[House Hearing, 112 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
WORKING FOR A FIRE SAFE AMERICA:
EXAMINING UNITED STATES
FIRE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012
__________
Serial No. 112-85
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. RALPH M. HALL, Texas, Chair
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
Wisconsin JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California ZOE LOFGREN, California
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois
JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland
W. TODD AKIN, Missouri BEN R. LUJAN, New Mexico
RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas PAUL D. TONKO, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas JERRY McNERNEY, California
PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
SANDY ADAMS, Florida FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan
CHARLES J. ``CHUCK'' FLEISCHMANN, SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
Tennessee
E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia
STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
MO BROOKS, Alabama
ANDY HARRIS, Maryland
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois
CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota
LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan
VACANCY
------
Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
HON. BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona, Chair
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland
JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas BEN R. LUJAN, New Mexico
CHARLES J. ``CHUCK'' FLEISCHMANN, SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
Tennessee VACANCY
E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia VACANCY
RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois VACANCY
CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas
RALPH M. HALL, Texas
C O N T E N T S
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Page
Witness List..................................................... 2
Hearing Charter.................................................. 3
Opening Statements
Statement by Representative Benjamin Quayle, Chairman,
Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.. 8
Written Statement............................................ 9
Statement by Representative Donna F. Edwards, Ranking Minority
Member, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.. 9
Written Statement............................................ 11
Witnesses:
Mr. Ernest Mitchell, Jr., Administrator, United States Fire
Administration
Oral Statement............................................... 12
Written Statement............................................ 15
Dr. John R. Hall, Jr., Division Director, Fire Analysis and
Research, National Fire Protection
Oral Statement............................................... 22
Written Statement............................................ 24
Chief Jim Critchley, Tucson Fire Department; President, Western
Fire Chiefs Association
Oral Statement............................................... 34
Written Statement............................................ 36
Mr. Kevin O'Connor, Assistant to the General President for
Governmental Affairs, International Association of Fire
Fighters
Oral Statement............................................... 40
Written Statement............................................ 42
Discussion....................................................... 47
Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Mr. Ernest Mitchell, Jr., Administrator, United States Fire
Administration................................................. 58
Dr. John R. Hall, Jr., Division Director, Fire Analysis and
Research, National Fire Protection Association................. 74
Chief Jim Critchley, Tucson Fire Department; President, Western
Fire Chiefs AssociationTruth in Testimony...................... 76
Mr. Kevin O'Connor, Assistant to the General President for
Governmental Affairs, International Association of Fire
Fighters....................................................... 78
WORKING FOR A FIRE SAFE AMERICA:
EXAMINING UNITED STATES
FIRE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES
----------
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m., in
Room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Benjamin
Quayle [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
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Chairman Quayle. The Subcommittee on Technology and
Innovation will come to order.
Good morning. Welcome to today's hearing entitled ``Working
for a Fire-Safe America: Examining United States Fire
Administration Priorities.'' In front of you are packets
containing the written testimony, biographies and Truth in
Testimony disclosures for today's witnesses. I now recognize
myself for five minutes for an opening statement.
Today's hearing is being held to review the fire service
community's priorities for the future of the United States Fire
Administration, the USFA. The USFA was established following
the 1973 report of the National Commission on Fire Prevention
and Control, ``America Burning,'' which recommended the
creation of a federal fire agency to provide support to state
and local governments and private fire organizations in their
efforts to reduce fire deaths, injuries, and property loss.
The USFA has a substantial public safety mission. Although
the country's fire death rate continues to decline, it is
higher than more than half of the industrialized countries.
The USFA prepares first responders and health care leaders
to react to hazard and terrorism emergencies. It supports the
efforts of state and local governments by providing training
for first responders, educational programs and targeted
outreach for communities, and conducting and coordinating the
research and development of technologies for the fire service.
The USFA also assists with data collection, analysis, and the
dissemination of best practices for the Nation's fire
prevention and control, and emergency medical services
activities.
In recent years, there has been an escalation of severe
wildfires resulting in home and property loss. This can be
attributed to expanding development in wildland areas, which
include an abundance of burnable brush and trees. 2011 was an
exceptional year for wildfires in the United States, and major
blazes affected my home State of Arizona. In late May 2011, the
Wallow Fire raced across eastern Arizona, forcing the
evacuation of thousands of residents and burning more than
469,000 acres, making it the largest in Arizona's history. The
fire is believed to have started after a campfire blew out of
control and spread quickly due to dry weather and fierce winds.
Over 4,000 firefighters were assigned to the Wallow Fire.
Currently, there are hundreds of firefighters working to
contain at least four blazes in central and eastern Arizona.
This represents just a fraction of the thousands of first
responders and firefighters who risk their lives each and every
day battling fires across the country. The USFA supports these
individuals. They don't take their responsibilities lightly,
and I as an authorizer of the USFA, neither do I.
The testimony of our witnesses this morning should help the
members of the Subcommittee to understand the priorities of the
USFA, in order to better enable the USFA's continued efforts to
reduce fire deaths, injuries, and property loss. We thank our
witnesses for being here today and we look forward to your
testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Quayle follows:]
Prepared Statement of Subcommitte Chairman Dan Quayle
Good Morning. I would like to welcome everyone to today's hearing
reviewing the fire service community's priorities for the future of the
United States Fire Administration (USFA).
The USFA was established following the 1973 report of the National
Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, America Burning, which
recommended the creation of a federal fire agency to provide support to
state and local governments and private fire organizations in their
efforts to reduce fire deaths, injuries, and property loss.
The USFA has a substantial public safety mission. Although the
country's fire death rate continues to decline, it is higher than more
than half of the industrialized countries.
The USFA prepares first responders and health care leaders to react
to hazard and terrorism emergencies. It supports the efforts of state
and local governments by providing training for first responders,
educational programs and targeted outreach for communities, and
conducting and coordinating the research and development of
technologies for the fire service. The USFA also assists with data
collection, analysis, and the dissemination of best practices for the
nation's fire prevention and control, and emergency medical services
activities.
In recent years, there has been an escalation of severe wildfires
resulting in home and property loss. This can be attributed to
expanding development in wildland areas--which include an abundance of
burnable brush and trees. 2011 was an exceptional year for wildfires in
the United States, and major blazes affected my home state of Arizona.
In late May 2011, the Wallow Fire raced across eastern Arizona, forcing
the evacuation of thousands of residents and burning more than 469,000
acres, making it the largest in Arizona's history. The fire is believed
to have started after a campfire blew out of control and spread quickly
due to dry weather and fierce winds.
Over 4,000 firefighters were assigned to the Wallow Fire.
Currently, there are hundreds of firefighters working to contain at
least four blazes in central and eastern Arizona. This represents just
a fraction of the thousands of first responders and firefighters who
risk their lives each and every day battling fires across the country.
The USFA supports these individuals. They don't take their
responsibilities lightly, and as an authorizer of the USFA, neither do
I.
