codes. During the 2007 California
wildfires, AIG's firefighters saved homes in wealthy areas, while less
fortunate neighbors were left with rubble. A trade group for private
firefighters founded in 2000 now represents 10,000 private firemen.
Rancho Bernardo, a wealthy San Diego community that lost 365 homes
during the October fires, has just one fire station for a 24-mile
area. The city fails to meet the minimum standards for accreditation
recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, which
requires a minimum of one station for every nine miles.
In a blistering interview earlier this month, San Diego Fire Chief
Tracy Jarman told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the city was left
on its own to fight the October wildfires--and was woefully unprepared,
despite the fact that some richer homeowners had their own private
army. With two fires blazing into Rancho Bernardo, Jarman called Cal
Fire to request immediate air support and 150 strike teams from the
state: 750 fire engines and 3,000 firefighters.
Cal Fire's response? Nothing was available.
But while Cal Fire balked, AIG firefighter Sam Crays was saving homes
for clients. `We love putting out fires,'' Crays told Bloomberg News,
noting that his unit was able to extinguish a fire in a nearby
uninsured home. But, he added, adjacent homeowners weren't always so
lucky. "There were a few instances where we were spraying and the
neighbor's house went up like a candle."
Last month, former San Diego fire chief Jeff Bowman told a
Congressional hearing that he left his job in April 2006 over "abject
frustration" because repeated recommendations went unheeded. He said
he urged the County buy at least 50 fire engines, each staffed by at
least 12 firefighters and add 22 fire stations.
"People have to understand that there will eventually be loss of life
on a massive scale if nothing happens," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-
CA), who convened the hearing on the Southern California fires. The
senator described seeing "pockmarked" areas of burned neighborhoods in
Rancho Bernardo, where "obviously the fire wasn't fought," yet a few
houses remained oddly unscathed amid the rubble.
"It's a terrible mistake to have to go to private firefighting," the
California Democrat told RAW STORY after the hearing. "I deeply
believe that San Diego has to change the size of its fire resources."
Private firefighters deployed in California wildfires
Firebreak Spray Systems Company, a private company headquartered in
Oregon, treated about 200 homes in Rancho Bernando and other enclaves
fortunate enough to afford premium insurance during the recent fires.
"We had eight trucks responding to fires there in Southern
California," Firebreak CEO Jim Aamodt said. The company's private fire
brigade sprayed homes with Phos-Chek, the same fire retardant chemical
used in forest fires.
"None that we treated burned," Aamodt added. "We identified 12 saves
in which we were able to either put our fires, or they burned right up
to the Phos-Chek line."
The company offers pre-treatments and automated sprinkler applications
to its clients, as well as dispatching trained wildlife firefighters
to treat homes and brush during actual fires. Firebreak also offers
concierge-style fire protection services for AIG policyholders during
wildfires. AIG has also sent private firefighting teams to other
richer areas in Sun Valley, Idaho, Malibu, California and Colorado
resort communities.
"We are getting a tremendous amount of insurance interest now since
this publicity hit," Aamodt said.
Private firefighting spreads nationally
Fighting fires has become big business. The National Wildfire
Suppression Association (NWSA), a trade organization founded in 2000,
now represents over 200 private companies and 10,000 wild land
firefighters. The private firefighting industry is estimated to be
worth billions of dollars.
Some cities and counties are now hiring private contractors to replace
public services provided by unionized firefighters. According to the
Heartland Institute, a conservative pro-privatization think tank,
Lakewood, Illinois has contracted with American Emergency Service
Corporation to provide fire protection. The company's employees are
non-union; Heartland asserts that "wage and benefits costs are lower
than those incurred by fire districts that hire their own firefighters
and paramedics."
Another private firefighting contractor, Rural/Metro, provides private
fire protection services to over 25 communities, according to the
company's website. Other contractors offer specialties; Halliburton,
for instance, focuses on dousing oil well fires. Other large companies
with fire protection divisions include Kellogg, Brown, and Root and
Spain-based Avialsa.
The U.S. government also uses private contractors to abet firefighting
efforts on federal lands. The practice began during the Clinton
administration in response to a decline in the logging industry and a
shortage of lumberjack-firefighters to combat forest fires. Since
2000, the industry has mushroomed.
Not every marriage between private firefighting contractors and
government entities is made in heaven. In Florida, the town of Estero
hired Wackenhut Corp. to run its fire department. But after a private
firefighter was killed, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administrated cited the company for safety violations. As a result,
Estero canceled the contract and resurrected its public fire
department.
