Official FEMA Portrait of R. David Paulison -- Acting Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response and Acting Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security -- Photo by Greg Schaler/ FEMA News Photo

Former Miami-Dade fire Chief R. David Paulison was named as acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the resignation of Director Michael Brown in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Actually Chief Paulison was named as the acting Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response of the United States Department of Homeland Security, whose duties also include the Acting Directorship of FEMA.

Chief Paulison served as the Fire Chief of Metro-Dade Fire-Rescue in the 1990s and has been the Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) since December 2001 but he has been quoted as saying that he knew he ''stepped into a mess'' when he accepted this new position which includes being FEMA's acting director.

Former Miami-Dade fire Chief R. David Paulison was named as acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the resignation of Director Michael Brown in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Actually Chief Paulison was named as the acting Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response of the United States Department of Homeland Security, whose duties also include the Acting Directorship of FEMA.

Chief Paulison served as the Fire Chief of Metro-Dade Fire-Rescue in the 1990s and has been the Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) since December 2001 but he has been quoted as saying that he knew he ''stepped into a mess'' when he accepted this new position which includes being FEMA's acting director.

The federal emergency response agency was lambasted and ridiculed from all corners of the country for its slow and at times less than stellar response to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast area of the country. The then Director of FEMA Michael Brown was forced to resign and late-night talk show hosts had only to say the word ''FEMA'' to get a derisive laugh.

Chief Paulison took the helm of FEMA at the height of the record-breaking hurricane season and in the first three weeks of his tenure in the position he had to deal with not one but three additional hurricanes in his first six weeks on the job. The most recent, Wilma, crippled South Florida, leaving millions without power, including his home in Davie, Florida and affecting much of the area served by his former fire department.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has outlined major changes he wants at FEMA, and Paulison is the man that will have to implement those changes and respond to recurring threats of all sorts while he is in this position. It is no doubt that this seemingly unreal hurricane season has made it difficult for Paulison to concentrate on revamping and upgrading FEMA the way Chertoff wants.

Paulison is no stranger to crises and politically charged controversies. He became fire chief in 1992, two months before Hurricane Andrew devastated South Dade and left 250 of his firefighters homeless. In that incident Chief Paulison and the Metro-Dade Fire-rescue Department worked closely with the union and sometimes opposed it, often in the same day. As the fire Chief he answered to the county commission and fire board but also had to deal with union disputes over things such as minority hiring and budgets, upgrading equipment and training.

After Chief Paulison left the Metro-Dade Chief position he was named director of the U.S. Fire Administration just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, later after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security he also directed DHS's preparedness division.

When President Bush tapped him to succeed Director Brown, Paulison recalled, a White House personnel official asked him if he could handle the political pressure in Washington, D.C. As he was asking me this he looked down at my résumé and said, `Oh, you're from Dade County -- never mind,' '' Paulison recalled with a chuckle.

Many emergency management and First Responders praised Paulson's selection as a boost for professionalism in an agency accused of cronyism. Some in Congress are openly saying that FEMA desperately needs more experienced emergency managers and responders at all levels.

In between responses to the situations caused by Hurricane Wilma Chief Paulison did manage to take a bit of time off from the office over a weekend to deal with personal matters related to his own storm damaged home in Davie, Florida and was quoted as saying that "During 30 years, I've never been home for a hurricane,'' he said. ``I need to check on my roof.''

That seems to be a fair trade to this author.

See Chief Paulson's Official FEMA Bio and Official portrait as well as some working photographs below;

Official FEMA BIO for Acting Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response: R. David Paulison

R. David Paulison is currently the Acting Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response and also serves as acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Mr. Paulison was appointed director of the Preparedness Division of the Emergency Preparedness & Response Directorate/FEMA in 2003, and continues to serve as the administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration, a position to which he was appointed in December 2001.

As director of the Preparedness Division, Mr. Paulison administers a broad range of programs designed to reduce injuries and death due to disasters, strengthen states and communities and prevent or reduce damage to public and personal property. He is also responsible for enhancing state and local emergency preparedness, training federal, state, and local emergency managers, and conducting a nationwide program of exercises. As head of the U.S. Fire Administration, Mr. Paulison also supports state and local fire service programs and oversees programs to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies in partnership with fire protection and emergency service communities.

Before joining FEMA, Mr. Paulison, who has 30 years of fire rescue services experience, was chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. In that position, he oversaw 1,900 personnel with a $200 million operating budget and a $70 million capital budget. He also oversaw the county's emergency management office.

He began his career as a rescue firefighter and rose through the ranks to rescue lieutenant, battalion commander, district chief of operations, division chief, assistant chief and then deputy director for administration before becoming chief. His emergency management experience includes Hurricane Andrew and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592.

A native of Miami, Fla., Mr. Paulison earned a bachelor of arts from Florida Atlantic University and completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He received the LeRoy Collins Distinguished Alumni Award and was inducted into the Miami-Dade Community College Hall of Fame. Mr. Paulison was selected as fire chief of the year by Florida in 1993 and holds positions in several professional associations. He is a certified paramedic and as fire chief, oversaw the Miami-Date Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. He is also past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.