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FDNY Terrorism Preparedness & Response Training
Chief Joe Pfeifer details the changes made to FDNY training & preparedness since 9/11
According to FDNY Chief Joe Pfeifer, the FDNY—and the fire service as a whole—have undergone dramatic changes. Terrorism has forced the fire service to become an all-hazards response industry. As a result, training has undergone a major overhaul as well, and now includes drills, education and exercises that hone disaster preparedness skills and readiness. AP Photo/Jason DeCrow
By Timothy E. Sendelbach
Published Sunday, July 31, 2011 | From the August 2011 Issue of FireRescue
Editor’s note: On September 11, 2001, FDNY Chief Joseph Pfeifer was not only the first chief to arrive on the scene of the World Trade Center, he also suffered the loss of his brother, Lt. Kevin Pfeifer, in the attacks. Today, Chief Pfeifer serves as the department’s Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness. FireRescue magazine recently spoke with Chief Pfeifer about how FDNY terrorism response training has evolved over the past 10 years, and where it’s headed in the next decade.
FireRescue magazine: How has the incorporation of terrorism response changed the role of the firefighter?
Chief Joseph Pfeifer: Our response to terrorism has forced firefighters to enhance their core competencies, which includes fighting fires, medical response, hazmat and rescue. Another thing it has done is it’s allowed fire departments throughout the United States to think of themselves as not just fire departments, but as a service for life safety. So today, I think there’s a broader understanding of the role of firefighting. Even though we trained on those core pieces before 9/11, the message now is that fire departments work across this core spectrum of competencies, and that each competency has equal importance.
FRM: What has been the greatest challenge for the FDNY when it comes to its expanding role in terrorism response?
JP: I think the challenge has been to get others to understand what the fire department can offer in terms of response and in terms of prevention. The fire department will have a different perspective on an event than law enforcement [for example] and that can bring value to the event regarding prevention. Also, how do we connect to law enforcement? How do those in the intelligence community share information?
FRM: What are the core elements of the FDNY’s terrorism preparedness program now?
JP: Think of it as three key elements, the first being training within the training academy, which brings people through an entire day of training. We pull engines, ladders, squads, rescues, ambulances and battalions over to the academy to do drills, and do both fire and EMS training.
The fire department also created a Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness, which provides a new way of looking at our role. At the center, the commissioner has asked us to look at a new way of doing our exercises, both table-top and full-scale exercises. Such exercises enhance our current level of training and show us some of the [things we could improve on.] The third level is education, which is different from training. We want people to fully understand the new threat environment that has developed over the last 10 years. We’ve partnered with West Point, particularly with their Combating Terrorism Center. We run a 10-week graduate-level course with Lt. Col. Reid Sawyer. He comes down to the FDNY with other faculty and teaches a three-hour class. Currently, there are 31 people in the class, and they go over the history of terrorism, al Qaeda and the current threat environment. We’ve also had Bruce Hoffman, retired General John Abizaid and other guest speakers.
In addition, we send people to the Naval Post-Graduate School. We’ve sent more than 20 officers through the Naval graduate school program. Overall, today’s emergencies and fires are becoming more complex, so we are trying to fully train and educate people to meet these challenges. We have also taken our program with the Combating Terrorism Center to Chicago and its suburbs to share what we come up with here in New York City with other locations.
FRM: Prior to 9/11, what was “terrorism preparedness”? What did it look like?
JP: Back then, it wasn’t as much about awareness; there were occasional exercises. In 1997, New York City ran an interagency exercise involving a chemical attack, which was really the only major exercise that was conducted before 9/11 with other agencies. There wasn’t a lot going on, but there was some thought about it for sure. Chief Ray Downey sat on early committees that looked at preparedness and search and rescue. People became more conscious of terrorism after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but the level of training compared to now was totally different. Now it’s a part of the core of what we do.
FRM: What were the major changes that occurred in terrorism training immediately following 9/11 and how was that training implemented?
JP: We sent all people through awareness training and what to do on particular events. Fortunately, we got some grant money to do that—it cost about $1 million an hour to train the entire department, but we wanted people to be fully aware of this new threat environment. Since then, we’ve greatly enhanced the level of training, so [for example] we recently trained on a bus bomb incident where firefighters and EMTs had to determine, what would you do? How do you remove victims quickly? We’ve learned new techniques for moving patients, such as with a Sked. So we’ve developed new ideas on how to deal with this type of an event.