According to an audit report on Forest Service firefighting contract
crews conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of
Inspector General, private crews used in the 2002 Biscuit Fire in
Oregon, insufficiently trained and inexperienced crews negatively
impacted firefighting efforts.
"We had crew performance problems on the fire line. We also had issues
of falsified training records," Rod Nichols, information officer with
the Oregon Department of Forestry, told RAW STORY. Some companies
hired undocumented immigrants and sent non-English speaking crews out
with supervisors who did not speak Spanish, he added.
"Since then, we believe we've overcome a lot of those problems,"
Nichols said. He cited changes in procedures, discipline and dismissal
of some offending companies and a reduction in private crews among the
improvements made.
"In the past 10 years, wild-land firefighting has transformed from a
federal government responsibility to a massive, extremely lucrative,
private enterprise," Slate Magazine wrote in a 2002 article sharply
critical of the practice. "Privatizing firefighting was supposed to
cut costs. But it has done nothing of the sort. Last summer, which was
an "average" fire season, was the most costly on record."
The 2001 fire season cost an average of $1,340 per acre to fight fires
in national forests--270 percent more than it did in 2000, the magazine
said.
The politics of private-firefighting
Some private firefighting firms or their owners have made hefty
donations to the Republican Party and prominent elected officials.
Mike Wheelock, owner of Greyback Forestry Inc. in Oregon, one of the
largest and most elite private firefighting contractors with
substantial federal contracts, gave a whopping $25,000 to the
Republican National Congressional Committee in 2006, as well as large
donations to George W. Bush's presidential campaign and other
prominent GOP leaders.
Privatization of government services is a key plank promoted by
prominent Republican leaders including conservative strategist Grover
Norquist - the Washington maven famously quoted for his desire to
shrink government to be small enough to "drown it in a bathtub." In
2005, a media strategist for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
told campaign donors of a plan to promote a `phenomenon of anger'
aimed at turning California voters against firefighters and other
public employee union members to help pass ballot initiatives aimed at
breaking up public unions and, perhaps, support privatization of
firefighting and other public services.
"What we're going to hear more of is sort of blaming the victims of
these natural disasters who don't pay the higher premiums to get this
special service," author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster
Capitalism Naomi Klein said on Democracy Now! Radio in July. "You're
starting to hear the language of personal responsibility...`It's up to
you to protect you and your family. You can't look to the
government.'"
The history of private firefighting is rife with controversy, and
historians disagree on whether private firefighters have deliberately
avoided protecting homes other than those insured. Last year, San
Diego's City Council approved a ballot initiative aimed at privatizing
some city services. But critics contend privatization could lead to
problems such as Philadelphia encountered, when fire hydrants froze
due to lack of maintenance.
Feinstein grills San Diego officials
California politicians leveled sharp criticism at city leaders at
Feinstein's hearing last month. Other California politicians pointed
fingers at the federal and state government for failing to coordinate
swift dispatch of military aircraft armed with state-trained spotters
in the first 48 hours of the fires.
"I'm a real private sector guy, but when Rome is burning, you have to
have first responders," said Republican Congressman Elton Gallegly,
who represents California's Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Feinstein is proposing legislation that would offer incentives for
purchasing firefighting equipment to local governments that adopt fire-
safe building codes in wildfire-prone areas.
San Diego officials note that some improvements have been made since
the 2003 Cedar Fire. The County has spent $117 million, including
purchase of firefighting helicopters and vehicles, upgrading
communications, removing dead trees and other measures, according to
Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who supports creation of a county fire
department.
San Diego city officials were quick to fault voters for failing to
approve a bond measure which would have increased funding for
firefighting services. But former Chief Bowman laid blame squarely on
elected officials.
"I doubt if the average voter understands that only 17 cents of every
property tax dollar goes to local government," Bowman remarked. "What
it takes is leaders who will stand up," he said, adding that public
officials should educate voters on how tax dollars are spent--and why
more money is needed.
Fire and police protection "are the two most important services" and
should be publicly provided, Feinstein said. "I think people now see
this is a pattern--and everything they hold dear could just dissolve."
SAN DIEGO - After the Great Fire of London in 1666, insurance
companies started issuing plaques to show private fire brigades which
homes to save--and which to let burn. Insurers organized their own
firefighting companies. Not having a plaque didn't mean your home went
totally ignored, but it certainly didn't help.
