W. Craig Fugate was appointed by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 13, 2009 to serve as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Administrator Fugate reported to FEMA on May 18, 2009, bringing with him a wealth of leadership experience to the emergency management community.
Prior to coming to FEMA, Mr. Fugate served as Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). In that role since 2001, he managed 138 full-time staff and a budget of $745 million. His agency coordinated disaster response, recovery, preparedness and mitigation efforts with each of the state's 67 counties and local governments.
Mr. Fugate began his emergency management career as a volunteer firefighter, Emergency Paramedic, and finally as a Lieutenant with the Alachua County Fire Rescue. Eventually, he moved from exclusive fire rescue operations to serving as the Emergency Manager for Alachua County in Gainesville, Florida. He spent a decade in that role until May 1997 when he was appointed Bureau Chief for Preparedness and Response for FDEM.
Within FDEM, Mr. Fugate's role as Chief of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) kept him busy during 1998. That year, the SERT team was active for more than 200 days as a result of numerous floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and Hurricane Georges.
In September 2003, again under Mr. Fugate's stewardship, the Florida Emergency Management Program became the first statewide emergency management program in the nation to receive full accreditation from the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP).
During his years at FDEM, Mr. Fugate served as the State Coordinating Officer in Florida for 11 Presidentially-declared disasters and the management of $4.5 billion in federal disaster assistance.
In 2004, Mr. Fugate managed the largest federal disaster response in Florida history as four major hurricanes impacted the state in quick succession (Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne). In 2005, Florida was again impacted by major disasters when three more hurricanes made landfall in the state (Dennis, Katrina and Wilma). The impact from Hurricane Katrina was felt more strongly in the Gulf Coast states to the west but under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact or EMAC, Florida launched the largest mutual aid response in its history in support of those states.
Mr. Fugate and his wife Sheree hail from Gainesville, Florida.
Craig Fugate's Posts
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Preparing for this Year’s Hurricane Season
June 1, 2012 at 11:04 AM EDTUnder the direction of President Obama, FEMA and DHS stand ready to support our state and local partners as the tropics start to produce their annual cyclones, storms, and hurricanes
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PPD-8: Announcing the National Preparedness Goal
October 7, 2011 at 3:58 PM EDTAs we work to build a more prepared nation, we cannot only look at the role that government plays, we must also work with the entire community – both the public and private sectors, faith-based and non-profit organizations and most importantly the public
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Hurricane Irene: Ongoing Response and Recovery
August 31, 2011 at 11:49 AM EDTFEMA Administrator Craig Fugate surveys damages in Vermont caused by Hurricane Irene and provides an update on response and recovery efforts.
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Crowdsourcing Solutions to Prepare Our Communities
November 2, 2010 at 6:24 PM EDTCraig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, poses a challenge calling for ideas on how we can all help prepare our communities before disasters strike.
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Honoring Fallen Firefighters, Preparing as Individuals
October 6, 2010 at 4:05 PM EDTDuring Fire Prevention Week, as we remember the sacrifices of our firefighters and first responders, we have a responsibility to make sure our own homes are protected.
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Emergency Planning for the Entire Community
September 24, 2010 at 6:38 PM EDTCraig Fugate, Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, recaps the National “Getting Real” Conference, which brought together leaders from emergency management and disability communities to continue the discussion about how we can plan for the entire community, not just part of it.
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New Spanish Language PSA’s Highlight the Importance of Preparing Today
September 16, 2010 at 5:37 PM EDTCraig Fugate, Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, encourages American families to be prepared in case of emergencies.
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Remaining Ready for Hurricane Earl
September 3, 2010 at 2:26 PM EDTAdministrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Craig Fugate provides an update on Hurricane Earl and the pre-landfall preparation steps being taken along the East Coast.
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Cutting Red Tape and Helping Communities Rebuild
August 26, 2010 at 9:24 AM EDTFEMA Administrator Craig Fugate discusses how, in the years since Hurricane Katrina, the agency has accelerated the recovery by cutting through red tape, and getting money moving to important projects on the ground, from schools to police stations to hospitals to libraries and transportation systems.
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For First Time, Disaster Survivors Can Apply For Federal Disaster Aid On Smartphones
July 19, 2010 at 6:16 PM EDTCraig Fugate, Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, introduces the FEMA mobile site, http://m.fema.gov, making it easier than ever for people to access information from FEMA quickly and easily.
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