The testimony of our witnesses this morning should help the members
of the Subcommittee to understand the priorities of the USFA, in order
to better enable the USFA's continued efforts to reduce fire deaths,
injuries, and property loss. We thank our witnesses for being here
today and we look forward to your testimony.
Chairman Quayle. I now recognize the gentlelady from
Maryland, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Ms. Edwards,
for her opening statement.
Ms. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
calling this morning's hearing to examine the activities and
priorities of the United States Fire Administration. I am very
pleased to welcome Chief Mitchell and our other witnesses here
today so we can hear more about his vision for the
Administration. I am particularly pleased to welcome my good
friend Kevin O'Connor as well as our other witnesses, and I
want to thank you for taking the time from your schedules to be
with us.
The Fire Administration was created in 1974 with the goal
of reducing the number of fire-related deaths by half from a
staggering 12,000 per year. Through the good work of the Fire
Administration and our first responders, we met this goal in
1988. The number of fire-related deaths continues to decline
but, unfortunately, our country's fire-related death rate is
still one of the highest in the industrialized world. And it is
estimated that in 2009, fire cost the United States over $331
billion in economic and human losses. Chairman Quayle just
spoke about the loss in his own state.
The Fire Administration continues to play a central role in
reducing the impacts of fire and making our communities safer.
It is responsible for improving the ability of fire departments
around the country to respond to fires safely and effectively
through research and firefighter training and for increasing
fire prevention and preparedness through public education and
awareness activities.
Certainly, fires are still a major problem in our country
and the Fire Administration's continued leadership in the area
is critical. However, we can't ignore the fact that our
firefighters are not just fighting fires anymore. On any given
day, our firefighters are rushing to the scene in response to
over 72,000 calls that range in scope from a house fire to a
car crash to a hazardous material spill to a medical emergency.
The truth is that our firefighters are our first responders in
all types of emergencies, including terrorist attacks and
natural disasters, and the range of training and education they
need to be successful must expand and evolve to reflect this
reality.
As part of the Fire Administration's last reauthorization
in 2008, we emphasized the need to advance training in, for
example, emergency medical services and hazardous material
response. I will be interested in hearing today about the
status of those advances and learning from our witnesses
whether the Fire Administration's training courses are in fact
meeting the expanded all-hazards needs of today's fire service.
I am also interested in hearing about the current state of
fire-related research, any emerging research areas or existing
gaps, and how the Fire Administration is contributing to these
efforts. I would also like to learn more about how the Fire
Administration prioritizes its research investments and how it
coordinates its research activities with other federal entities
engaged in fire-related research, including the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and the Science and
Technology Directorate within the Department of Homeland
Security.
Most importantly, however, I am interested in hearing
recommendations or suggestions about what ought to be included
in the next Fire Administration reauthorization bill. As you
are aware, the current authorization for the Fire
Administration expires in just over four months. I am pleased
that we are holding this hearing today and think it is an
important first step, and I sincerely hope that the decision to
call this hearing is an indication that there are plans to
draft and move a reauthorization bill through this Committee in
the coming weeks. I hope the Chairman will be able to provide
some insight into these plans this morning.
And as you may be aware, our colleagues in the Senate
passed a Fire Administration reauthorization bill through the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs just
yesterday. I believe we also have an obligation and an
opportunity to ensure that the Fire Administration's authority
continues uninterrupted, and I look forward to working with the
Chairman towards that end.
Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important
hearing. The Fire Administration plays an essential role in
ensuring that our firefighters, who are so critical to the
safety and resiliency of our Nation, have the tools they need
to protect us and keep us out of harm's way. I am looking
forward to hearing from our witnesses about the tools Congress
can provide the Fire Administration that will allow them to
effectively assist fire departments all across the country.
And I yield the balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Edwards follows:]
Prepared Statement of Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna F. Edwards
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this morning's hearing to
examine the activities and priorities of the United States Fire
Administration. I'm very pleased to welcome Chief Mitchell here today
so we can hear more about his vision for the Administration. The
position of Administrator was vacant for far too long, and we're
delighted to finally have you on board and at the helm. I'd also like
to thank our other witnesses for taking time out of their schedules to
be here today and share their critical insight with us.
The Fire Administration was created in 1974 with the goal of
reducing the number of fire-related deaths by half from a staggering
12,000 per year. Through the good work of the Fire Administration and
our first responders, we met this goal in 1988. The number of fire-
related deaths continues to decline but, unfortunately, our country's
fire-related death rate is still one of the highest in the
industrialized world. And it is estimated that, in 2009, fire cost the
United States over $331 billion dollars in economic and human losses.
The Fire Administration continues to play a central role in
reducing the impacts of fire and making our communities safer. It is
responsible for improving the ability of fire departments around the
country to respond to fires safely and effectively through research and
firefighter training and for increasing fire prevention and
preparedness through public education and awareness activities.
Certainly, fires are still a major problem in our country and the
Fire Administration's continued leadership in this area is critical.
However, we can't ignore the fact that our firefighters are not just
fighting fires anymore. On any given day, our firefighters are rushing
to the scene in response to over 72,000 calls that range in scope from
a house fire to a car crash to a hazardous material spill to a medical
emergency. The truth is that our firefighters are our first responders
in all types of emergencies, including terrorist attacks and natural
disasters, and the range of training and education they need to be
successful must expand and evolve to reflect this reality.
As part of the Fire Administration's last reauthorization in 2008,
we emphasized the need to advance training in, for example, emergency
medical services and hazardous material response. I'm interested to
hear today about the status of those advances and learn from our
witnesses whether the Fire Administration's training courses are in
fact meeting the expanded all-hazards needs of today's fire service.
I'm also interested in hearing about the current state of fire-
related research, any emerging research areas or existing gaps, and how
the Fire Administration is contributing to these efforts. I would also
like to learn more about how the Fire Administration prioritizes its
research investments and how it coordinates its research activities
with other Federal entities engaged in fire-related research, including
the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Science and
Technology Directorate within the Department of Homeland Security.
Most importantly, however, I am interested in hearing
recommendations or suggestions about what ought to be included in the
next Fire Administration reauthorization bill. As you are aware, the
current authorization for the Fire Administration expires in just over
four months. I am pleased that we are holding this hearing today and
think that it is an important first step. I sincerely hope that the
decision to call this hearing is an indication that there are plans to
draft and move a reauthorization bill through this Committee in the
coming weeks. I hope that the Chairman will be able to provide some
insight into these plans this morning.
As you may be aware, our colleagues on the Senate passed a Fire
Administration reauthorization bill through the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs yesterday. I believe we also have an
obligation and an opportunity to ensure that the Fire Administration's
authority continues uninterrupted and I look forward to working with
the Chairman towards that end.
Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing.
The Fire Administration plays an essential role in ensuring that our
firefighters--who are so critical to the safety and resiliency of our
Nation--have the tools they need to protect us and keep us out of
harm's way. I'm looking forward to hearing from our witnesses about the
``tools'' Congress can provide the Fire Administration that will allow
them to effectively assist fire departments across the country.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Ms. Edwards.
