FEMA Search and Rescue Chief Resigns

FEMA head who resigned after Texas floods will return to Philadelphia Fire Department

Ken Pagurek, a longtime Philadelphia firefighter who served as chief of FEMA’s search and rescue branch for the past year, was well-versed in major disaster response.

FEMA search and rescue leader quits amid Texas flood response delays

Ken Pagurek resigned as chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's urban search and rescue unit, citing bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Trump administration that slowed the agency’s response to deadly Texas floods earlier this month.Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.In short:Pagurek opposed a new policy requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s personal approval for purchases over $100,000, which critics say dela…

Top FEMA Official Resigns Following Noem’s Delays in Deadly Texas Floods

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) urban search and rescue unit abruptly resigned on Monday, telling colleagues he was frustrated with hurdles imposed by the Trump administration that had slowed the agency’s response to the deadly floods in Texas earlier this month. Ken Pagurek had led the urban search and rescue unit for a year after serving in the unit himself for… Source

Noem's DHS Slams FEMA Rescue Chief's Resignation As 'Laughable' In Wake Of Texas Flood Disaster

Urban Search and Rescue Chief Ken Pagurek quit over a new policy that led to delays in FEMA's response to the flooding in Texas on July 4, sources said.

Kristi Noem's Feral Emergency Management Drives Search And Rescue Chief To Resign

Ken Pagurek, then head of Pennsylvania’s emergency task force, explains how a search dog found a woman alive under rubble after the RM Palmer chocolate factory explosion, 2023. Video screenshot, WFMZ-TV on YouTubeFrustrated by how Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s “cost-cutting” measures delayed search and rescue deployment to the floods in Texas for three days, the head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch, Ken Pagurek, resigned on …

FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns

What happenedThe head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue unit, Ken Pagurek, has left the organization, citing "chaos" at the agency, said The New York Times. Pagurek had served in FEMA's USR division for more than a decade.Who said whatPagurek's resignation comes just weeks after a "delayed FEMA response to catastrophic flooding in central Texas," caused in part by "bureaucratic hurdles" put in place by the Depa…