The chief publicist for America’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has been fired from his new job before he even started, after it emerged that he staged a fake news conference about the California wildfires — at which he and his staff, posing as reporters, asked the questions.

Of all the government organisations in America, perhaps only the beleaguered Fema — ridiculed for its late-response to Hurricane Katrina two years ago — could so effectively snatch defeat from the jaws of such a victorious disaster-response effort, led by California’s resurgent governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Unlike Fema’s errors of two years ago, however, the wildfire press fiasco was swiftly acknowledged and condemned by the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and Fema itself.

The man held responsible was Fema’s former external affairs director, John P. “Pat” Philbin, who was set to take the chief information officer’s job at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Monday.

This will no longer happen.

“We do not normally comment on personnel matters,” said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the DNI. "However, we can confirm that Mr Philbin is not, nor is he scheduled to be, the director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."

The White House described the phoney briefing — which was televised live — as an “error in judgment”.

Mr Philbin, who previously worked for the US Coast Guard and the Anteon Corp — a large defence contractor — arranged the news conference last Tuesday, as the California wildfires raged out of control. The host of the conference was Fema's deputy administrator, Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson. However, because the conference was called with only 15 minutes notice, no reporters were able to attend.

Instead they were given a 'conference call' number, which they could use to listen the proceedings, during which Mr Philbin and his staff asked all the questions.

Astonishingly, the conference call did not allow the real reporters to ask questions.

“Are you happy with Fema’s response so far?” a Fema employee posing as a reporter asked Admiral Johnson.

“I am very happy with Fema’s response so far,” he responded. “I think what you’re really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership."

Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Fema, described the rigged press conference as “one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government”.

Fema has apologised for the briefing. It says it is reviewing its procedures for dealing with news organisations.

“This incident is most regrettable and was entirely unavoidable,” wrote Fema’s administrator, R. David Paulison, in a memo to all the organisation’s employees. “I am very disappointed in some of our public affairs staff for not realising the impact of this decision.”

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