If there are Members who wish to submit additional opening
statements, your statements will be added to the record at this
point.
At this time I would like to introduce our witnesses, and
then we will proceed to hear from each of them in order.
Our first witness is Chief Ernest Mitchell, Jr., an
Assistant Administrator at the Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the United States Fire Administrator in charge of
the United States Fire Administration at the Department of
Homeland Security. Next, we will hear from Dr. John Hall, Jr.,
who is the Division Director of Fire Analysis and Research at
the National Fire Protection Association. Dr. Hall has been
active in fire analysis and fire research for nearly 35 years.
Our third witness is Chief Jim Critchley. Chief Critchley
represents the Tucson Fire Department in my home State of
Arizona and also currently serves as the President of the
Western Fire Chiefs Association. Our final witness is Mr. Kevin
O'Connor, Assistant to the General President for the
International Association of Fire Fighters.
Thank you again to our witnesses for being here today. As
our witnesses should know, spoken testimony is limited to five
minutes each. After all witnesses have spoken, members of the
Committee will have five minutes each to ask questions.
I now recognize our first witness, the United States Fire
Administrator, Ernest Mitchell.
STATEMENT OF MR. ERNEST MITCHELL, JR., ADMINISTRATOR, UNITED
STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION
Chief Mitchell. Good morning, Chairman Quayle, Ranking
Member Edwards and distinguished members of the Committee. My
name is Ernest Mitchell, Jr. I am an Assistant Administrator at
the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States
Fire Administrator in charge of the United States Fire
Administration at the Department of Homeland Security. It is
indeed an honor to appear before you today to discuss the U.S.
Fire Administration.
The Fire Administration is committed to providing national
leadership to foster a solid foundation for our fire and
emergency services stakeholders and prevention, preparedness
and response. In my testimony today, I will share an overview
of the Fire Administration's core functions, major priorities
and present activities and goals.
Despite making progress over time, fire losses in the
United States have been higher than in most of the
industrialized world. This has held true in both fire deaths
and dollar loss rates. Thousands of Americans die each year,
and thousands more are injured. Property losses reach billions
of dollars. Average annual fire losses in the United States
greatly exceed those from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes,
earthquakes and other natural disasters combined in our
country.
The Fire Administration is a national leader in providing
fire safety and prevention programs to help decrease tragic
losses. We also lead the way in preparing communities to
respond to fires and other hazards in line with FEMA's whole
community approach to emergency management. We are supporting
the efforts of local communities to reduce the number of fires
and fire deaths, and champion federal fire prevention and
control efforts and coordinates information about fire programs
throughout the country.
There are four traditional stars of the Fire Administration
and one relatively new or budding star that we have initiated
more recently. One is data collection. The National Fire Data
Center administers a national system for collecting, analyzing
and disseminating data and information on fire and other
emergency incidents to state and local governments and the fire
communities.
Two is through public education and awareness. Through
partnerships and special initiatives, the Fire Administration
involves the fire service, the media, other federal agencies
and safety interest groups, and the development and delivery of
fire safety awareness and education programs.
Three is training. The National Fire Academy offers
educational opportunities for the advanced professional
development of the midlevel and senior fire and emergency
medical services officers and allied professionals involved in
fire prevention and life safety activities.
Four is research and technology. Through research, testing
and evaluation, the Fire Administration works with public and
private entities to promote and improve fire and life safety.
Research and special studies are conducted on fire detection,
suppression and notification systems as well as issues related
to firefighter and emergency responder health and safety.
Five, and the more recent, is technical assistance and
response. It is a recent initiative for the Fire Administration
in developing a national firefighters deployment strategy. The
mission's purpose is to establish an overall multidisciplinary
response and recovery support mechanism for FEMA by
establishing a structured approach to engaging and enhancing
access to the Nation's structural fire and emergency medical
services skill sets, thereby expanding the capacity for
responding and providing faster, coordinated efforts to contain
and minimize losses of life and property during disasters.
Within the scope of these efforts, it is essential that we
work on multiple levels and with a wide variety of partners. We
engage governmental and private stakeholders and partners in
evaluating programs that will address the emerging fire,
emergency medical, and disaster response needs.
One example is our collaboration with the National Fire
Protection Association on the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition and
the mission of that coalition is to inform consumers about
lifesaving benefits of installing home fire sprinkler systems.
The more recent or emerging star has been utilized already
at this point to respond to disasters and has resulted in some
success. We provided technical expertise and assistance during
the development of all-hazard management teams across the
country. We have responded to and demonstrated effectiveness in
the 2011 flooding in Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, and during
this April's tornadoes in Texas. Graduates of our highly sought
after programs have contributed to and participated in these
events.
Given the dynamics of our times, the Fire Administration
has identified five broad goals as a framework to provide
national leadership on fire safety issues. We will continue to
pursue these goals through the existing programs while
evaluating issues and instituting new initiatives relevant to
our current and future operating climate.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me this opportunity to
appear before you today. Your continued support is greatly
appreciated. I will be glad to answer any questions you might
have.
[The prepared statement of Chief Mitchell follows:]
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Chairman Quayle. Thank you very much, Administrator
Mitchell.
I now recognize Dr. Hall to present his testimony.
STATEMENT OF DR. JOHN R. HALL, JR.,DIVISION DIRECTOR,
FIRE ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH,
NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION
Dr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, Members of Congress, my name is
John Hall and I am here on behalf of the National Fire
Protection Association to communicate our very strong support
for the reauthorization of the U.S. Fire Administration.
Next year marks the 40th anniversary of ``America
Burning.'' Of the 90 recommendations in that report, the first
was for establishment of a U.S. Fire Administration ``to
provide a national focus for the Nation's fire problem.'' The
report also identified tasks appropriate to the federal role in
what would continue to be primarily a local responsibility:
``technical and educational assistance to state and local
governments, collecting and analyzing fire information,
conducting research and development in certain areas, and
providing financial assistance when adequate fire protection
lies beyond a community's means.'' The USFA has maintained this
mandated focus throughout its existence.
The report also set out ambitious goals saying ``a
reduction of 50 percent in deaths, injuries and property losses
is quite possible within the next generation.'' How has America
done on this goal? Civilian fire deaths declined by about 60
percent. Firefighter on-duty fatalities declined by half,
civilian fire injuries by about 40 percent, firefighters
injuries by about a third, and direct property damage adjusted
for inflation by about one-quarter. Even so, we still have some
of the highest fire loss rates in the developed world. We know
how far we have come but we also know how much better we can do
because we see greater safety in countries like us. And thanks
to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, NFIRS, used
within the NFPA survey, we have a greater ability to target
problems and to design and evaluate programs than any other
country in the world.
In the years since the USFA was founded, the fire service
has transformed itself into an all-hazard emergency response
force. Reported fires have declined by more than half since
1980. However, hazardous material responses have more than
doubled, and medical aid calls have more than tripled.
