Governor Carcieri’s dismissal of the executive director of the state Emergency Management Agency has angered local emergency directors and other public safety officials, who see the firing as a political move.

The snowstorm of Dec. 13 paralyzed Southern New England, creating memorable gridlock and, in some cities, stranding schoolchildren on buses for hours. But only in Rhode Island did the governor fire the head of the state EMA — an agency that had limited authority during the storm. The move, some officials say now, has damaged emergency response, not improved it.

The Dec. 18 firing created upheaval in an agency that executive director Robert J. Warren was credited with turning from a political backwater into a professional organization that took the lead in preparing Rhode Island for emergencies.

While other states are gearing up for hurricane season, a possible pandemic flu outbreak and the expected strike by Amtrak workers in a few weeks, work at the Rhode Island EMA has been pushed aside to develop a snow emergency plan. A draft of the plan has been sent to local EMA directors for their input. “If there’s a snowflake coming down in the state of Rhode Island, there won’t be any kids in school, because that’s how we do things. We respond so fast that we don’t think,” said Warren Fire Chief Alexander Galinelli, who is also the town’s EMA director. “The state works in mysterious ways. It can’t get its act together, and priorities get shoved aside.”

Maj. Gen. Robert T. Bray, head of the Rhode Island National Guard, was made interim executive director of the state EMA after the firing. Bray immediately ordered all local emergency directors to file daily “situational awareness reports” of the weather and status of their communities, instead of having the state EMA wait for requests for assistance.

Few are complying. Most local directors are part-timers or volunteers, and they say they don’t have the time or resources for daily reports — they’ll call the state when they need help. Bray didn’t respond to questions through a spokeswoman regarding whether the reports are reviewed at night and on weekends, when the state EMA is closed.

But even if the communities report problems, they can decline state assistance. The day of the storm, Providence had major gridlock and more than 100 children stuck on school buses into the night, yet the city refused the state’s offer of help — as did all other communities.

“Heavy snowfall is simply not a disaster the EMA is in place for,” said Thomas McMillan, Exeter’s deputy director of emergency management. “I still wonder if anyone in the state has any authority to tell anybody, ‘Don’t release your employees or school districts,’ unless the governor declares a state of emergency.”

Legislation is being considered to ensure that the state EMA and other agencies “have the statutory authority to ensure public safety,” according to the January Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency newsletter. But pressures from the state on the local emergency directors are straining the good relationships that Warren had built up.

“Obviously, we need changes because we didn’t do things right,” said Galinelli. “But we didn’t do things right because people didn’t know who was in charge. The governor leaves the state but doesn’t put anybody in charge!”

Last week, Carcieri announced that Bray will be in charge of emergencies when the governor is out of state.

Carcieri was in the Middle East visiting local troops when the storm dropped 8 inches of snow. A criticism following the storm was a lack of leadership. Under the state Constitution, control of the state went with the governor on his trip.

“In the governor’s absence, the adjutant general will be responsible not only for overseeing the state’s on-the-ground preparations and response for potential weather emergencies, but also for acting as the public face and voice for the state’s efforts,” Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said in an e-mail Friday.

Neal could not answer questions about what happens when Bray isn’t in the state or how the military can be in charge of civilian agencies. Only the governor can declare a state of emergency and activate the National Guard.

There are other statewide changes designed to better handle a snowstorm.

The state Department of Transportation plans to shorten plow routes in Providence and station tow trucks where they can quickly deal with tractor-trailer breakdowns, such as the ones that caused delays on Dec. 13. The DOT is also planning to use the “Web-EOC,” an Internet program that connects users to the state EMA through a virtual emergency operations center. Only the state EMA and a handful of local directors used the Web-EOC during the last storm.

AS IT DID in Rhode Island, the storm created havoc on the roads in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In Boston and Worcester, school buses were stranded into the night. In Hartford, where most schools were closed for the day, traffic was snarled for hours.

But there were differences. In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell updated the public through the media throughout the day and had trucks banned from the highways to allow plows to get through. And while Connecticut didn’t fully staff its emergency operations center, officials from public works, health, environmental management and the state police worked with the emergency staff.

