Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a survey of, and report to Congress on, the compliance of fire departments in the United States with national voluntary consensus standards for staffing, training, safe operations, personal protective equipment, and fitness.
Requires the Secretary to establish a Task Force to Enhance Firefighter Safety to: (1) consult with the Secretary to conduct such survey; and (2) develop a plan to enhance firefighter safety by increasing compliance with such standards, including by reviewing and evaluating the report to determine the extent of and barriers to achieving compliance and by considering ways the federal government, states, and localities can promote, encourage, or require compliance.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1499 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1499
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a survey to
determine the level of compliance with national voluntary consensus
standards and any barriers to achieving compliance with such standards,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2009
Mr. Perlmutter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a survey to
determine the level of compliance with national voluntary consensus
standards and any barriers to achieving compliance with such standards,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act
of 2009''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each year in the United States, over 100 firefighters
die in the line of duty, while an additional tens of thousands
of firefighters are injured.
(2) The Federal Government has a vested interest in
protecting firefighter health and safety, as it relies on local
fire departments to efficiently and effectively implement the
National Response Framework in the response to major disasters.
(3) Adequate training, proper personal protective
equipment, safe staffing levels, safe operating procedures, and
physical and mental fitness of firefighters can reduce
avoidable firefighter fatalities.
(4) The fire services, in conjunction with Government
agencies and interested private-sector parties, has partnered
with standards-making bodies to develop national voluntary
consensus standards for safe fire department operations and
fire fighting capabilities.
(5) Such standards are widely respected and promoted by all
facets of the fire service to better ensure firefighter health
and safety.
(6) Through its Firefighter Fatality Investigation and
Prevention Program, the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health has identified the failure to follow specific
national voluntary consensus standards as a contributing factor
in many firefighter deaths.
(7) A comprehensive accounting of fire department
compliance with national voluntary consensus standards would
help policy makers seeking to enhance public safety and reduce
avoidable firefighter fatalities.
SEC. 3. SURVEY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
(a) Survey Required.--Not later than 120 days after enactment of
this bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Task Force established under section 4, shall begin to conduct a survey
of each career, volunteer, and combination fire department located in
the United States in order to ascertain whether each such fire
department is in compliance with national voluntary consensus
standards. In carrying out the survey, the Secretary shall ascertain
the rates of such compliance of--
(1) paid, volunteer, and combination fire departments;
(2) fire departments located in communities of varying
sizes; and
(3) fire departments in each of the States and territories.
(b) Contents of Survey.--The survey required under subsection (a)
shall ascertain, for each fire department in the United States,
compliance with national voluntary consensus standards for staffing,
training, safe operations, personal protective equipment, and fitness.
(c) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the
findings of the survey required under subsection (a), including the
rates of compliance under the categories specified under paragraphs
(1), (2), and (3) of that subsection.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE TO ENHANCE FIREFIGHTER SAFETY.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a task force to be
known as the ``Task Force to Enhance Firefighter Safety'' (hereinafter
in this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Membership.--
(1) In general.--Members of the Task Force shall be
appointed by the Secretary from among the general public and
shall include--
(A) representatives of national organizations
representing firefighters and fire chiefs;
(B) individuals representing standards-setting and
accrediting organizations, including representatives
from the voluntary consensus codes and standards
development community; and
(C) other individuals as the Secretary determines
to be appropriate.
(2) Representatives of other departments and agencies.--The
Secretary may invite representatives of other departments and
agencies of the United States that have an interest in the fire
service to participate in the meetings and other activities of
the Task Force.
(3) Number; terms of service; pay and allowances.--The
Secretary shall determine the number, terms of service, and pay
and allowances of members of the Task Force appointed by the
Secretary, except that a term of service of any such member may
not exceed two years.
(c) Responsibilities.--The Task Force shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary to conduct the survey
required under section 3; and
(2) develop a plan to enhance firefighter safety by
increasing fire department compliance with national voluntary
consensus standards for staffing, training, safe operations,
personal protective equipment, and fitness, including by--
(A) reviewing and evaluating the report required
under section 3 to determine the extent of and barriers
to achieving compliance with national voluntary
consensus standards among fire departments; and
(B) considering ways in which the Federal
Government, States, and localities can promote,
encourage, or require fire departments to comply with
national voluntary consensus standards.
(d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 6 months after the date on
which the Secretary submits the report required under section 3(c), the
Task Force shall submit to Congress and the Secretary a report
containing the findings and recommendations of the Task Force together
with the plan described in subsection (c)(2).
SEC. 5. NATIONAL VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS DEFINED.
For the purposes of this Act, the term ``national voluntary
consensus standards'' means the latest edition of the national
voluntary consensus standards for fire fighter and fire department
staffing, training, safe operations, personal protective equipment, and
fitness available on the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line