Imagine a gasoline tank truck rolling over on a highway in
a small community. The truck was built and loaded in other
states and crashed on an interstate built and maintained by the
Federal Government. The fire department will be expected to
contain the spill and clean up in accordance with state and
national environmental regulations using training and personal
equipment in compliance with national consensus standards. It
is far from easy to find a local responsibility in such an
incident. Now add in natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and
fire scenarios unheard of two decades ago such as a burning
building with a roof covered with photovoltaic solar power
cells.
We have asked our fire service to perform more varied tasks
at more varied emergencies with more rules whenever something
goes wrong. They have responded to every challenge and
everything we have asked of them, but it takes a nation to save
a village. They need our help. For nearly 40 years, the USFA
has been there.
Recent surveys of fire service needs conducted by NFPA in
cooperation with the USFA have found the following. By
comparison with national standards, the fire service has
extensive needs for every type of resource. Fire departments
serving the smallest communities are most likely to have needs.
Although the needs are still great, there has been great
progress. The Assistance to Firefighters and SAFER grant
programs have been well targeted to real needs and collectively
effective in reducing the needs they targeted.
``America Burning'' identified research as a priority. The
USFA has filled research gaps and complemented research
partners when appropriate. Some major current or recent
projects the USFA has led or supported include the following:
the next generation of home fire alarms, the next generation of
firefighters personal protective clothing, safety in the
wildland-urban interface, and decision support tools for
dealing with unwanted alarms.
NFPA salutes Chief Ernie Mitchell, newly confirmed Fire
Administrator and latest in a distinguished line of leaders who
have headed the USFA. We look forward to working with him.
So to sum up, NFPA urges you to reauthorize the USFA. We
urge you to provide requested funding for the USFA, its
research program, the academy's training program, the grants
programs, and NFIRS. The USFA does great work. They have made a
great difference and they can and will do more, all in keeping
with the original vision of an agency that would provide a
national focus on fire through effective actions appropriate to
a federal role.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with on
behalf of NFPA, and like Chief Mitchell, I will be happy to
answer your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Hall follows:]
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Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Dr. Hall.
I now recognize Chief Critchley for five minutes to present
his testimony.
STATEMENT OF CHIEF JIM CRITCHLEY,
TUCSON FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND PRESIDENT,
WESTERN FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION
Chief Critchley. Good morning, Chairman Quayle and Ranking
Member Edwards. I am Chief Critchley of the Tucson Fire
Department and the President of the Western Fire Chiefs
Association. I am also a member of the International
Association of Fire Chiefs. I thank the Committee for the
opportunity to testify about the vital work that the U.S. Fire
Administration does for America's fire and emergency medical
service.
It is important to recognize the major accomplishments that
have taken place since the USFA was created in the 1970s. In
1978, 172 firefighters died in the line of duty. In 2011, we
had 83 firefighters, a decline of more than 50 percent. In
1978, we have seen the number of civilian fire deaths also drop
over 50 percent to a little over 3,000 in 2010. The United
States Fire Administration has played a major role in these
accomplishments through fire service training, public
education, and research.
As a local chief, I would like to especially emphasize the
importance of the National Fire Academy, which used online
learning, train-the-trainer programs, on-campus classes, and
other educational tools to train more than half a million
responders in 2007 through 2011. I am proud to be one of the
more than 6,000 Arizonans who have completed the NFA classes
during this time period.
A highlight of NFA's curriculum is the executive fire
officer program. This program is a gold standard for developing
transformative fire officers ready to deal with the Nation's
future challenges. As a local fire service instructor, the NFA
provides educational material based on national best practices
to help me train the next generation of fire service leaders.
This common training provides interoperability at the incident
scene of many national disasters.
The USFA also provides excellent data through the National
Fire Data Center and the National Fire Incident Reporting
System. The NFIRS allows local fire departments to report
incidents in their area and identify national trends. For
example, I used the USFA report to compare their statistical
data in the incidents that I have in Tucson. This capability
allows me to prepare for the future threats to my citizens.
The USFA's budget already has been reduced 25 percent over
the past decade. The fiscal year 2013 Department of Homeland
Security appropriations bill would cut the USFA budget by an
additional 3.5 percent. These proposed cuts will reduce classes
at the NFA, eliminate many important prevention programs. It
will also cancel the final stages of the NFIRS modernization
effort.
My organizations urge Congress to restore the funding to
USFA. The fiscal year 2011 budget of only $45 million is not a
large federal spending program. However, the agency plays an
effective role in the inherently governmental function of
protecting the American public.
We also would like to express the support for the efforts
to clarify that the USFA should be the lead agency of non-
wildland fire incidents in the Emergency Support Function #4,
the firefighting annex. USFA and the U.S. Forest Service
currently have a memorandum of understanding which allows the
USFA to act as a support agency for ESF 4. Local fire
departments work well with the Forest Service in coordinating
ESF 4 for wildland fires. However, based on its relationship
with the Nation's fire and emergency services, we think that
the MoU should continue with the USFA playing a stronger and
primary role in structural events, terrorist attacks and non-
wildland fire incidents.
In addition, we support the establishment of teams of
firefighters that can quickly deploy in the event of a major
all-hazards disaster. As we witnessed in Arizona last year,
local fire departments are the first on scene and the last to
leave the incident. These support teams can provide a major
benefit to the fire chiefs by helping the incident management
recovery activities and working with state, tribal, and local
agencies.
The current authorization for the USFA expires on September
30th. In the Senate, Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins
have introduced markup S. 2218. This bill would authorize
funding for the USFA through fiscal year 2017. On behalf of the
leadership of the Nation's fire and EMS service, I ask the
Committee to consider companion legislation this year.
I would like to thank this Committee for being a continued
supporter of the Nation's fire service over the years. We have
made major progress in reducing the tragedy of fire loss in the
past 30 years. However, we have much work to do.
Thank you for holding this hearing and I look forward to
answering any of your questions. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Chief Critchley follows:]
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Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Chief Critchley.
I now recognize Mr. O'Connor for his testimony.
STATEMENT OF MR. KEVIN O'CONNOR,
ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL PRESIDENT FOR
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE
FIGHTERS
Mr. O'Connor. Thank you, Chairman Quayle, Ranking Member
Edwards, Representative Bonamici. I am Kevin O'Connor
representing the International Association of Firefighters,
whose 300,000 members proudly serve communities in each of the
Nation's 435 Congressional districts.
I am especially pleased to be before this Subcommittee
because I am currently a constituent of Member John Sarbanes
and after the November elections will be a very proud new
constituent of the Ranking Member.
As firefighters have taken on additional responsibilities
and expanded our capabilities to meet total response needs of
our communities, so too must the Fire Administration evolve to
meet the needs of the 21st century fire service. The days of
firefighters whose primary function was to simply put out fires
are long gone. Today's firefighters are well-educated, highly
trained and skilled, all-purpose emergency responders with
broad responsibilities ranging from EMS, hazmat response, WMD
and all-hazards response. Most significantly, your firefighters
are always the first boots on the ground for any manmade or
natural disaster.
