New firefighters set out in Lane County amid a federal workforce restructuring
Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of the Eugene-based nonprofit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE), and his organization have been tracking the new fire service since last year, offering policy analysis on what they view as a “deceptive downsizing” that could further strain systems both ecologically and operationally.
Ingalsbee has heard from people in the new service who told him they were transferred from their home agency within the Department of the Interior, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, into the new wildfire service earlier this year without a say in it.
Tim Ingalsbee, executive director of the Eugene-based nonprofit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE), and his organization have been tracking the new fire service since last year, offering policy analysis on what they view as a “deceptive downsizing” that could further strain systems both ecologically and operationally.
Ingalsbee has heard from people in the new service who told him they were transferred from their home agency within the Department of the Interior, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, into the new wildfire service earlier this year without a say in it.
As potentially significant season kicks off, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s first chief shares priorities
Even among critics, there’s respect for Fennessy’s experience, and hope that consolidation could bring positive changes. Timothy Ingalsbee, head of the wildfire advocacy group FUSEE, shares many of Stone-Manning and Calkin’s concerns, but called the new chief an “exceptional individual,” pointing to his significant leadership experience in both wildland and structure fire. Before taking the helm of the USWFS, Fennessy served as the chief of both San Diego and Orange County’s fire departments.
“He has a lot of trust amongst the crews,” Ingalsbee said. “The question is, ‘how much latitude does he have from the administration?’”
Even among critics, there’s respect for Fennessy’s experience, and hope that consolidation could bring positive changes. Timothy Ingalsbee, head of the wildfire advocacy group FUSEE, shares many of Stone-Manning and Calkin’s concerns, but called the new chief an “exceptional individual,” pointing to his significant leadership experience in both wildland and structure fire. Before taking the helm of the USWFS, Fennessy served as the chief of both San Diego and Orange County’s fire departments.
“He has a lot of trust amongst the crews,” Ingalsbee said. “The question is, ‘how much latitude does he have from the administration?’”
The dangerous rush to consolidate America’s wildfire response
Producers Lauren Bogard and Lilly Bock-Brownstein are joined by Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Timothy explains why the Trump administration’s rushed reorganization of federal firefighting is so risky, what it means for the firefighters already heading into a dangerous season short-staffed, and why he sees the whole effort as less like reform and more like sabotage.
(Interview starts at 6:10)
Producers Lauren Bogard and Lilly Bock-Brownstein are joined by Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Timothy explains why the Trump administration’s rushed reorganization of federal firefighting is so risky, what it means for the firefighters already heading into a dangerous season short-staffed, and why he sees the whole effort as less like reform and more like sabotage.
(Interview starts at 6:10)