EMMITSBURG, Md. — As part of ongoing funding freezes and cuts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that courses at the National Fire Academy were canceled.
The agency said it's in the “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities,” according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments.
The NFA's Maryland campus was used by firefighters, EMS responders, and other first responders for federally funded free training programs.
The academy opened in 1973 to push back against a growing number of fatal fires nationwide.
According to Marc Bashoor, a former Maryland fire chief and West Virginia emergency services director with 44 years of fire safety experience, the NFA was set to welcome a new set of fire safety officers for training next week.
“People had made their plane and travel reservations. And all of a sudden, they get an email that ‘Sorry, it’s been canceled,'" Bashoor told the Associated Press. "It’s really upsetting.”
FEMA, nor the NFA, have released a comment in regard to the matter.
Rep. April McClain Delaney released a statement Monday morning:
“The National Fire Academy is a jewel of Maryland’s Sixth District, where tens of thousands of firefighters join top experts gather to train and share best practices, develop innovative methods, and enhance public safety in all 50 states and around the globe. From wildfires in California to residential structure fires in communities across the nation, my constituents and all Americans face an ongoing and dangerous threat to life and property. The Trump administration’s order to pause lifesaving training in Emmitsburg not only flies in the face of a judge’s most recent demand to resume all federal spending, but also weakens the level of preparedness for our first responders across the nation. I call on FEMA to reverse this decision.”
