(MM )
EYEWITNESS NEWS IS GOING----
INSIDE FEMA TONIGHT....
WHERE NATIVE RHODE ISLANDER PETE
GAYNOR IS MAKING HIS MARK...
OVERSEEING THE NATIONS RESPONSE
TO MAJOR DISASTERS.
(HE )
EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER
CAROLINE GOGGIN SITS DOWN WITH
THE FEMA LEADER ABOUT HIS EARLY
BEGINNINGS IN RHODE ISLAND...
AND HIS NEW ROLE.
(MM)
CAROLINE HAS THE EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW FROM WASHINGTON DC.
"From EMA headquaters in
Cranston to the National
Response Coordination Center
here at FEMA. Pete Gaynor, a
native Rhode Islander, has found
himself in a top spot in our
nation's capital."
IT WAS A LITTLE OVER A YEAR
AGO...
MARCH 8TH 2019.
"my first interaction with the
President, we were on Air Force
One going to see a tornado
disaster in Alabama, so I got to
meet him on my first day him and
his staff."
THEY WERE IN ALABAMA TO SURVEY
***THIS DAMAGE.
23 PEOPLE WERE KILLED -- AFTER A
POWERFUL TORNADO TORE THROUGH
SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE STATE.
PETER GAYNOR --- SERVING AS THE
ACTING ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA AT
THE TIME.
"it's really all our great
partners that make the magic
happen on the worst days."
LITTLE DID HE KNOW...
LESS THAN A YEAR LATER... HE
WOULD BE SWORN IN AS THE
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
"Sometimes you do have to pinch
yourself."
JUST OUTSIDE HIS NEW OFFICE ....
HANGS A PICTURE OF HIM... NEXT
TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE... AND
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
"there are times it is very
surrealistic. Going to the White
House, going to the Oval Office
to brief the President. Being on
Air Force One or Marine One with
the Vice President, or with
local elected leaders out on
disaster sites."
AS SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER ---
GAYNOR'S ROOTS, ARE IN RHODE
ISLAND.
HE'S A GRADUATE OF PILGRIM HIGH
SCHOOL -- AND RHODE ISLAND
COLLEGE.
HE SERVED 26 YEARS IN THE MARINE
CORPS.
JUST AS HE RETIRED --- DISASTER
STRUCK THE OCEAN STATE.
NOT LONG AFTER THE DECEMBER
DEBACLE IN 2007 ---
GAYNOR BECAME THE DIRECTOR OF
THE PROVIDENCE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
"when it's all said and done."
HE SAID IT WAS DURING HIS TENURE
IN THE CAPITAL CITY -- HE
EXPERIENCED ONE OF THE MOST
CHALLENGING TASKS OF HIS CAREER,
THAT LENT PERSPECTIVE.
"I was in the city of
Providence, the mayor at the
time, Mayor Taveras, asked me to
go be the Chief Operating
Officer for the Providence
School District. So, I spent
almost a year there doing all
those things a COO would do from
transportation, to facilities.
Those are the some of the same
kinds of challenges we have here
at FEMA. How do we become a
better business? Our business is
emergencies and disasters, but
how do we treat people? what do
our IT systems look like? What
do our communications systems
look like."
GAYNOR EVENTUALLY MADE THE MOVE
FROM LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
--- TO A POSITION AT THE STATE
LEVEL.
"there's going to be heavy wet
now. Winds will pick up."
IN NEW ENGLAND'S BITTER COLD...
"If you have to be outside, make
sure you hydrate."
AND SUMMER HEAT...
GAYNOR LED RHODE ISLAND'S
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
WORKING FOR GOVERNOR RAIMONDO
FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS.
WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM BEFORE HE
LEFT RHODE ISLAND IN THE FALL OF
2018.
"I don't think you ever really
leave Rhode Island, you always
come back."
OR PIECES OF RHODE ISLAND...
EVENTUALLY FIND THEIR WAY TO
YOU.
"oh you're from Rhode Island?"
"Edmond."
"where you from?"
"Warren."
DURING OUR TOUR OF FEMA --- WE
RAN INTO A RHODE ISLAND NATIVE,
NOW WORKING FOR THE AGENCY.
HE IS ONE OF THE MORE THAN 20
THOUSAND EMPLOYEES --- GAYNOR IS
NOW CURRENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR.
TAKING HIS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF
EXPERIENCE --- IN THE SMALLEST
STATE IN THE COUNTRY --- TO OUR
NATION'S CAPITOL.
"So local, state and then
federal, so I think I have a
pretty good perspective about
what emergency management is at
the lowest level and the highest
level."
"When I asked Gaynor what he
misses about Rhode Island, he
said the simplicity of it. He
said here in DC, there is never
a dull moment. Reporting inside
(HE )
EYEWITNESS NEWS CONTINUES TO GO
INSIDE FEMA TONIGHT.
AT FIVE...EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER CAROLINE GOGGIN....
...SPOKE WITH RHODE ISLAND
NATIVE PETE GAYNOR...