Today, a decline in public funding for firefighting services has
sparked explosive growth in the private sector. The world's largest
insurance company - American Insurance Group - now has "Wildfire
Protection Units" in 150 US zip codes. During the 2007 California
wildfires, AIG's firefighters saved homes in wealthy areas, while less
fortunate neighbors were left with rubble. A trade group for private
firefighters founded in 2000 now represents 10,000 private firemen.
Rancho Bernardo, a wealthy San Diego community that lost 365 homes
during the October fires, has just one fire station for a 24-mile
area. The city fails to meet the minimum standards for accreditation
recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, which
requires a minimum of one station for every nine miles.
In a blistering interview earlier this month, San Diego Fire Chief
Tracy Jarman told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the city was left
on its own to fight the October wildfires--and was woefully unprepared,
despite the fact that some richer homeowners had their own private
army. With two fires blazing into Rancho Bernardo, Jarman called Cal
Fire to request immediate air support and 150 strike teams from the
state: 750 fire engines and 3,000 firefighters.
Cal Fire's response? Nothing was available.
But while Cal Fire balked, AIG firefighter Sam Crays was saving homes
for clients. `We love putting out fires,'' Crays told Bloomberg News,
noting that his unit was able to extinguish a fire in a nearby
uninsured home. But, he added, adjacent homeowners weren't always so
lucky. "There were a few instances where we were spraying and the
neighbor's house went up like a candle."
Last month, former San Diego fire chief Jeff Bowman told a
Congressional hearing that he left his job in April 2006 over "abject
frustration" because repeated recommendations went unheeded. He said
he urged the County buy at least 50 fire engines, each staffed by at
least 12 firefighters and add 22 fire stations.
"People have to understand that there will eventually be loss of life
on a massive scale if nothing happens," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-
CA), who convened the hearing on the Southern California fires. The
senator described seeing "pockmarked" areas of burned neighborhoods in
Rancho Bernardo, where "obviously the fire wasn't fought," yet a few
houses remained oddly unscathed amid the rubble.
"It's a terrible mistake to have to go to private firefighting," the
California Democrat told RAW STORY after the hearing. "I deeply
believe that San Diego has to change the size of its fire resources."
Private firefighters deployed in California wildfires
Firebreak Spray Systems Company, a private company headquartered in
Oregon, treated about 200 homes in Rancho Bernando and other enclaves
fortunate enough to afford premium insurance during the recent fires.
"We had eight trucks responding to fires there in Southern
California," Firebreak CEO Jim Aamodt said. The company's private fire
brigade sprayed homes with Phos-Chek, the same fire retardant chemical
used in forest fires.
"None that we treated burned," Aamodt added. "We identified 12 saves
in which we were able to either put our fires, or they burned right up
to the Phos-Chek line."
The company offers pre-treatments and automated sprinkler applications
to its clients, as well as dispatching trained wildlife firefighters
to treat homes and brush during actual fires. Firebreak also offers
concierge-style fire protection services for AIG policyholders during
wildfires. AIG has also sent private firefighting teams to other
richer areas in Sun Valley, Idaho, Malibu, California and Colorado
resort communities.
"We are getting a tremendous amount of insurance interest now since
this publicity hit," Aamodt said.
Private firefighting spreads nationally
Fighting fires has become big business. The National Wildfire
Suppression Association (NWSA), a trade organization founded in 2000,
now represents over 200 private companies and 10,000 wild land
firefighters. The private firefighting industry is estimated to be
worth billions of dollars.
Some cities and counties are now hiring private contractors to replace
public services provided by unionized firefighters. According to the
Heartland Institute, a conservative pro-privatization think tank,
Lakewood, Illinois has contracted with American Emergency Service
Corporation to provide fire protection. The company's employees are
non-union; Heartland asserts that "wage and benefits costs are lower
than those incurred by fire districts that hire their own firefighters
and paramedics."
Another private firefighting contractor, Rural/Metro, provides private
fire protection services to over 25 communities, according to the
company's website. Other contractors offer specialties; Halliburton,
for instance, focuses on dousing oil well fires. Other large companies
with fire protection divisions include Kellogg, Brown, and Root and
Spain-based Avialsa.
The U.S. government also uses private contractors to abet firefighting
efforts on federal lands. The practice began during the Clinton
administration in response to a decline in the logging industry and a
shortage of lumberjack-firefighters to combat forest fires. Since
2000, the industry has mushroomed.
