b'firefighters all have an impact on the future of the volunteer staffing system. Leaders of departments staffed with volunteers must engage the public and elected officials on the future role of volunteers in delivering emergency services. Federal Fire Programs: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been hobbled by its integration into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The United States Fire Administration and its National Fire Academy face marginalization unless the required financial resources to enhance their effectiveness and assure their survival are provided. The resident and outreach programs need to be revitalized, the National Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) needs a major overhaul to improve participation, and funding for fire-related research programs needs to be provided in order for these programs to remain on important resource for the fire service. Without this support, we will never realize the goals set in the original America Burning document. The Customer: The needs of the customer continue to evolve. The fire service must be proactive in providing services that meet increasing customer demands and package those services so that they are understandable and accessible to the customer. The changing demographics of America, including the aging of the baby boomers and changes in immigration, are already placing an extraordinary demand on the delivery of fire department services. Professional Development: Significant strides have been made in fire service professional development, but improvement is still needed. The fire service needs to continue to evolve as a profession as have other governmental entities that operate in the environments where we work as well as other government organizations and the private sector. These skills are as important in the volunteer and combination fire services as they are in the career fire service. Collective Bargaining: Wingspread participants and their organizations unanimously support the right of every firefighter and emergency medical response employee to be under a collective bargaining agreement that addresses their salaries, benefits, and working conditions.29'