FRM: What was the result of the major increase in departmental training? Was it well received? Did it decrease the amount of time spent on other types of training?
JP: The training was incorporated into what we do, so there was no decrease in other types of training. The results of that incorporation were displayed on May 1, 2010, in Times Square when Faisal Shahzad drove his SUV, which was rigged with a bomb, into Times Square with the intention of blowing up the vehicle. The responding lieutenant said that he was suspicious of what they were seeing [when they first spotted the vehicle.] Another lieutenant said something “just didn’t look right.” The owner of the car had run away, so the lieutenant asked a police officer on scene to run the plates, and they came back unregistered, which raised their suspicion. The lieutenant then scanned the vehicle with a thermal imaging camera and it showed that the brakes and engine were hot. There was no indication of fire, which signaled that something was wrong. The fire officers were able to put little pieces of information together to determine that this could be a vehicle-born improvised explosive device. Their actions were based on all the training and all the terrorism awareness messages we’ve been stressing for years, which leads them to make critical decisions. Sooner or later, we are all called to make critical decisions and to be courageous in order to save lives.
FRM: In what ways has terrorism training been refined as the years have gone by?
JP: It has been refined due to our emphasis on awareness—and continued awareness. To help maintain continued awareness, we put out a weekly intelligence brief called Watchline, which examines events happening around the world and does an analysis, asking the question, what does this mean for first responders? Each Watchline is written in a unique, one-page format—we require the analysis to be no longer than one page. This allows all first responders to quickly review some of the major events taking place around the world and learn from them. We see Watchline hanging in the firehouse kitchen, firefighters drill on it, and they begin to understand that all of these different events require definitive actions. All these programs add up to create a heightened awareness about terrorist acts and events, and how to respond to them.
FRM: How do you think terrorism training has affected the fire service in the past 10 years? Has it been a positive change for the fire service?
JP: Firefighters and emergency medical personnel have been receptive to the change, especially here. It’s helped make us more aware of the core components I mentioned earlier, which makes us better prepared to respond and enables us to refine our skills. In New York, we understand that everyone can’t train to the highest level, so we’ve created a Tiered Response System. Everyone is trained to the operational level. Then there’s the technician level and the specialist level. We’ve refined our training system to include more levels and capabilities, which have been embraced by our members.
FRM: Where do you see terrorism training headed in the next 10 years?
JP: In the next 10 years, you are going to see a tremendous increase in technology. Ten years ago, we had this magnetic command board when we responded to the World Trade Center. We moved magnetic chips around the board, but the board was lost in the collapse of the towers. Since then, we have been working on developing an electronic command board, which we call the Command Pad. It’s a 10" tablet that allows us to display where units are deployed and can receive digital blueprints of buildings. This information is then wirelessly backed up.
At some point, we’ll have information about firefighters’ locations inside a building, but the technology isn’t there yet. Command technology will definitely increase in the next 10 years, improving accountability and knowing where people are. In January, President Obama said he wants a wireless high-speed network developed that allows firefighters to download blueprints of buildings. Through this initiative and the support of Fire Commissioner Cassano, we have proven this is possible with the Command Pad.
Improving command at a major fire and other emergencies requires us to create a platform that we will eventually be able to plug firefighter location and biometric information into. We want a single open platform with various plug-ins that enable us to collaborate across fire and emergency services.
FRM: Do you think the fire service is prepared for the next terrorist event?
JP: It depends on what you think the next terrorist event is. We’ve done a lot of training for CBRNE, and I think the fire service is at the forefront of combating the threat of terrorism, but the thing that keeps me awake at night is a Mumbai-style attack. We define this as terrorism that involves multiple attackers and multiple targets, combined with active shooters, explosives and fires. Unfortunately, many people forget about the fires, which are an integral part of this style of attack. We see this style of attack as the next biggest threat. Both fire and law enforcement need to work together on how to deal with such an attack. We saw this style of attack in Mumbai and, unfortunately, we’ll see it again.
FRM: In your opinion, how has the fear of the next terrorist attack affected the fire service? Has it deterred people from entering the service?
JP: No, we’ve seen from our recruitment that it’s just the opposite. We had 35,000 people sign up for 1,000 jobs, so I don’t think fear plays into it at all. The fear that you’re referring to is the fear that terrorists want to produce. On 9/11, we saw something totally different. We saw firefighters and rescuers running into the burning towers to evacuate and rescue thousands of people in their greatest moment of need. It gave the world a sense of hope watching firefighters when everyone else was running away. New recruits want to be a part of a group that can make a difference.
