(3/9) An email from FEMA late Friday afternoon [March 7] cancelled all classes, effective immediately, at its two training institutes in Emmitsburg: the National Fire Academy and the National Emergency Institute.

In an email sent to all staff and students, FEMA stated that it "is currently in the process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities."

The email caught just about everyone associated with the campus off guard, with security unsure if they should admit instructors arriving that afternoon to set up for classes.

The instructors were baffled and left wondering if they would be paid for the travel expenses already incurred, or for the completion of the contracts they had signed.

But the hardest hit will undoubtedly be to the local residents employed at the schools who provide housekeeping and cafeteria services for the estimated 400 to 450 students who routinely attend classes at the two schools.

In addition, local restaurants and businesses who cater to the students, to some degree, will see a drop in business.

Bobby Ott, of the Ott House, said the loss of the students will knock 25 to 30% off the Restaurant’s bottom line. "It will not be as bad and during COVID, when we not only lost FEMA students, but the Mount as well, but it will hurt."

The Carriage House said the loss of the end of class parties, which usually happen on Thursdays, will impact them, but is not a significant portion of their business. Emmitsburg’s Subway shop said they got hard. "A huge chunk of our business is simply gone."

Other businesses in Town will feel the effect of not only the loss of income from students, but the cutting back on unnecessary expenses by local residents, who will face job losses as a result of the closure.

Also affected will be the Town’s Water Fund, which was hit hard during COVID due to a decrease in water usage at the academies, which resulted in a sharp drop in income for the Fund, which only recently got corrected.

According to a knowledgeable FEMA staffer, the institutes were flagged by the Department of Government Efficiency "due to its exorbitant travel budget." FEMA currently pays for all travel expenses, as well as all room and board, for all students attending classes at the two schools. "Travel expenses easily exceed $250,000 a week," said the staffer.

While FEMA Management sorts through the future of the two schools, instructors have been directed to scrub all courses for any language associated with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

"This is ludicrous," said one instructor. "I was told to change the wording in one of my courses which lays out what should be taken to an emergency site. The language ‘equipment one should bring includes’ was flagged as supportive of DEI and I was told to come up with another word than ‘include’."

While the initial FEMA email stated that the shutdown would only be in effect until June, insiders said that the Administration’s repeated calls to defund FEMA and turn its activities over to the states has doomed the schools and they don’t foresee them reopening.