The prevalence of fire-based EMS delivery systems requires
the agency to fully integrate EMS training and preparedness
into its mission. Although USFA is beginning to move in that
direction, we want to ensure that EMS be afforded its
appropriate recognition and attention. While the Fire
Administration continues to integrate all-hazards training and
preparedness into all of its programs, it must work to change
the perception that its primary focus is simply on fire.
One way that perception problem may be solved is to simply
change the agency's name to reflect its current mission. The
U.S. Fire, EMS and All-Hazards Administration or similar
branding would better describe the expanded role of both the
modern fire service and the agency.
After the well-publicized problems stemming from Hurricane
Katrina, Congress rightly took steps to revamp our Nation's
approach to emergency response. USFA is currently working to
develop a better means of coordinating existing state and local
response for disaster deployment. Currently, the agency is
considering organizing firefighters and other responders to
support FEMA disaster response and recovery efforts. The IAFF
fully supports this endeavor, but we must ensure that
firefighters are appropriately utilized and deployed during any
disaster.
During the delayed response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA
called up 1,000 firefighters to serve as community relations
officers, tasking them with the distribution of flyers instead
of deploying these well-trained responders to the front line
where their presence was desperately needed. Frankly, it was a
tragic waste of resources and capabilities.
The IAFF hopes to partner with USFA and FEMA to ensure that
personnel resources are properly identified and utilized during
emergencies. The best way to accomplish that goal would be to
establish a national firefighter credentialing system. In the
past, too, well-meaning firefighters have self-dispatched to an
emergency, but many of those firefighters have lacked the
requisite training and experience to operate effectively. A
national credentialing system will alleviate that uncertainty
by typing responders and departments based on training and
certification levels. This will enable incident commanders to
make the most appropriate use of their most valuable resource--
personnel. The establishment of a credentialing system has been
in development at FEMA since 2006. There is simply no excuse
for this long delay. The project needs to be completed.
Most importantly, USFA serves as the voice of the fire
service within Federal Government. Unfortunately, the Fire
Administration's ability to represent the fire service at the
federal level is compromised by a lack of adequate funding.
USFA has long struggled to function with insufficient and sadly
diminishing resources. The current authorization level of $76.5
million must be maintained for the agency to carry out its
mission, and I urge this Subcommittee to retain or even
increase the current authorization level. Rest assured, we will
be making the same case to your colleagues in appropriations.
Lastly, I would like to address a prior Congressional
recommendation that in our view, USFA has been slow to
implement. The U.S. Fire Academy has successfully furthered
professional development of fire service through training and
education. Today the academy offers distant learning training
locally sponsored centers throughout the states, to expand its
ability to serve individuals who are unable to attend training
at Emmitsburg. To expand the academy's reach, Congress
authorized USFA to partner with nationally recognized
organizations that have established fire service training
programs to deliver a portion of the agency's training.
Organizations such as the IAFF provide excellent partners to
conduct this real-world training that few institutions can
match. Through such partnerships, USFA could easily and cost-
effectively increase the number of firefighters that benefit
from its training programs. We look forward to working with
Chief Mitchell in his role and hopefully implementing this
program.
This concludes my testimony. I thank you for the
opportunity to speak before you today, and like my colleagues,
I am ready to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. O'Connor follows:]
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Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Mr. O'Connor, and I want to
thank all of the witnesses for their testimony and also for
being right at the five minute button. That is a rarity on
Capitol Hill, and I thank you for your punctuality.Now I want
to remind Members that Committee rules limit questioning to
five minutes. The Chair at this point will open the round of
questions. I recognize myself for five minutes.
Chief Mitchell, as we are examining the USFA, we are
interested in what changes should be made to the USFA's
authorities. Currently, it serves as the support agency for the
U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Emergency Support Function #4, firefighting annex.
These responsibilities are assigned at the discretion of the
Homeland Security Secretary. Some in the fire service community
have recommended that the USFA should be elevated to co-leader
with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure a more effective state
and local response. Would the USFA be able to handle this
responsibility, and to your knowledge, has the Department
explored the possibility of making this change with the Forest
Service.
Chief Mitchell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes. The short
answer is yes, we have explored it. In fact, we have come up
with a couple of initiatives that would allow us to participate
more in response. We are meeting with FEMA response leadership
at this time, this very week, and also meeting with the U.S.
Forest Service to discuss how we would coordinate being dual
coordinators within ESF 4. We have a lot of ideas on how we
could do that and partnering with the other fire service non-
governmental organizations and state and regional agencies to
provide some level of coordination to disaster response across
the country through some of the existing mutual aid agreements
and contracts, and so there was a point where we wondered if we
had that authority. We have talked with our legal folks and we
do find that the FEMA Administrator has the authority to write
us into that program. And so right now we are just trying to
coordinate that effort with the Forest Service and do it in a
way that is acceptable to all the parties involved.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Great. Thank you.
Chief Critchley, how would having the USFA serve as the co-
leader to the U.S. Forest Service under ESF 4 strengthen and
complement the fire service response to all hazards?
Chief Critchley. At this time, we are learning the same
incident management type that the Forest Service uses yet we
have some specific entities, some specific duties that we do in
an event that the Forest Service model doesn't address in the
hazmat, the technical rescue during a big fire scene. I think
this just would build up the strength of it if we are both part
of that decision-making instead of just one and then coming to
a support agency. If we are both there with our voices saying
this is the best way to go, I think that is a much better end
product than having to wait for support.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Thank you.
Chief Mitchell, we are always interested in leveraging R&D
underway in different agencies. There is ongoing research at
DHS S&T Directorate and NIST Fire Safety Research is looking at
fire-retardant materials to protect firefighters. How does the
USFA coordinate its research with NIST along with other fire
safety research going on with the Departments of Homeland
Security and Defense?
Chief Mitchell. We meet with them regularly, both DHS S&T.
We just had a meeting, an onsite meeting, last week at NIST. We
partner with NFPA. We partner with the Underwriters
Laboratories. We are talking right now, or recently, with Oak
Ridge Laboratories about new smoke detector technologies.
Essentially, we continually have communications through our
team that works on technology and research at the USFA and just
stay in constant communication. We gather input from our fire
service stakeholders and the other non-governmental
organizations across the country in the fire service as to
needs. We communicate those with the technology agencies and
laboratories and partners and try to see that our needs are
being met by the research community.
Chairman Quayle. Have you seen--have you experienced any
sort of problems with actually getting the level of cooperation
between the different agencies? You know, sometimes we hear
that it is hard to get information from one agency if you are
working with another agency.
Chief Mitchell. I have only recently come in to the Federal
Government and so the level of bureaucracy--is that the right
word?
Chairman Quayle. You can say it. Go ahead.
Chief Mitchell. That you maybe need to go through to go
from one step to the next is a little different than local
government. But no, the people engaged are very cooperative. I
think, though, that sometimes the process and our level of
resource that supports us being engaged in the research process
probably limits our ability to move forward faster. But we work
with them to the extent that we can.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Thank you very much.