The signs of hope from that day are the 343 hero firefighters who did ordinary things at an extraordinary time in history to save 20,000 people. Today’s recruits join a better prepared fire service that not only responds to extreme disaster, but also works to mitigate the affects of those disasters before they take place. And I am the lucky one, because I am able to serve these firefighters and emergency medical personnel in our effort to save lives.
FireRescue magazine: How has the incorporation of terrorism response changed the role of the firefighter?
Chief Joseph Pfeifer: Our response to terrorism has forced firefighters to enhance their core competencies, which includes fighting fires, medical response, hazmat and rescue. Another thing it has done is it’s allowed fire departments throughout the United States to think of themselves as not just fire departments, but as a service for life safety. So today, I think there’s a broader understanding of the role of firefighting. Even though we trained on those core pieces before 9/11, the message now is that fire departments work across this core spectrum of competencies, and that each competency has equal importance.
FRM: What has been the greatest challenge for the FDNY when it comes to its expanding role in terrorism response?
JP: I think the challenge has been to get others to understand what the fire department can offer in terms of response and in terms of prevention. The fire department will have a different perspective on an event than law enforcement [for example] and that can bring value to the event regarding prevention. Also, how do we connect to law enforcement? How do those in the intelligence community share information?
FRM: What are the core elements of the FDNY’s terrorism preparedness program now?
JP: Think of it as three key elements, the first being training within the training academy, which brings people through an entire day of training. We pull engines, ladders, squads, rescues, ambulances and battalions over to the academy to do drills, and do both fire and EMS training.
The fire department also created a Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness, which provides a new way of looking at our role. At the center, the commissioner has asked us to look at a new way of doing our exercises, both table-top and full-scale exercises. Such exercises enhance our current level of training and show us some of the [things we could improve on.] The third level is education, which is different from training. We want people to fully understand the new threat environment that has developed over the last 10 years. We’ve partnered with West Point, particularly with their Combating Terrorism Center. We run a 10-week graduate-level course with Lt. Col. Reid Sawyer. He comes down to the FDNY with other faculty and teaches a three-hour class. Currently, there are 31 people in the class, and they go over the history of terrorism, al Qaeda and the current threat environment. We’ve also had Bruce Hoffman, retired General John Abizaid and other guest speakers.
In addition, we send people to the Naval Post-Graduate School. We’ve sent more than 20 officers through the Naval graduate school program. Overall, today’s emergencies and fires are becoming more complex, so we are trying to fully train and educate people to meet these challenges. We have also taken our program with the Combating Terrorism Center to Chicago and its suburbs to share what we come up with here in New York City with other locations.
FRM: Prior to 9/11, what was “terrorism preparedness”? What did it look like?
JP: Back then, it wasn’t as much about awareness; there were occasional exercises. In 1997, New York City ran an interagency exercise involving a chemical attack, which was really the only major exercise that was conducted before 9/11 with other agencies. There wasn’t a lot going on, but there was some thought about it for sure. Chief Ray Downey sat on early committees that looked at preparedness and search and rescue. People became more conscious of terrorism after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but the level of training compared to now was totally different. Now it’s a part of the core of what we do.
FRM: What were the major changes that occurred in terrorism training immediately following 9/11 and how was that training implemented?
JP: We sent all people through awareness training and what to do on particular events. Fortunately, we got some grant money to do that—it cost about $1 million an hour to train the entire department, but we wanted people to be fully aware of this new threat environment. Since then, we’ve greatly enhanced the level of training, so [for example] we recently trained on a bus bomb incident where firefighters and EMTs had to determine, what would you do? How do you remove victims quickly? We’ve learned new techniques for moving patients, such as with a Sked. So we’ve developed new ideas on how to deal with this type of an event.
FRM: What was the result of the major increase in departmental training? Was it well received? Did it decrease the amount of time spent on other types of training?
