[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 22 (Thursday, February 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E149-E150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FIREFIGHTING RESEARCH AND COORDINATION ACT

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                             HON. DAVE CAMP

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Firefighting 
Research and Coordination Act. I am proud of this legislation for what 
it seeks to accomplish on behalf of our Nation's firefighters. This 
bill has three primary objectives: support the development of voluntary 
consensus standards for firefighting equipment and technology, 
establish nationwide and State mutual aid systems for dealing with 
national emergencies, and authorize the National Fire Academy to train 
firefighters to respond to acts of terrorism and other national 
emergencies.
  In large part, the genesis of the Firefighting Research and 
Coordination Act came after the September 11th attacks. After the 
tragic events of that day, fire departments throughout America began to 
grapple with new concerns over how to best train for and respond to 
terrorist acts. The needs of the fire service continue to grow as new 
threats emerge. As a result, Congress has a responsibility to assist 
and protect our firefighters. That is the goal of the Firefighting 
Research and Coordination Act.
  The first objective of the bill focuses on equipment and technology 
standards. The bill would allow the U.S. Fire Administrator, in 
consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
the Inter-Agency Board for Equipment Standardization and Inter-
Operability, national voluntary consensus standards development 
organizations, interested Federal, State, and local agencies, and other 
interested parties to develop measurement techniques and testing 
methodologies, and support development of voluntary consensus standards 
through national standards development organizations, for evaluating 
the performance and compatibility of new fire fighting technology. 
Examples of new technologies include: personal protection equipment, 
devices for advance warning of extreme hazard, equipment for enhanced 
vision, and robotics and other remote-controlled devices, among others. 
Equipment purchased under the Assistance to Firefighters grant program 
must meet or exceed voluntary consensus standards.
  Establishing standards for firefighting equipment and technologies 
will help safeguard the

[[Page E150]]

lives of firefighters. At present, manufacturers of emergency equipment 
can sell their products with no government testing or certification 
requirements to ensure their product meets the needs of firefighters. A 
January 2003 Consumer Reports article, ``Safeguards Lacking for 
Emergency Equipment,'' highlights the lack of standards problem. The 
article reports ``Firefighter organizations, which also represent most 
of the Nation's emergency medical technicians, say they worry that no 
law requires fire departments to buy equipment certified for use 
against chemical or biological agents.'' In a September 10, 2002 story 
in The, Washington Post Arlington County, Virginia Chief raised 
concerns about the lack of equipment standards, as well as the lack of 
guidelines for training the workers charged with responding to future 
terrorist attacks. Plaugher stated, ``Without clear goals, we risk 
undermining ourselves while wasting precious resources.''
  The second objective of the bill addresses mutual aid systems. The 
Firefighting Research and Coordination Act directs the Administrator of 
the U.S. Fire Administration, in consultation with the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director, to provide technical 
assistance and training to State and local fire service officials to 
establish nationwide and State mutual aid systems for responding to 
national emergencies. The Administrator, in consultation with the FEMA 
Director, will also, develop model mutual aid plans for both intrastate 
and interstate assistance. An important example of why model mutual aid 
systems are important to establish comes in part, as a response to the 
September 11th attacks and to wildfires that have raged in the west.
  On July 23, 2002, Titan Systems Corporation issued a report on behalf 
of the Arlington County, Virginia fire department. The report found 
that self-dispatching fire and emergency crews were favorable in some 
respects, but were also detrimental. For example, the report states 
that the Arlington County fire department ``faced the monumental 
challenge of gaining control of the resources already onsite and those 
arriving minute-by-minute.'' The report goes on to say that, 
``firefighters and other personnel came and went from other Pentagon 
entrances with little or no control. Thus, had there been a second 
attack, as occurred at the World Trade Center, it would have been 
virtually impossible for the Incident Commander to determine quickly 
who might have been lost.''
  The third objective of the legislation permits the Superintendent of 
the National Fire Academy to coordinate with other Federal, State, and 
local officials in developing curricula for classes offered by the 
Academy. This section of the bill illustrates what new classes and 
training opportunities the Academy is authorized to offer its students. 
For example, the Academy will now be able to train fire personnel in: 
strategies for building collapse rescue, the use of technology in 
response to fires; including terrorist incidents and other national 
emergencies; response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with 
terrorist-caused national catastrophes; applying new technology and 
developing strategies and tactics for fighting forest fires, and other 
important response strategies.
  Over one million students have received training at the National Fire 
Academy. Since its inception in 1975, the Academy has helped 
firefighters gain vital education and training to the benefit of the 
American public. The Academy's courses are taught at a facility in 
Emmitsburg, Maryland. Its online courses and cooperation with local 
colleges and universities expand the reach of the Academy to thousands 
of firefighters across the Nation.
  With the Nation recovering from acts of terrorism, mammoth wildfires, 
and the possibility that other national emergencies may arise in the 
future, America's firefighters deserve nothing less than quality 
educational opportunities and training to prepare for these, and other 
types of disasters. We saw with the World Trade Center that building 
collapse rescue is a critical component of a firefighters job. In a 
December 1, 2001 article that appeared in Fire Chief magazine, a member 
of the Michigan Urban Search and Rescue team stated that while the 
Federal government has spent millions of dollars to train local first 
responders with weapons of mass destruction, little if any focus has 
been placed on building collapse rescue. ``For some time now, I have 
advocated that every State should have a structural-collapse response 
that includes an Urban Search and Rescue (US &R) task force system,'' 
stated the Michigan firefighter. The firefighter went on to say that, 
``The FEMA US&R system does little to help with the initial response to 
structural collapse incidents.'' This example offers another reason why 
the curricula at the National Fire Academy should be expanded to 
include courses on building-collapse rescue and other strategies.
  Mr. Speaker, my legislation enjoys wide support among many of this 
Nation's fire groups and bipartisan support here in the House of 
Representatives. My colleague in the Senate, Senator McCain will 
introduce companion legislation today in the United States Senate. I am 
hopeful that this important bill will be swiftly enacted in the 108th 
Congress.

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