I now recognize the Ranking Member, Ms. Edwards, for five
minutes.
Ms. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our
witnesses.
My staff actually just recently had a chance to spend a day
at our fire training academy, and I have to say, for the work
of firefighters and our chiefs, Chief Critchley, you know, on
the ground, that is not for the faint of heart. So I really
appreciate what you do for all of communities.
In your testimony, Mr. O'Connor and Chief Critchley, both
of you--and we will allow you to answer this question out of
respect for Administrator Mitchell, and I will share you with.
You both expressed concerns over the Administration's current
level of funding and you describe the impact this declining
budget is having on the Fire Administration's activities, and
specifically, Chief Critchley, you mentioned that the Fire
Administration won't be able to complete modernization of the
Fire Incident Reporting System, the National Fire Incident
Reporting System, and that a number of courses offered at the
Fire Academy will be eliminated and new courses will not be
developed. I wonder if you can comment on the ability of the
Fire Administration to fulfill its mission, especially as you
know what the needs are, both for the Western States but at the
most local level, and I wonder if the two of you could comment
on what these budget constraints mean and what level of
authorized funding do you think ought to be included in a
reauthorizing bill as we move forward through Congress? Chief?
Chief Critchley. So to the first point about the losses
that we have seen in the U.S. Fire Administration, specifically
at the National Fire Academy, we have seen a reduction in the
number of courses, wide-ranging courses from hazardous material
to prevention to deployment for command and control. Lots of
those have been reduced. We have seen a wonderful program
called the Trade Program that is also looking at a reduction in
funding. The Trade Program is where I met Fire Chief Garrett
Olson for the very first time as training officers, which
builds a network across the Nation about doing the right thing
with our training. I am worried that that may be lost. The
Executive Officer program, what an outstanding way to educate a
continuum of leaders in the fire service so that we are
thinking forward instead of staying the way we are because we
are all going to have to change. Those are issues that I would
be concerned about with being cut.
On the modernization of the NFIRS, right now we get
reports, lots of reports for how it relates to the NFPA data,
wonderful things for us to do, but I am wondering if there is a
way that we can do real-time numbers and we can get to finish
this so that we can have numbers--that we can compare our
organization to--for example, we have got L.A. Fire Department
and then Fire Department New York having questions about what
their times mean. Well, if we had a data spot that we could get
real-time numbers from, I believe that it is an incredible
value.
Ms. Edwards. So what you are sharing with us is that a
reduction in the budget has--because it is a fairly lean
agency--has real impact locally.
Mr. O'Connor, do you have a comment about that?
Mr. O'Connor. Yeah, just to piggyback on what the Chief
referenced, we all recognize that the fire service is
inherently a local operation but the Chairman referenced the
landmark ``America Burning'' in 1973, and frankly, Congress
recognized and the Federal Government that there needs to be an
agency that is the voice of the fire service, and you described
it as being very lean, and that is correct. Some of my
testimony was predicated on EMS, other issues such as
credentialing. I don't offer that as a criticism. With the
limited resources that are consistently diminishing, USFA is
having a hard time doing its job and the simple reality is, the
authorization level is great, it needs to be at least at the
current level, but it certainly needs to be appropriated. This
is a lean agency. There is not a lot of fat there. And it is
supporting over 300,000 professional firefighters and probably
twice and a half as many volunteers across the country in every
community, and we just really encourage Congress to recognize
that this is an efficient use of federal funds that is
protecting communities and that really in our view is
government's most basic responsibility.
Ms. Edwards. And Administrator Mitchell, if I could just
ask you, in terms of what firefighters need and departments
need all across the country, some of the things, credentialing
and others, you would like the capacity to be able to deliver
those things. Is that correct?
Chief Mitchell. Yes. I would like to expand our capacity
and really, since I have been at the Fire Administration, I
have found that we have excellent people working there. They
have a plan that is outstanding. We do not really have the
resources to carry all elements through expeditiously so the
reductions have limited and retarded our ability to move
forward with some of the newer programs that we need to move
forward.
Ms. Edwards. Thank you, and I yield.
Chairman Quayle. I now recognize the Chairman of the full
Committee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Hall, for five
minutes.
Chairman Hall. Mr. Chairman, I do thank you, and I thank
this panel. You have such an important job and it is important
to the smallest group of firefighters to the big cities. Thank
you for your testimony and giving your time to prepare and the
services you render really ought to be appreciated by this
Committee, and I think we do.
Along the lines of Ms. Edwards' questions, she and I kind
of work as a team a lot of times, and I want to enlarge a
little bit on her questions and some of the answers that you
have given.
My dad was a firefighter in the smallest county in the
State of Texas. Two hundred and fifty-four counties, they were
the smallest, and they had a fire department, one truck. The
siren would go off at night and everybody could hear it. I
could hear it too and it would wake me up. My dad would get up
and run all the way to the fire station because they wanted to
be there before lightning bridges got there because the first
one there got to drive the one truck they had, and it was
always a race for them, and when it was all over and they would
come home, I would ask Dad, well, how did it go. He said well,
we saved a lot was usually his answer.
It means a lot, and I have to rely on you. I guess,
Administrator Mitchell, I will ask you, how does the United
States Fire Administration, how do you support the rural
departments? I have a lot of them in my 4th Congressional
District there. How do you support those? I guess the
fundamental difference is in the nature of the rural fire
problems compared to the U.S. fire problem as a whole, and I
say this. It is sad that we have to have a 9/11 to really get
people to appreciate you all the way they should. A lot of
communities are protected by volunteer fire departments and
face very unique challenges--agricultural fires, fires on
wildland and urban interface. Does the USFA offer training
especially tailored to volunteer firefighters and what type of
resources have you developed to assist fire departments
operating in rural communities? I guess, do you want me to
repeat that, Mr. Mitchell?
Chief Mitchell. I think I get it. Thank you, Congressman.
Chairman Hall. I didn't think you would want me to repeat
it.
Chief Mitchell. Okay. Yes, we have courses specifically
tailored for volunteers. Largely what we have are offerings of
those courses. We work with the volunteers to try to make them
more available, recognizing the difficulties in having the time
to get additional training, so we work more to expand the
online offerings and the in-the-field courses that go out
through the states, state fire training. Much of the basic
training is done locally and so those are handled outside. What
we do try to do or do on a larger basis is a lot of that
online.
With respect to rural areas and wildland, we have courses
in development right now for wildland-urban interface fires to
protect those structures close to the wildland, and we have
some wildland courses that are being offered through the
National Wildland Coordinating Group. So I guess the overall
answer is that we are reaching out trying to make the courses
more available to the volunteers and working with the volunteer
associations also to help that to happen.
Chairman Hall. I thank you for that, and I think it is very
important.
I yield back my time, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Quayle. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
And I now recognize Ms. Bonamici for five minutes.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to
join the other members of the Committee in thanking you all for
the work that you do to keep our communities safe.
