Firefighter to Replace Brown As FEMA Chief

Guardian Unlimited ^ | Monday September 12, 2005 10:01 PM | By RON FOURNIER

[11th_VA]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned Monday, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The White House picked a top FEMA official with three decades of firefighting experience as his replacement.

R. David Paulison, head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force, will lead the beleaguered agency, according to two senior administration sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

Paulison is a career firefighter from Miami who was among emergency workers responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades in 1996, according to a biography posted on FEMA's Web site. He also has led the U.S. Fire Administration since December 2001, according to the site.

As chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, Paulison led 1,900 personnel under a $200 million operating budget. He was also in charge of Dade County's emergency management office, according to his biography.

[11th_VA]

At least he's got some experience ...

[deport]

FYI.....

[Homer1]

Under Secretary Brown has led Homeland Security’s response to more than 164 presidentially declared disasters and emergencies, including the 2003 Columbia Shuttle disaster and the California wildfires in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Brown led FEMA’s thousands of dedicated disaster workers during the most active hurricane season in over 100 years, as FEMA delivered aid more quickly and more efficiently than ever before. Previously, Mr. Brown served as FEMA's Deputy Director and the agency's General Counsel. Shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Mr. Brown served on the President's Consequence Management Principal's Committee, which acted as the White House's policy coordination group for the federal domestic response to the attacks. Later, the President asked him to head the Consequence Management Working Group to identify and resolve key issues regarding the federal response plan. In August 2002, President Bush appointed him to the Transition Planning Office for the new Department of Homeland Security, serving as the transition leader for the EP&R Division.

[mewzilla]

Sounds like a good egg with lots of experience...But what's with this beleaguered BS? I know, it's The Guardian.

[RetiredArmy]

Remember, ANYTHING to make Bush look bad. Anything!

[indcons]

[CedarDave]

Look at the author of the AP article -- RON FOURNIER. I recall hearing something about bias from the AP writers covering the White House during last years campaign. Was he one of them?

[Tulsa Ramjet]

I would have picked a career, retired, flag line officer. They truly understand the relationships of hitting hard and quick, having enough supplies for the troops, mortuary affairs, and keeping the mission simple. As long as someone doesn't hold them back.

[cynicom]

Just so he isn't another lawyer.

[mewzilla]

Fournier is a piece of work. If you ever get a chance, go here, to the MRC, and do a search using Fournier's name :) It comes up a lot.

[wingnutx]

My first pick would be an ex-GI who was an excellent colonel, but was too much of a hardass to make general.

A fire chief is a good pick. They deal with the same sort of logistics, and Miami-Dade is a top-notch department that works with FEMA quite a bit.

[george wythe]

Paulison is a career firefighter from Miami who was among emergency workers responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades in 1996

He's been tested before in a large city with a diverse population and constant political infighting.

Paulison seems a good fit, but he will have to go through a tough confirmation hearing.

[indcons]

His confirmation should be a breeze. After all, the man is highly qualified for this job. Here is his bio from the FEMA site.

[11th_VA]

His confirmation should be a breeze.

I have a feeling the conformation hearing won't be about him, stand by for ALOT of BS ...

[Rodney King]

Firefighters sure have it good these days.

[mewzilla]

Now the nation just needs to decide if it wants FEMA to be THE first responder or not.

[indcons]

Oops....let me correct my previous statement. Looks like the Dims will make it hard for him during confirmation. The DUmmies are already accusing him of being a racist.

[Ramius]

Since the other thread got yanked from BN, I'll paste it here too:

I think Brown got a bum rap on the Katrina response. I would not like to think he lost his job over that. I wonder if it wasn't more about the issues with his resume, though I haven't gotten clear on whether those were serious issues or not.

Be that as it may... he'd become a lightning rod and it was getting in the way of getting things done. Unfair, but that's the way it was.

[Mike Darancette]

Paulison seems a good fit, but he will have to go through a tough confirmation hearing.

One hopes he can set the RATS straight on what FEMA does and does not do.

[GretchenM]

Wow, that announcement is like .