In Rhode Island, only EMA executive director Warren and two staffers were at the Emergency Operations Center. Most of the National Guard went home early, the state police were out on the roads, and DOT director Jerome Williams and his staff stayed at the Traffic Management Center with the governor’s chief of staff, Brian Stern. Carcieri was away and Bray, who had authority over the state EMA, was out sick — although in contact with Warren by e-mail and cell phone.

But the state EMA had little authority. Carcieri had not declared a state of emergency and no towns were requesting assistance. Also, Bray did not authorize fully opening the EOC. Without any of that, Warren couldn’t do more than monitor the weather and traffic and communicate with the state police, transportation, media and the governor’s staff, he said.

In other states, while there was some political finger-pointing, no one was fired. In Rhode Island, Warren was fired five days after the storm, after appearing flustered on a talk-radio show. Carcieri cited Warren’s actions during the storm as his reasons for the firing.

“I just think they needed a scapegoat and it was Bob Warren,” said Galinelli. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s what happens when you take that position. No politician wants to take the hit.”

The firing has caused head-shaking in emergency management circles in other states as well.

“What the governor did when he first came in was he restored the faith and confidence in emergency management in the state — he put in a qualified, well-known, attested leader in that position,” said Chris Tuttle, the emergency operations manager for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “And by taking Bob [Warren] out for political reasons, the governor’s disrupted the work he’s done and it makes anyone in public safety lose faith in that position.”

MOST OF THE state EMA directors before Warren got the job through political connections. One worked for a billboard advertising company and contributed to campaigns. Another was a transportation coordinator. Another had been a campaign worker. None had experience in emergency management or safety.

Former state EMA employee Richard Bouchard, now a reservist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, remembered how the agency was used as a political dumping ground.

After the last executive director retired in December 2004, the local fire chiefs lobbied Carcieri to hire Warren, who was Cranston’s fire chief and EMA director, and who had training in dealing with emergencies, hazards and hurricanes. Warren was also a commander at the Station nightclub fire.

Warren was appointed in August 2005. “I thought, ‘Wow, Carcieri selected a true public safety professional who had the credentials,’ ” Bouchard remembered.

Warren inherited the problems of a long-dysfunctional agency. The state EMA is squeezed by demands from the federal government for plans and training that clash with the abilities and small budgets of local cities and towns.

“Emergency management is all about partnership. We’re a coordinating agency, not a responding agency. Our role is to coordinate and bring people together,” said Rick Andreano, a state EMA employee working on communications and the Citizens Corps program. “And Bob [Warren] was the expert on that. He came from a local community and he understood the dynamics between the state and locals.”

When Bray met with some local emergency directors last week, it was the first time the South Dakota native had sat down with most since being appointed nearly two years ago. Bray told them that they weren’t going to speak about “that day,” meaning the snowstorm, said Thomas Senerchia, West Warwick’s EMA director and chairman of the local EMA directors group.

Bray told them he wanted them to be more proactive, and he asked what the directors wanted, Senerchia said. “I think he was honestly looking for us to help him out with this,” he said.

Some emergency officials worry that the firing and other factors will make it hard to find a new state director.

Budget constraints make the executive director’s job difficult. Most EMA jobs are financed by federal grants, not state money. Warren’s salary was nearly $75,000; other top state officials, including the governor’s inner circle, make nearly twice that amount. Also, Carcieri’s decision to keep the state EMA under the National Guard takes away its autonomy and ability to advise the governor on emergencies, says Tuttle, who began his career at the Rhode Island EMA.

“Most at RIEMA are hard-working, dedicated people who are hanging in there. The problem is, how likely are they to stick their heads out and get things done?” said Kevin R. Gallup, Charlestown’s emergency director. “I’m afraid the next [executive director] is going to have to be political, which takes away from getting things done.”

Several directors said they’re concerned about the state EMA’s future and having trust in a new executive director. “Nothing’s going to stop because Bob Warren isn’t there, but I knew where he was coming from and where he was going,” said Providence Assistant Fire Chief Michael Dillon.

Galinelli would like to see the job go to a Rhode Islander who understands the communities and who will continue the plans that Warren started. “I’d like to see them call Bob back, because it wasn’t his fault,” he said. “I think the general and the governor should suck up their mistakes and call him back.”

amilkovi@projo.com