Administrator Mitchell, in your testimony, you talked about
the indirect costs of fire, and estimate that according to your
testimony here, the indirect costs, which include things like
lost business, medical expenses, temporary lodging,
psychological damage maybe as much as eight to ten times higher
than the direct costs of fire, and that just emphasizes the
importance of training and education and prevention. And I know
that right now many communities, not only in my district and
State, but across this country are struggling and don't have
the resources they need at the local level to do all the work
that they need to do, and so what I would like you to do, maybe
Dr. Hall, because you mentioned this in your testimony, can you
talk about the progress that has been made with the areas that
are targeted, for example, with the Assistance to Firefighters
and the SAFER grant programs? Can you comment about how these
programs have really contributed to addressing the challenges
that are faced by our local fire service districts?
Dr. Hall. Yes, I would be glad to. Thank you. We have
conducted three needs assessment surveys of the fire service,
and the second and third we accompanied with a matching
analysis looking at how the needs had been affected by the
grants that people have gotten in the years before the survey
was conducted. What we found was that the particular types of
needs that were especially targeted by the AFG and SAFER grants
tended to show the biggest improvements over the ten years
between the first and the last needs assesment survey. These
improvements were seen in all sizes of communities from the big
cities to the small rural volunteer fire department areas that
Mr. Hall was talking about. So it was--what we got was, the
programs are--the grants are very well targeted, they are very
effective. The only limit on the degree of improvement and need
that we have seen is that there is limited funding. They have
accomplished as much as could have been expected given the
amounts of the grants that were out there. And so to us, the
roadmap was fairly clear. If you want to get these needs really
far down, you need to, as the other speakers have said,
maintain the funding and, if possible, increase the funding for
these grants.
Now, another thing that we looked at in the grants--in the
needs assessment--was training do they have the training, do
they have the certification for various different tasks. And
here again, we saw improvements in need but still very great
needs, and this ties back to the outreach programs that are
being conducted from the academy.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you.
Now, in my State of Oregon, we pride ourselves in
sustainability and green buildings, so when somebody mentioned
the rooftop covered with photovoltaic cells, that sounded like
back home, so would you talk a little bit about the work that
is being done to make sure that new methods and tactics are
developed for fighting fires in green buildings?
Dr. Hall. I think that was my statement that you are
reacting to Congresswoman. Thank you.
There is an active project at NFPA that is in cooperation
with the Fire Administration and with other key entities to try
to develop best practices, how should you adjust your way of
fighting a fire in order to identify that this particular
hazard is there when you show up and then to decide how you
avoid shock hazards and other sorts of things in the course of
fighting the fire. It is not only going very well in terms of
producing results but I think it is something of a role model
project for how new hazards can be incorporated into the best
practices of the fire service in general.
Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much, and I yield back. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Quayle. Thank you.
I now recognize the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Lipinski,
for five minutes.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I thank all the witnesses for their testimony, obviously
very critical issue here we are talking about, about fire
safety.
In the written testimony of both Mr. O'Connor and Mr.
Mitchell, you both highlight one area in which you think the
USFA can do more as in training, and Mr. O'Connor, you
specifically mentioned that USFA has been slow to implement
Congress's recommendations that the USFA partner with
organizations that have established fire training programs. So
I want to ask Mr. O'Connor, can you tell me--tell us more about
IAFF training programs and how they can help the U.S. Fire
Academy expand the reach of its classes.
Mr. O'Connor. Well, I think that in all fairness to the
academy, part of the issue is resources as we have talked
previously, but in our view, the National Fire Academy is a
wonderful resource. For people that are actually able to be in
residence there and actually travel to Emmitsburg, it is
wonderful training, and the outreach of the state training
academies has been magnificent. But I think this Committee and
Congress in the previous authorization recognized that there
are other opportunities, and while we are very proud of the
IAFF, I wouldn't limit it to simply our organization. There are
a lot of folks throughout the fire service organizations
representing firefighters of all types that have very vibrant
training programs.
For example, the one I know best, obviously, is the IAFF.
We have several grant programs funded through the Department of
Energy, Department of Homeland Security and Department of
Transportation that are predicated on peer-to-peer training.
Essentially, we have training programs that are certified to
meet the standards and the approval of the Fire Academy and
other sources through the fire service but they are delivered
very economically on the local level, meaning if there is a
need for a training course in hypothetically a town in Oregon,
we would find instructors who were also trained and certified
in Portland. Their day job may be being a firefighter in
Portland or Medford or somewhere else but they would be
dispatched to this area that needs training and basically only
be compensated for the period that they are actually training.
They are spread geographically across the Nation so it is a
very efficient and economical way of delivering the training.
That cadre of instructors currently exists, and if we were
contracted or through some mechanism be allowed that
opportunity to put these programs in the field, and again, I
don't limit this simply to the IAFF but it is certainly a very
good model of training.
It is especially effective because it is not just an
academic setting, it is an actual firefighter who may be an
expert in hazmat response training other firefighters in that
discipline, so there is that natural respect and camaraderie.
And it is just a very good way of expanding training profiles
and getting a curriculum in the field that you avoid travel
costs and residency and things of that nature.
Mr. Lipinski. Thank you.
I want to turn the rest of my time over to the issue of
fire grants. In 2009 and again in 2011, I helped introduce
legislation to reauthorize the fire grant program.
Unfortunately, neither of these initiatives have been passed
into law. The reauthorization legislation would make these
grants more accessible to fire departments across the country
and bring stability to a crucial source of funds for local fire
authorities.
Dr. Hall, in your testimony, you speak to the importance of
these grant programs and the effects they have had in our
communities. Can you comment on the importance of reauthorizing
these programs and your thoughts on proposed changes in the
reauthorizing language?
Dr. Hall. Thank you, Congressman. Yes, we have considerable
analysis, which was done in association with our needs
assessment surveys, to demonstrate the good targeting and the
effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness of the grants programs
in all kinds of different resource areas. We have made the
results of those studies available to every Member of Congress
and their staff and would be happy to discuss these things in
detail at your discretion.
I do not honestly have any suggestions or thoughts on the
reauthorizing language. I know our Washington, D.C., office
would be more than happy to discuss that kind of detail with
any of you and your staffs as you go forward.
Mr. Lipinski. I thank you. I appreciate that and
hopefully--I certainly will continue to take advantage of that
opportunity and I hope my colleagues do also, and with that, I
will yield back the remainder of my time.
Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Mr. Lipinski.
I am now going to open it up to a second round for those
who would like to ask additional questions. I now recognize
myself for five minutes.
There has been a lot of discussion about resources, and I
understand that over the course of a number of different years
that the authorization level has been up to $70 million for the
USFA and then the appropriations actually came in much lower
than that, and I think in the 2013 House funding bill basically
it provides $42.46 million, which is right about the same level
that the request from the President in his budget. I know that
that is not the level that you would like, but I do think that
this hearing has been very informative to see what the
priorities are of the USFA and how we can support your
endeavors in very tough budgetary times. I think that providing
an authorization level that is much higher than really we can
afford, I think is a little bit irresponsible, but I do want to
continue to go down and see what priorities and what we can do
to make sure that we are giving the support that is necessary
even though we might not be getting to the levels that you
would like. So I do appreciate everybody's testimony.