Not every marriage between private firefighting contractors and
government entities is made in heaven. In Florida, the town of Estero
hired Wackenhut Corp. to run its fire department. But after a private
firefighter was killed, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administrated cited the company for safety violations. As a result,
Estero canceled the contract and resurrected its public fire
department.
According to an audit report on Forest Service firefighting contract
crews conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of
Inspector General, private crews used in the 2002 Biscuit Fire in
Oregon, insufficiently trained and inexperienced crews negatively
impacted firefighting efforts.
"We had crew performance problems on the fire line. We also had issues
of falsified training records," Rod Nichols, information officer with
the Oregon Department of Forestry, told RAW STORY. Some companies
hired undocumented immigrants and sent non-English speaking crews out
with supervisors who did not speak Spanish, he added.
"Since then, we believe we've overcome a lot of those problems,"
Nichols said. He cited changes in procedures, discipline and dismissal
of some offending companies and a reduction in private crews among the
improvements made.
"In the past 10 years, wild-land firefighting has transformed from a
federal government responsibility to a massive, extremely lucrative,
private enterprise," Slate Magazine wrote in a 2002 article sharply
critical of the practice. "Privatizing firefighting was supposed to
cut costs. But it has done nothing of the sort. Last summer, which was
an "average" fire season, was the most costly on record."
The 2001 fire season cost an average of $1,340 per acre to fight fires
in national forests--270 percent more than it did in 2000, the magazine
said.
The politics of private-firefighting
Some private firefighting firms or their owners have made hefty
donations to the Republican Party and prominent elected officials.
Mike Wheelock, owner of Greyback Forestry Inc. in Oregon, one of the
largest and most elite private firefighting contractors with
substantial federal contracts, gave a whopping $25,000 to the
Republican National Congressional Committee in 2006, as well as large
donations to George W. Bush's presidential campaign and other
prominent GOP leaders.
Privatization of government services is a key plank promoted by
prominent Republican leaders including conservative strategist Grover
Norquist - the Washington maven famously quoted for his desire to
shrink government to be small enough to "drown it in a bathtub." In
2005, a media strategist for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
told campaign donors of a plan to promote a `phenomenon of anger'
aimed at turning California voters against firefighters and other
public employee union members to help pass ballot initiatives aimed at
breaking up public unions and, perhaps, support privatization of
firefighting and other public services.
"What we're going to hear more of is sort of blaming the victims of
these natural disasters who don't pay the higher premiums to get this
special service," author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster
Capitalism Naomi Klein said on Democracy Now! Radio in July. "You're
starting to hear the language of personal responsibility...`It's up to
you to protect you and your family. You can't look to the
government.'"
The history of private firefighting is rife with controversy, and
historians disagree on whether private firefighters have deliberately
avoided protecting homes other than those insured. Last year, San
Diego's City Council approved a ballot initiative aimed at privatizing
some city services. But critics contend privatization could lead to
problems such as Philadelphia encountered, when fire hydrants froze
due to lack of maintenance.
Feinstein grills San Diego officials
California politicians leveled sharp criticism at city leaders at
Feinstein's hearing last month. Other California politicians pointed
fingers at the federal and state government for failing to coordinate
swift dispatch of military aircraft armed with state-trained spotters
in the first 48 hours of the fires.
"I'm a real private sector guy, but when Rome is burning, you have to
have first responders," said Republican Congressman Elton Gallegly,
who represents California's Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Feinstein is proposing legislation that would offer incentives for
purchasing firefighting equipment to local governments that adopt fire-
safe building codes in wildfire-prone areas.
San Diego officials note that some improvements have been made since
the 2003 Cedar Fire. The County has spent $117 million, including
purchase of firefighting helicopters and vehicles, upgrading
communications, removing dead trees and other measures, according to
Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who supports creation of a county fire
department.
San Diego city officials were quick to fault voters for failing to
approve a bond measure which would have increased funding for
firefighting services. But former Chief Bowman laid blame squarely on
elected officials.
"I doubt if the average voter understands that only 17 cents of every
property tax dollar goes to local government," Bowman remarked. "What
it takes is leaders who will stand up," he said, adding that public
officials should educate voters on how tax dollars are spent--and why
more money is needed.
Fire and police protection "are the two most important services" and
should be publicly provided, Feinstein said. "I think people now see
this is a pattern--and everything they hold dear could just dissolve."
