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Who Should Read This Report and Why? Civilian and military program managers for fire and emergency services at DoD installations should read this report. The report discusses how shortfalls for staffing and apparatus could adversely impact firefighter safety and installation missions.
Background. This evaluation was conducted in response to a request from the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of the DoD Fire and Emergency Services Program. The House of Representatives Report accompanying H.R. 5010, the FY 2003 Defense Appropriations Bill, states that the Committee on Appropriations was concerned that the level of fire and emergency response protection at Military installations may not meet minimum safety standards for staffing, equipment, and training. The Committee on Appropriations directed that the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) provide adequate resources when implementing the DoD Fire and Emergency Services Strategic Plan as well as ensure that installations comply with fire protection standards, including DoD Instruction 6055.6, "DoD Fire and Emergency Services Program," October 10, 2000.
Results.Additional missions, increased deployments, National Guard and Reserve mobilizations, and inefficient hiring processes have adversely affected fire department staffing. As a result, firefighters have worked significant overtime, which may impact the fire department's ability to accomplish its missions and lead to potential safety risks for firefighters. The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) with the DoD Components, should jointly update and implement DoD Instruction 6055.6 so that the instruction addresses anticipated staffing for additional missions; should establish a manpower standard that incorporates each mission assigned to the fire and emergency services program; and should establish and publish a detailed human capital strategic plan (finding A).
Although DoD and the Services developed authorization levels and replacement standards for firefighting apparatus, the Services did not provide a priority during the budget process for firefighting apparatus. As a result, the Services are underfunded by approximately $550 million for meeting firefighting apparatus requirements, which could result in the apparatus in the inventory becoming unreliable and unserviceable and, more importantly, negatively impact installation missions. To ensure priority for firefighting apparatus during the budget process, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps should each develop modernization plans for their respective Service for fire and emergency services apparatus (finding B).
We also reviewed the management control program as it related to DoD fire and emergency services programs. We identified material management control weaknesses, in that the management of fire and emergency service programs and implementation of DoD Instruction 6055.6 did not ensure that the installations were adequately staffed or resourced with sufficient fire apparatus to respond to emergencies. If management implements all of the recommendations, fire departments may increase their ability to accomplish missions, eliminate potential safety risks, and increase the reliability of firefighting apparatus.
Management Comments and EvaluationResponse. The Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental, Safety & Occupational Health) concurred, stating that they plan to implement the recommendations by incorporating them into the DoD Fire and Emergency Services Strategic Plan no later than December 31, 2003. The Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management concurred and stated that the Army will participate in updating DoD Instruction 6055.6, examine the position manning factor to meet additional missions, and contact other agencies to obtain guidance on developing a Human Capital Management Plan. Additionally, the Army is developing criteria to replace firefighting apparatus, and is investigating leasing programs due to severe funding shortages for new equipment purchases. The Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command concurred, in general, with the apparatus modernization plan recommen-dations, but did not agree that leasing firefighting apparatus is an economically prudent method for updating aged apparatus. The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff (Installations and Logistics) fully concurred, stating that the Air Force plans to implement consistent manpower standards by December 2003. The Commandant of the Marine Corps concurred, stating that the Marine Corps will work with the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) to update DoD Instruction 6055.6. In addition, the Marine Corps will develop plans to modernize and replace aged firefighting apparatus, and will allocate funds annually until a continual funding stream is identified. We requested that the Services consider leasing firefighting apparatus in their apparatus modernization plans as an alternative to purchasing new firefighting apparatus. Because the Army agreed that leasing should be a consideration in the apparatus modernization plan and the Air Force modernization plan considers leasing as a sound strategy, we believe that the Navy should also consider in its modernization plan leasing firefighting apparatus as an alternative. Therefore, we request additional comments from the Navy on the final report by October 10, 2003. See the Finding sections of the report for a discussion of management comments and the Management Comments section of the report for the complete text of the comments.
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