JP: The training was incorporated into what we do, so there was no decrease in other types of training. The results of that incorporation were displayed on May 1, 2010, in Times Square when Faisal Shahzad drove his SUV, which was rigged with a bomb, into Times Square with the intention of blowing up the vehicle. The responding lieutenant said that he was suspicious of what they were seeing [when they first spotted the vehicle.] Another lieutenant said something “just didn’t look right.” The owner of the car had run away, so the lieutenant asked a police officer on scene to run the plates, and they came back unregistered, which raised their suspicion. The lieutenant then scanned the vehicle with a thermal imaging camera and it showed that the brakes and engine were hot. There was no indication of fire, which signaled that something was wrong. The fire officers were able to put little pieces of information together to determine that this could be a vehicle-born improvised explosive device. Their actions were based on all the training and all the terrorism awareness messages we’ve been stressing for years, which leads them to make critical decisions. Sooner or later, we are all called to make critical decisions and to be courageous in order to save lives.
FRM: In what ways has terrorism training been refined as the years have gone by?
JP: It has been refined due to our emphasis on awareness—and continued awareness. To help maintain continued awareness, we put out a weekly intelligence brief called Watchline, which examines events happening around the world and does an analysis, asking the question, what does this mean for first responders? Each Watchline is written in a unique, one-page format—we require the analysis to be no longer than one page. This allows all first responders to quickly review some of the major events taking place around the world and learn from them. We see Watchline hanging in the firehouse kitchen, firefighters drill on it, and they begin to understand that all of these different events require definitive actions. All these programs add up to create a heightened awareness about terrorist acts and events, and how to respond to them.
FRM: How do you think terrorism training has affected the fire service in the past 10 years? Has it been a positive change for the fire service?
JP: Firefighters and emergency medical personnel have been receptive to the change, especially here. It’s helped make us more aware of the core components I mentioned earlier, which makes us better prepared to respond and enables us to refine our skills. In New York, we understand that everyone can’t train to the highest level, so we’ve created a Tiered Response System. Everyone is trained to the operational level. Then there’s the technician level and the specialist level. We’ve refined our training system to include more levels and capabilities, which have been embraced by our members.
FRM: Where do you see terrorism training headed in the next 10 years?
JP: In the next 10 years, you are going to see a tremendous increase in technology. Ten years ago, we had this magnetic command board when we responded to the World Trade Center. We moved magnetic chips around the board, but the board was lost in the collapse of the towers. Since then, we have been working on developing an electronic command board, which we call the Command Pad. It’s a 10" tablet that allows us to display where units are deployed and can receive digital blueprints of buildings. This information is then wirelessly backed up.
At some point, we’ll have information about firefighters’ locations inside a building, but the technology isn’t there yet. Command technology will definitely increase in the next 10 years, improving accountability and knowing where people are. In January, President Obama said he wants a wireless high-speed network developed that allows firefighters to download blueprints of buildings. Through this initiative and the support of Fire Commissioner Cassano, we have proven this is possible with the Command Pad.
Improving command at a major fire and other emergencies requires us to create a platform that we will eventually be able to plug firefighter location and biometric information into. We want a single open platform with various plug-ins that enable us to collaborate across fire and emergency services.
FRM: Do you think the fire service is prepared for the next terrorist event?
JP: It depends on what you think the next terrorist event is. We’ve done a lot of training for CBRNE, and I think the fire service is at the forefront of combating the threat of terrorism, but the thing that keeps me awake at night is a Mumbai-style attack. We define this as terrorism that involves multiple attackers and multiple targets, combined with active shooters, explosives and fires. Unfortunately, many people forget about the fires, which are an integral part of this style of attack. We see this style of attack as the next biggest threat. Both fire and law enforcement need to work together on how to deal with such an attack. We saw this style of attack in Mumbai and, unfortunately, we’ll see it again.
FRM: In your opinion, how has the fear of the next terrorist attack affected the fire service? Has it deterred people from entering the service?
JP: No, we’ve seen from our recruitment that it’s just the opposite. We had 35,000 people sign up for 1,000 jobs, so I don’t think fear plays into it at all. The fear that you’re referring to is the fear that terrorists want to produce. On 9/11, we saw something totally different. We saw firefighters and rescuers running into the burning towers to evacuate and rescue thousands of people in their greatest moment of need. It gave the world a sense of hope watching firefighters when everyone else was running away. New recruits want to be a part of a group that can make a difference.
The signs of hope from that day are the 343 hero firefighters who did ordinary things at an extraordinary time in history to save 20,000 people. Today’s recruits join a better prepared fire service that not only responds to extreme disaster, but also works to mitigate the affects of those disasters before they take place. And I am the lucky one, because I am able to serve these firefighters and emergency medical personnel in our effort to save lives.
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