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NFPA Fall Education Conference
Dallas, TX
Monday, November 12, 2001
Remarks from NFPA President George Miller
Before I begin what will be brief remarks this morning, I want you all to know
that NFPA was touched personally by the tragedy on September 11. We lost
friends and colleagues at both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
We have now documented that three respected NFPA volunteers are among the victims
of the attacks:
They are Chief John Fanning, FDNY, who served on two technical committees dealing
with hazardous materials; Salvatore Gitto, who worked at Marsh USA and
was a volunteer on the technical committee on General Storage;
and George Howard,
with the Nassau County Fire Academy, who was a volunteer on the committee
on technical rescue. Word has also become to come in about NFPA members
who died September 11: They are Chief Peter Ganci, Deputy Commissioner
William
Feehan, and Assistant Chiefs Gerald A. Barbara and Donald Burns, all with
FDNY. In addition, the Fire Protection Research Foundation lost a technical
advisory committee member: Stephen J. Fiorelli. And our long-time friend
Murray Cappers, a former NFPA board member, lost his son Chris, an employee
of Marsh USA.
The NFPA family is deep and wide, and we feel these losses as our own.
Although we have begun to heal, returning to the routine in our lives and in
our business, it seems that every new day brings with it new fears, new
grief, and new questions about our security. It's true the terrorists
have been
able to strike deadly blows against us, but they could not, and they cannot,
kill our spirit or our resolve.
Despite the many airline cancellations in September, I did manage to get to Canada
a few days after September 11 to speak at their Fire Rescue conference,
and I was very glad I did. One unforgettable part of that meeting
was the beautiful
memorial service they held for the victims, which included a group of young
girls who sang "America the Beautiful."
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to "America the Beautiful" more than a century
ago from the magnificent Pike's Peak in Colorado. If you've ever been there,
you won't find it difficult to imagine her writing the song from that mountaintop.
If you haven't been there, the words she used to describe what inspired her say
it all:
She said: "…When I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America
seemed displayed there…"
"All the wonder of America." Those words have special meaning today. Over the
past two months, one hasn't needed to stand at 14,000 feet to see examples of
the wonder of America. From the unspeakable loss of life came unprecedented heroism:
First and not surprisingly, from the courageous members of the fire and emergency
services who stepped into action, unfettered by fear or reluctance. And then
from the ordinary citizens whose own simple acts of brotherhood have made them
heroes in their own right.
And "the wonder" could be seen in the hours-long lines of blood donors, and the
hundreds of millions of dollars contributed to help victims' families, and the
tireless efforts of so many who feel honor bound to help find every last victim
buried in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
And the good has poured in from beyond America's borders too. Our nation's friends
and allies around the world have shown their true colors, in word and in deed.
And at NFPA, we have been deeply moved by the inspiring messages of solidarity
from our international friends. We have been comforted by their concern and compassion
and bolstered by the fact that they stand with us and against the terrorists.
As Mickey Reiss so eloquently stated a moment ago, NFPA's best response is to
honor our friends, and all the victims of the September 11 attacks, by remaining
united by our belief in democracy, and by continuing to work tirelessly in pursuit
of our mission.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel recently wrote, "… it is incumbent upon
us to choose between escape and solidarity, shame and honor. The terrorists have
chosen shame. We choose honor."
As he does, and I know many of you do, I find hope amid the despair, and I feel
a personal sense of recommitment to that which we hold to be true at NFPA – that
striving to make the world a safer place is a battle worth fighting. In short,
we choose honor.
The very worst event has revealed our capacity for the very best. In spite of
the menace of anthrax, the fear of flying, or the threat of high-rise collapse,
we have become "one" like never before.
Within America and beyond our borders, we are united as a single people. We
will not give in to the trade of terror.
NFPA has a long history of unifying behind a cause. Our cause is the public's
safety, and you are integral to it. Now, perhaps more than ever, your affiliation
with NFPA should be a source of great pride. As all eyes are on the challenging
issues of emergency response, and evacuation vs. relocation; on topics of structural
integrity and high-rise design; and on what changes can be made to secure our
safety. The events of the past two months have motivated us to redouble our efforts
to ensure that we build a safer world, and that we train, equip and protect our
first-responders as they protect us.
NFPA's role in that effort – and yours – is critical. First responders recognize
that their jobs will never be the same.
Today they are confronting dangers they had previously only studied; and facing
challenges they previously couldn't imagine. We owe it to them to work by their
side to make those redefined jobs easier and safer. NFPA will be there.
Your participation in this conference is one of the ways that we meet the needs
of our fire and emergency workers. We know that professional development is key
to first responder health and safety. Another is the role of timely codes and
standards adopted and enforced at the local level. As we learn more about the
World Trade Center and Pentagon buildings in the coming months, both professional
development and code development will be affected and improved by that knowledge.
Further, NFPA is a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Building
Performance Assessment Team, which is studying the collapse of the World Trade
Center complex and surrounding buildings. We are also evaluating the best method
for surveying the human behavior associated with emergency evacuation during
the crisis. And next month we are piloting a new emergency response-planning
workshop for building owners and managers.
Our staff are continually looking for other new ways to make NFPA an even better
resource. We now provide free access to key NFPA standards on hazardous materials
response and to critical passages from two of NFPA's most popular handbooks,
as well as other NFPA materials. Our Web site is a growing source for first responders,
building and facility managers, and the general public who want and need this
information.
There will be much more in the weeks and months ahead. NFPA will be a proud and
active participant in federal outreach efforts.
And we will continue to do what we do best at NFPA: to build consensus, to facilitate
research, to educate, and to develop timely codes and standards.
Above all else, good has come from an appalling evil.
The "wonder of America" is at ground zero, and at the Pentagon, and in a field
in Pennsylvania. It is in the brave faces of our soldiers and in the hearts of
America's first responders.
The "wonder of America" is what makes it possible to recover and go on. It brings
us, and binds us, together and it gives us the strength to choose honor.
I thank you for your attendance at our conference, and for your attention this
morning
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