March 29, 2024

Emergency Management

Calmest Guy in the Room

Craig Fugate is the governor's go-to guy during emergencies.

Neil Skene | 5/1/2006

Taking control

Fugate has been the calm and steady force at the state's operations center on the southeastern edge of Tallahassee, where as many as 250 people from public and private organizations gather during a crisis. "We have all of the key resources of the state in the same room, all working toward the same outcome," Fugate says. "Agencies start solving problems before you have a problem."

"Craig's the calmest guy in the room," says Tallahassee lawyer Steve Uhlfelder, appointed by Bush to head a non-profit hurricane-relief agency. Bush cites Fugate's "calm resolve and steadfast purpose."

In February, the agency had a five-hour "tabletop" drill -- decision-makers, not responders in the field -- that focused on a bird flu pandemic. It's an annual drill, and Bush, as usual, stayed the entire time. "All tabletop drills help dealing with all disasters, not just the one in the drill itself," Bush says. They also have a hurricane drill during May, and they practice for such disasters as nuclear reactor failures, terrorist bombs at football stadiums and continuity of operations when emergency systems fail.

It's hard to miss the contrast between Jeb Bush's approach to emergency management and George W. Bush's in the president's appointment of a FEMA director with no emergency experience and the lower priority given to disaster planning. "You may not like Mike Brown, but there is more truth here than many want to believe," Fugate notes on his private blog above an article on the fired FEMA director's testimony about budget cuts and homeland security priorities. But Fugate also saw a lot of weaknesses in the state and local preparations in Louisiana and Mississippi as Katrina headed up the Gulf.

Even in Florida, things still go wrong. As Hurricane Wilma approached, Jeb Bush promised ice and water within 24 hours, but the state couldn't deliver in some places. Bush stood next to Michael Chertoff, the head of federal Homeland Security, and took the blame.

It was especially painful because the feds, smarting from the Katrina embarrassment, had tried to move in and take control in Florida during Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. According to a Wall Street Journal article last December, which Fugate says is accurate, the Pentagon's Northern Command, established as a domestic military force after 9/11, tried to take charge in Florida before Rita crossed the Florida Keys last September. On Oct. 18, six days before Wilma hit, a three-star general called the Florida National Guard commander to say he was flying troops into Florida and would set up a joint command. Gov. Bush, says the Journal, called Chertoff to complain and said the federal move was "insulting."

Fugate struck back dramatically on Oct. 20 during a video conference call with federal officials. He unexpectedly announced the formation of the "Wilma command," consisting of himself, the Florida National Guard commander and the FEMA coordinator in Florida. Then Fugate announced the "Incident Commander," who under federal law FEMA had to support, and pulled him into the camera frame. It was Jeb Bush.

This year, Bush is focusing on tougher building codes, a permanent sales tax holiday for hurricane supplies, expansion of local emergency operations centers, new evacuation shelters with backup generators and grants to help low-income people retrofit homes to withstand strong winds.

Fugate is taking more advantage of private retailers' supply chains. "You always think government is the solution, and you forget about other resources," he says. During Wilma, one store reopened with supplies of water and ice, and "we were across the street handing out water and ice for free," Fugate says. Now his agency plans to focus relief on areas that don't have operating retailers.

Since the showdown last fall, Chertoff has said he does not intend to supplant state authority during disasters but wants to be able to step in when states fall short. Bush has told Congress that federalizing emergency response "would be a disaster as bad as Hurricane Katrina."

Maybe the federal government instead should hold up Florida's 14-year journey as a model. "I think we've got a hell of a governor," Fugate says. "He's put a lot of funding in this program, and we've changed a lot of outcomes."

Tags: Politics & Law, Around Florida, Government/Politics & Law

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