To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. HURRICANE SEASON 2009 From Florida to FEMA By M I C H A E L P E L T I E R , T A L L A H A S S E E C O R R E S P O N D E N T FOR CRAIG FUGATE, IT’S A PRETTY SIMPLE JOB. Number one: Meet the needs of victims. Number two: Take care of the responders. Number three: See number one. In a nutshell, that’s the way President Barack Obama’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) views his appointment. It’s the second time that federal officials have tried to lure 50year-old Fugate from his role as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, a post he took only a month after Sept. 11, 2001. He declined the last offer, which took place shortly after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and FEMA director Michael Brown was sent packing. The agency, justifiably or not, was made out to be an ineffectual bystander. This time around, the former volunteer fire fighter and county-level emergency manager has stepped up in what colleagues say is a decision that will benefit the country for the foreseeable future. “I’m confident that Craig is the right person for the job and will ensure that the failures of the past are never repeated,” Obama said in a statement announcing Fugate’s nomination. Looking slightly uncomfortable in a sport coat, the otherwise short-sleeved emergency manager with more than 25 years experience has gained a reputation for an unpretentious style that focuses on substance over rhetoric. His resumé bears that out. After overseeing preparation, response and recovery from hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, international summits, Super Bowls and anthrax, about the only disaster Fugate has not faced directly is an earthquake. Facing upcoming confirmation hearings and at the urging of White House officials, Fugate declined to be interviewed for this article. (However, Fugate did provide this author with some of his lessons learned for Homeland Security Today’s June 2006 article, “Securing the Sunshine State,” available in the magazine archives at www.HSToday.us.) Colleagues and state officials say Fugate helped push Florida and the profession into the post-9/11 world by continuing the transformation of what had been an anemic emergency response system that, during his tenure, became a model for the country. “Nobody can ever accuse Craig of not being qualified for the job,” said Max Mayfield, former head of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, who first met Fugate in 1992. “He has risen from the ranks and paid his dues.” Florida boy stays put Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Fugate spent most of his life further inland, settling into central Florida’s Alachua County. His mother died when he was 11 years old. His father followed five years later. Fugate stayed in Florida’s rural interior. He graduated from Santa Fe High School in Alachua, where he was active in the Future Farmers of America and earned the group’s American Farmer degree, its highest honor. His professional career also began in Alachua County. Following a family tradition established by his late father and uncle, Fugate became a volunteer firefighter. After graduating from Florida State Fire College in nearby Gainesville, Fugate joined the Alachua County Fire and Rescue Department, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant before signing on as the county’s emergency management director in 1987. He would hold the county post for 10 years, a tenure that would impress upon Fugate the necessity for local officials taking charge in the event of disaster. It would be a lesson he would never forget. Cutting his teeth Though Fugate didn’t know it at the time, Florida’s anemic response to Hurricane Andrew in 1993 would push his career forward. Following Andrew, characterized by Fugate and others as “Florida’s Katrina,” Florida officials were determined that the state’s disorganized response would never happen again. This month’s issue is now available online at… 26 June 2009 | Homeland Security Today Magazine