WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — FEMA has canceled all classes at the premier training ground for firefighters in Frederick County.
The National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg serves first responders from across the country, offering free training programs aimed at reducing the number of deadly fires.
The academy serves 90,000 to 100,000 firefighters every year, both in person and online.
“We think of the National Academy like the War College, or the Naval Postgraduate School, for the military, those two things. They are the upper level learning,” said Marc Bashoor, former Prince George’s County Fire chief.
Former U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said the classes help first responders “go above and beyond just fire suppression.”
“It has been our premier training academy for the professional side of firefighting,” Moore-Merrell said. “What I mean by that is officer development, incident command.”
But those classes at the National Emergency Training Center were canceled after an email went out to students and instructors in which FEMA said they’re in the “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with administration priorities.”
“Many of them were at the airports either on their way. They purchased tickets that may or may not be reimbursed,” Moore-Merrell said.
Students come from across the country to the academy, which Moore-Merrell oversaw for more than three years as the former U.S. Fire Administrator from Oct. 2021 to Jan. 2025.
“This is a travesty to have this kind of shut down for a service that’s supplied to firefighters across the nation,” Moore-Merrell said.
Bashoor, who attends two or three courses a year, said the courses come at no cost, which is especially important for smaller departments.
“While they might be able to find a similar program at the state or local level or through a vendor, it’s going to cost and it’s going to be cost-prohibitive for the firefighters across the country,” Bashoor said.
Moore-Merrell’s hopes the Trump administration understands that “the fire service is an absolute necessity.”
DC News Now reached out to FEMA for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
