President Biden Delivers Remarks in Philadelphia Transcript

Good afternoon. My name is Edward Kelly. I have the honor and the responsibility of representing just under 350,000 paid professional firefighters and paramedics throughout North America. Well, there was the tornadoes in Tennessee this week, the shooting in Las Vegas last Wednesday, or the Fairmount fire that claimed the lives of 12 people right here in Philadelphia. When people need help, your firefighters and paramedics are the first on the scene. And the most important thing we bring to a fire or an emergency isn’t ladders or water, it’s professional, well-trained, and equipped firefighters and emergency medical workers.

(01:09)
Properly staffing and equipping fire departments keeps our community safe and saves the lives of civilians and firefighters alike. Nobody knows this better than Joe Biden. As senator, he championed the SAFER Act, legislation that provided federal funding to local fire departments to maintain safe staffing levels. Senator Biden worked across the aisle to have it authorized and passed in the Senate. In the wake of the fiscal crisis in 2008 as vice president, Joe Biden created the SAFER waivers, bringing laid-off firefighters back to work. These waivers kept 12,000 firefighters in communities large and small on the job.

(02:02)
SAFER was first authorized in 2003 at $1 billion. The Bush administration cut it to zero. It was then Senator Joe Biden working on a bipartisan basis who secured $100 million of appropriated funds for the program. We’ve been fighting for these funds ever since. Congress authorizing a program doesn’t mean it’s funded. Until Congress appropriates money, no money is ever seen in the city or towns to hire firefighters. In 2010, SAFER was appropriated at $410 million and it’s only declined since. The sad reality is SAFER has never been appropriated at more than 50% of what it was originally authorized in 2003.

(02:57)
And if you adjusted that for inflation, it’s about 23% today. There’s no way to quantify who may have lived had SAFER been fully funded. And unfortunately, as of today, Congress has failed to reauthorize this lifesaving program. On October 1st, 2024, it will be eliminated. We’re calling on Congress to reauthorize this program immediately. Fully fund the SAFER Act and the Fire Act, the partner grant program providing critical equipment that keeps the public and firefighters safe. Put partisan politics aside and get SAFER and AFG reauthorized into President Biden’s desk immediately.

(03:44)
As firefighters, we don’t get to decide how we’re staffed, how we’re trained, or how we’re equipped. That’s up to the politicians that all of us elect. But rest assured, when you need help, your firefighters are coming and we’ll come with our full measure. We’ll give our lives to save yours. I’d now like to introduce the United States Fire Administrator, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell.

Good afternoon. Every year in the US, tens of thousands of individuals are seriously injured or killed by fire. While fire can impact anyone, unfortunately, we’ve seen time and again that it disproportionately affects our most vulnerable populations – the elderly, our children, the disabled, and low-income families. The devastating Fairmont fire highlights this tragic truth. And although the overarching goal of the fire department is to prevent fires, the sad reality remains that structure fires still occur and the fire department must be ready to respond. The staffing for adequate fire and emergency response or SAFER grants were created to provide funding directly to fire departments to help them increase or maintain the number of trained frontline firefighters available to communities.

(05:12)
The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire department’s ability to comply with staffing response in national operational standards. According to these national standards, the fire department must ensure that the number of firefighters on duty are sufficient to perform the necessary firefighting operations, and that there is a sufficient number of firefighters available to respond on each vehicle in a timely manner. The criteria in this national operational standard are what make this award today so important. At this time, I’ll introduce the Commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department, Adam Thiel.

I want to start by extending our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by last night’s fatal fire, our fourth such incident in the past two weeks. These incidents underscore the vital importance of these historic reinvestments in the Philadelphia Fire Department. Mr. President, on behalf of our dedicated dispatchers, emergency medical services providers, firefighters, fire marshals, and support staff, I want to thank you again for joining us on this beautiful sunny day in Philadelphia, as together, we restore another fire company with help from our federal partners to enhance fire and EMS delivery across this great city. Now, the crew of Ladder 1 will mount a ground ladder on their tiller truck, the same vehicle that was here in 2009, soon to be replaced with a newer version to symbolize placing this vital Philadelphia Fire Department asset back in service to the entire community. 24/7, 365. Ladder 1, prepare to lift. Lift.

[inaudible 00:07:30] by order of Commissioner Adam K. Thiel, Ladder 1 is officially returned to service. Ladder 1 is officially returned to service.

And now our mayor, Jim Kenney.