ABOUT HIS NEWEST ROLE RUNNING
THE DISASTER AGENCY.
(MM )
HE SAYS RIGHT NOW --- HIS AGENCY
IS SUPPORTING THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES --- AS
IT MONITORS THE SPREAD OF THE
CORONAVIRUS.
(HE)
THEY'RE ALSO MONITORING
TRAGEDIES ---- RANGING FROM
NATURAL DISASTERS TO TERRORIST
ATTACKS.
CAROLINE HAS THE EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW FROM WASHINGTON DC.
"we're joining you inside the
National Response Coordination
Center. This is the hub where
the federal government
coordinates a response to
natural disaster - pulling data
from across the country, as you
can see right here. And the man
who coordinates this entire
response team just happens to be
from Rhode Island."
IT WAS SEPTEMBER 1ST 2019.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ---
BRIEFED BY ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR
PETER GAYNOR --- INSIDE THE
NATIONAL RESPONSE COORDINATION
CENTER.
THE FLOOR WAS FILLED WITH PEOPLE
--- CLOSELY WATCHING HURRICANE
DORIAN AS IT APPROACHED THE U-S.
"from the department of defense,
to the treasury, to the
department of state, it's a
whole government effort on these
disasters"
WITHOUT DISASTER LOOMING... IT'S
A MUCH DIFFERENT SCENE INSIDE.
LOOMING... IT'S A MUCH DIFFERENT
SCENE INSIDE.
I GOT A TOUR FROM GAYNOR A
COUPLE WEEKS AGO --
AFTER THE WARWICK NATIVE, NOW
ADMNISTRATOR OF FEMA, JOINED ME
FOR A SIT-DOWN INTERVIEW IN HIS
NEW OFFICE IN WASHINGTON D-C.
"one of our core goals is to
prepared for catastrophic
disaster. We want to make sure
we're ready for it and our
partners our ready for it."
GAYNOR'S TENURE AT FEMA BEGAN IN
OCTOBER 2018 ---
WHEN HE WAS CONFIRMED BY THE U-S
SENATE AS THE DEPUTY
ADMINISTRATOR AT THE AGENCY.
IT WAS DURING ONE OF THE BIGGEST
HURRICANE SEASONS --- IN THE
COUNTRY'S HISTORY.
"We've had the two biggest
hurricane seasons in history,
the 2017 and 2018 years were the
biggest for FEMA. We spent more
money in those two years than in
the 38 years FEMA has been in
existence."
AND GAYNOR SAYS THEY ARE
PREPARED IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN
AGAIN.
THE NATIVE RHODE ISLANDER ---
KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT
DISASTER.
HE BECAME THE DIRECTOR OF THE
RHODE ISLAND EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY IN JANUARY
2015...
JUST AS A SEVERE WINTER STORM
HIT THE STATE.
THIS BLIZZARD ---- LATER
DECLARED A MAJOR DISASTER BY
PRESIDENT OBAMA.
"you have a disaster locally,
whether that's a snowstorm,
flooding, or Sandy, hurricane,
and you're impacted by this
disaster, between the local,
state and federal government,
you do an assessment of the
damage."
ACCORDING TO FEMA DATA ---
THERE HAVE BEEN 22 DISASTER
DECLARATIONS IN RHODE ISLAND
SINCE THE 1950S.
IN MASSACHUSETTS --- THERE HAVE
BEEN 50.
THAT INCLUDES AN EMERGENCY
DECLARATION FOR THE BOSTON
MARATHON BOMBINGS IN APRIL 2013.
GAYNOR SAYS WHEN IT COMES TO
ACTS OF TERRORISM --- FEMA
ADMINISTERS HOMELAND SECURITY
GRANTS... THAT STATES CAN USE TO
PREPARE.
"billions of dollars open for
locals and states to close their
gaps on things they need to
become stronger when it comes to
terrorism. It has to have a
terrorist nexus. Things like
cybersecurity is a big deal.
Fusion centers, training
exercises, equipment. We provde
those grants so states can build
that capcity at the local
level."
ACCORDING TO A FEMA SUMMARY
ABOUT THE BOSTON MARATHON
BOMBINGS --- "Many of the
capabilities demonstrated in
Boston and in the immediate
aftermath of the bombings...
WERE ENHANCED BECAUSE OF THE
HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS.
GAYNOR SAYS HIS AGENCY'S
GREATEST CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW ---
IS TRYING TO CONVINCE PEOPLE
THEY NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR
DISASTER.
"I encourage every citizen of
the united states to make sure
they are prepared, their family
is prepared, prepare your
business. If everyone did a
little bit more today, you would
have more prepared
neighborhoods, communities,
locals, states, and we would
have a more prepared nation."
"when asked about climate
change, Gaynor said he leaves
the scientific side of that
debate to the scientists. He
said his job is to prepare for
whatever disaster tomorrow could
bring. Reporting inside FEMA,
I'm Caroline Goggin, Eyewitness