I want to go to Chief Critchley. Chief Mitchell was talking
about how wildfires are becoming a more significant threat. As
you know, Arizona is currently battling four wildfires in the
central and eastern part of the state, and we had the Wallow
Fire last year and we continue to see this. Can you kind of
give me some insight on why are wildfires becoming a more
significant threat? Is it forest management policy such as
ensuring that we are keeping fuel loads low and trees thinned
to a healthy level or patterns of development because people
are moving closer to forests, or is it a combination of both?
Chief Critchley. Thank you. I would say it is a combination
of both. I am not as well versed on the Fuels Management
Program that they have but I can promise you that as we grow as
a community, we are reaching out into areas that were never
designed for fire trucks to get in to take care of. So as we
expand the size of our cities or the movement out into the
urban interface area, we just increase the number of buildings
that are going to be hurt during a wildland fire. So I believe
it is both but primarily it is the way that we are managing our
growth.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Thanks.
And Chief Mitchell, do you have any thoughts on why they
are becoming more significant?
Chief Mitchell. Again, I am not as familiar with the fuel
management part of it, although, you know, we are engaged with
other agencies now in studying fuel management and how fuel
management versus bioresponse and prevention all interact. But
coming up in the fire service in southern California, I know a
large part of the problem was based upon more building and
living in the interface zones, the lack of fire-resistive
construction in those areas, and some of the other preventative
and mitigation measures that could and should be enacted to
prevent loss.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Thank you.
And Dr. Hall, it has been described that one of USFA's
training challenges is reaching out to all firefighters across
the country and increasing online classes and distance
training. Has the NFPA performed any research to try to
quantify the impact of training programs and has the NFPA
specifically measured the effectiveness of remote training?
Dr. Hall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The analysis that we
have conducted is not at that level of detail. We have results
that indicate that the training situation for the fire service
has improved to a limited degree between the first of our needs
assessment surveys and the more recent survey but we have not
been in a position to look at specific data about people
reached or the efficiency of particular methods of delivery.
Chairman Quayle. Okay. Thank you very much.
I now recognize the Ranking Member, Ms. Edwards.
Ms. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
this second round of questions. I want to go back to the issue
of credentialing because I recognize that, you know, we have a
lot of local fire departments. Firefighting is essentially a
local activity. But we also have a number of circumstances,
particular in major disasters, where we are calling on, you
know, one jurisdiction to support another jurisdiction, and for
me, this is where the question of credentialing comes forward
because I think it is really important for us to make sure that
whomever is responding in whatever jurisdiction has the same
capacities so that they kind of fit right into the program and
are able to respond appropriately.
So Mr. O'Connor, can you elaborate on the recommendation
for credentialing and explain why you think it is important?
And then if Chief Mitchell could comment on the status because
I think, Mr. O'Connor, in your testimony you indicated that
there is some, you know, lagging because it has kind of been in
the hopper since 2006.
Mr. O'Connor. Yes. I mean, this was something that was
brought forth after 9/11 and certainly Katrina, and you have
actually articulated it very well. I don't think anyone on the
federal level or even the fire service wants to suggest to
local communities what their level of fire training should be
or ought to be. That is up to the local community. We recognize
that. We don't want to try to intervene with that. However, on
those larger-scale instances, whether it is flooding in the
plains, a hurricane coming ashore, a wildfire, whatever the
incident is, you need an appropriately trained and skilled
responder to actually handle that type of a crisis, and
throughout very many fire departments--as you know, I was a
firefighter, structural firefighter, in Baltimore County. I
don't have the training in wildland firefighting. So it would
be useless to have me dispatched to that type of an incident.
So the point of this is to make sure that incident
commanders and there is some type of, if you will,
clearinghouse or databasing that firefighters and departments
are actually typecast so that you know what training, to what
level a responder is trained. It simply makes common sense, and
I think everyone recognize that. I also recognize that this was
not specifically tasked to the U.S. Fire Administration, to the
NICC, but it is something that frankly is a responsibility of
the incident commander and the people responding and it is why
it is so important that it is followed through.
Ms. Edwards. Administrator Mitchell, then, if you could
comment about what the status is and sort of where we are
moving on that, I mean, if this is something we have been
considering since 2006, and my recollection is that in the 9/11
disaster where you had people who understandably departments
that wanted to respond but in a very unique fire situation you
could see how making sure that you have got the right people
responding could be lifesaving.
Chief Mitchell. Yes. I worked in a very active mutual aid
system myself for many years, and we do recognize how important
it is that people are able to work together at the essential
levels for their own safety and in order to be effective. I
have been advised that the Fire Administration and the Fire
Academy did a credentialing review and took input from the fire
service and made a recommendation internal to FEMA to the NICC.
I would have to--back in 2005 or 2006. I would have to get back
to you on what that status is since our recommendation went
forward.
Ms. Edwards. That would be extremely helpful, I mean,
because it is 2012 and, you know, it would seem to me that if a
recommendation has been made from the experts, then there
should be some way that that gets expedited for consideration.
You know, six years is a good way to expedite things. Thank
you.
And then lastly, Chief Mitchell, in the authorizing bill,
there is a requirement for the Secretary of Homeland Security,
in consultation with the Fire Administration to establish a
fire service position at the National Operations Center, and I
have been given to understand that that is not a full-time
position with full-time status. Can you update us on that
requirement and how it is being fulfilled by the Fire
Administration?
Chief Mitchell. That is correct. It was not approved as 24/
7 in terms of full time, but as a full-time position for a
person to deal with the transfer of data and information. That
position has been approved and is presently being advertised
for, so we are in the process of filling that position.
Ms. Edwards. And is it important that there be, you know,
sort of a concerted person designated from the Fire
Administration representing the fire services at the National
Operations Center?
Chief Mitchell. Yes. We believe that would be extremely
helpful as far as when you say full time, if we are talking
about around the clock. Given the resource demands, that is
probably not our most efficient way. If the threat level were
raised to a point, we would handle it as we do other positions
at that time and then staff up around the clock based on
conditions, but on a day-to-day basis, it would be a full-time
equivalent position.
Ms. Edwards. Thank you very much, and thanks to all the
witnesses.
Chairman Quayle. Thank you, Ms. Edwards.
I would like to thank all the witnesses for their valuable
testimony and the Members for their questions. The Members of
the Subcommittee may have additional questions for the
witnesses, and we will ask you to respond to these in writing.
The record will remain open for two weeks for additional
comments and statements from members.
The witnesses are excused. Thank you all for coming. This
hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:06 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
Appendix I
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Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Responses by Mr. Ernest Mitchell, Jr.
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Responses by Dr. John R. Hall, Jr., Division
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Responses by Chief Jim Critchley
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Responses by Mr. Kevin O'Connor
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