Thank you very much, Commissioner, and I’m thrilled to be here with President Biden on this exciting day for our fire department. I’m glad that Governor Shapiro, US Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell could join us all today. It’s been 15 long years since we last had a ladder truck at the station and so much has changed since then. The surrounding communities have seen major growth. Sadly, two years ago, they saw incredible tragedy. And just let me tell you, eight years of mayor, that was one of the saddest days that I’ve ever experienced, to watch all these brave firefighters try to save those kids and couldn’t do it because of the intensity of the smoke and the fire, but sat actually on the steps, I could see the tears coming down their eyes. So I just want to let you know that I know what this means to you.

(09:02)
Many people have worked very hard to get Ladder 1 back into the firehouse because we know that its presence will make our neighborhoods safer. I’m incredibly thankful to our federal partners for recognizing and supporting the city’s need to reopen this fire company as well as several others across Philadelphia. Four years ago, a FEMA grant helped us restore four badly needed engine companies. Now FEMA funding will help us bring back not just Ladder 1, but eventually, Ladder 11, which serves South Philly and where my dad worked as a captain and as a battalion chief, Engine 10, Ladder 11, and Engine 6, which serves Port Richmond and Fishtown in Kensington. I want to express my gratitude to Commissioner Thiel for his leadership and to the dedicated members of this department who protect and care for our residents and businesses and visitors. I want to thank Local 22. Thank you for all the hard work and all the cooperation we’ve had with you in the course of these eight years. I really do appreciate it. So thank you all. Stay safe and check your smoke alarms.

Mayor, I want to thank you for your leadership here in the city of Philadelphia. I’m proud to be here today with all of you. I’m especially proud to be here with President Biden. Let me acknowledge and thank our State Fire Commissioner, Commissioner Cook, who joins us here today. He’s been leading an effort in my administration to make sure we put forth historic investments in fire and EMS because we recognize the importance of making sure those who run toward danger every single day to keep us safe have what they need. The person who really recognizes the importance of making sure they have what their need is our president, the President of the United States, Joe Biden. I’m very proud to have him here in Philadelphia today. I hope it’s not lost on anyone two things that I think are part of the story that the President’s presence tells us here today.

(11:00)
Number one, this president gives a damn, not just about the city of Philadelphia, not just about those who run toward danger, our firefighters and those here at Ladder 1, the great women and men of the Philadelphia Fire Department, but he gives a damn about this community, a community that was sent reeling after we lost 12 of our own here. He noted that and he also noted the need for greater investment in this fire company and he made a commitment to the good people of Philadelphia, to the mayor, to the fire commissioner, to the people who used to work here, and to the people in this neighborhood that rely on those of you who put your lives at risk. The President made good on that promise to the people of Philadelphia, and he came here today because he cares. He came here today because he gives a damn, the reopening of Ladder 1.

(11:57)
We just heard that on the radio, that it is now open for service is due to the fact that we have a President of the United States who cares deeply about this community, cares deeply about public safety, and he has always been there for our firefighters and for our community. I couldn’t be more proud to have him back here in the city of Philadelphia with us here today. I’m going to invite up the executive chief now to say a few words and give him the honor of introducing the President of the United States. Thank you all.

Good afternoon. I am Battalion Chief Derek Bowmer. I had the pleasure of being here on the last day that Ladder 1 was closed back in 2009, so it was a sad day that this truck [inaudible 00:12:51] better trucks in service in our neighborhood. Enough engines and ladder trucks in service in our neighborhoods to respond quickly. So I am thrilled to be here today to see Ladder 1 go back into service. And I know what it means to have a leader who has your back and the backs of firefighters around the country. We’re lucky to have one today who made this all possible. It is my distinct honor to introduce the man who promised his help and delivered, the President of the United States, Joe Biden

Chief, thank you, and hello to everyone. Look, before I begin, I have to make an admission and full disclosure, I would not be here were it not for my local fire company in Wilmington, Delaware. They saved my life. I had a cranial aneurysm. It was in the middle of a snowstorm. Not a joke. I couldn’t figure out how they were going to… President Reagan was nice enough to send Air Force Helicopter One to take me down, but it couldn’t fly. So my fire department came up, put me in the back, and took me in heavy snow on the day I went down to Walter Reed because that’s where I had to get for this operation. I got there for [inaudible 00:14:31]. Not a joke.

(14:32)
My firefighters, the guys I grew up with, they saved my life. They also saved my home and my wife’s life when I was away. It was the last day that the most famous guy doing Meet the Press in Washington, D.C., and I was doing the program. And what happened was lightning struck a little pond behind my house, hit a wire, came up through the basement of my home, and three stories, and the smoke literally ended up being that thick, literally that thick. You’ve seen it. You guys have seen it. I wasn’t there. And my wife was there and my dog and my cat and my ’67 Corvette. But all kidding aside, they saved my wife. They got her out. Saved my home. And I can think of many occasions where… So it’s personal not just to me, but thousands of people.

(15:31)
Unfortunately, I’ve presided over too many mass funerals of firefighters out West and throughout the country. Because I have an expression I always use, an old one, God made man, and then he made a few firefighters. They’re all crazy. They’re all crazy and I love you for it. I grew up in Claymont, Delaware, after we moved down from Scranton, Pennsylvania, across from a fire hall. I went to a little Catholic school across the street, Holy Rosary. All my friends either became cops, firefighters, or priests, and here I am. So, Governor Shapiro, Josh, thanks. You’ve been a great friend. And, Jim, I’m going to miss you, pal.

(16:15)
You’ve been not only a great mayor but a great personal friend to me. Thank you. Thank you very much. And Ed Kelly, every time there was a real issue, Ed’s there standing next to me. I’ve been supported by the firefighters and supported them my entire career. And Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, I want to thank you, pal. And, Dr. Lori, thank you for everything you’re doing for the U.S. Fire service. This January is going to be two years since the fire ripped through a three-story rowhouse in the Fairmount neighborhood, as was mentioned already. Engine 13 got the call that day. They raced to the firehouse, from the firehouse, arrived at the scene along with engines from other parts of the city.

(16:59)
It was clear and later determined that the blaze started when a Christmas tree in a home caught fire. Ultimately, it killed 12 people, mostly children. I think it was 12 children as young as two and three years old. But you know what? In the wake of that tragedy, Local 22 President Mike came along and said, “Look…” Mike told me that during the 2008 recession, a number of fire companies across the city had to be decommissioned. One of those companies was right here, Ladder 1, from this station that we’re standing in today. On the day of the Fairmount fire, if the company hadn’t been decommissioned, Ladder 1 would have been the closest truck to the fire.

(17:43)
God only knows whether it would have been able to get there that much earlier to save lives, would have responded, but maybe saved some lives. When I spoke to the city officials here, I told them everything I could. I’d do everything I could to bring back Ladder 1 back into service as well as others. During the pandemic, we invested $350 billion in the American Rescue Plan and my administration. States and cities could use it to keep firefighters on the job, including here in Philly. I also signed a budget providing $360 million each for both the Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Program and the SAFER Grant Program for hundreds of emergency response vehicles and thousands of protective equipment called turnout gear.

(18:28)
I included money for critical cancer research screening because that’s the cause of death for most firefighters because of exposure to toxic exposure on the job, and helped put almost 1,200 more local firefighters in the field and across the country. Using previous SAFER Grant awards, Philadelphia had already been able to bring back several line companies back online that had been decommissioned during the Great Recession. In the wake of the tragic Fairmount fire, my team worked with city officials and the mayor to help get them to apply for a new SAFER Grant to bring the rest of the decommissioned companies back into service, including Ladder 1.

(19:11)
As a result, the city just got an additional $22 million to fund salaries and benefits for 72 firefighters. On January 8th, a new firefighter cadet class is entering the academy supported by this grant. And starting today, for the first time in nearly 15 years, this neighborhood once again has a ladder company on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year ready to keep them safe. Mike, I kept my promise and got the job done. Now, you’ve all heard me say before that God made man, but he also made a few firefighters. The overwhelming human instinct is to run away from danger. I think the most frightening thing anybody could do is run into a fire.

(19:54)
Almost anything else is less consequential. But when the bell rings, you all just run toward it, and you put your gear on, you jump in the truck, and you do what you’ve got to do because being a firefighter isn’t just what you do, it’s who you are. It’s who the hell you are. And we know that’s what produces firefighters. And the only thing that protects firefighters is more firefighters. Let me say it again. The only thing that protects firefighters is more firefighters. Good equipment, obviously, but more firefighters. For my entire career, I’ve been committed to doing everything I can to put more firefighters in the field and to give you the training and equipment you need to do your jobs.

(20:34)
That’s what today is all about, in my view. So, let me close with this. When the worst happens, when those alarms go off, when everything and everyone you love is in danger, there’s no better sight in the world than a firefighter ready to go to work. So thank you for being who you are. And thank your families, by the way. Thank your families. That alarm goes off, man, and their hearts go up in their throats and they wait for that phone call wondering what happened because so damn many of you have given your lives across the country, so many of you. So I can’t thank you enough. I think you’re the [inaudible 00:21:09] you and the medics that travel are the most consequential people in the community. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I promise you, we’re not stopping here. We’re going to keep going. Thank you, thank you, thank you.