Fire Safety Education Act

Summary: Fire Safety Education Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with entities to obtain and distribute at the State and local level fire safety and prevention education programs and supporting educational resources.  Authorizes funds provided to be used to educate the public in all aspects of fire safety and prevention.  Requires funded programs to give priority to appropriate public education materials that have already been developed. 
Authorizes the Administrator to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with States for the purpose of implementing the revised National Fire Incident Reporting System to improve the collection and analysis of fire data at the State and local levels. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fire Safety Education Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Nation's fire losses are estimated at 5,000 deaths 
        and 29,000 injuries annually, producing an economic loss 
        conservatively estimated at $10,000,000,000 a year plus more 
        than $1,000,000,000 a year in health care costs;
            (2) sustained and targeted fire safety education at the 
        State and local levels, particularly in identifiable high-risk 
        populations, produces dramatic results in preventing fires, 
        fire deaths, and dollar loss from fire;
            (3) in recent years, the Nation's fire departments have 
        seen their fire safety education budgets cut dramatically and, 
        in many cases, eliminated;
            (4) there is a need to expand the availability of State and 
        local fire prevention programs and supporting resources and 
        materials to help State agencies and local fire departments in 
        carrying out effective public education;
            (5) fire departments in other countries with fewer fire 
        deaths per capita than the United States spend an average of 4-
        10 percent of their budgets on fire prevention, versus less 
        than 3 percent for United States departments; and
            (6) only by accurately collecting and analyzing data on 
        fire deaths, injuries and dollar loss can the Nation's fire 
        departments pinpoint the populations and regions where they 
        most need to direct their educational efforts, thus leading to 
        a more efficient and effective use of resources.

SEC. 3. FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION.

    (a) Awards.--The Administrator may enter into contracts, 
cooperative agreements, or grants with eligible entities to obtain and 
distribute at the State and local level fire safety and prevention 
education programs and supporting educational resources.
    (b) Distribution of Funds.--Of the amounts received by an entity 
under subsection (a)--
            (1) not more than 25 percent may be used for statewide fire 
        safety and prevention programs;
            (2) not more than 25 percent may be used to implement new 
        regional or local fire safety and prevention programs targeting 
        high risk populations; and
            (3) at least 50 percent shall be used for awards of not 
        more than $10,000 for existing regional or local fire safety 
        and prevention programs that have been demonstrated to be 
        effective in preventing fires, fire deaths and injuries, and 
        dollar losses from fire.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Funds provided under subsection (a) may be used 
to educate the public in all aspects of fire safety and prevention, 
including--
            (1) the effectiveness and appropriate use of fire 
        suppression and prevention equipment such as automatic 
        sprinklers, smoke detectors, and portable extinguishers;
            (2) the organization and conduct of exit drills; and
            (3) the safe use of products that could contribute to 
        accidental fires.
    (d) Priority of Existing Materials.--Fire safety education programs 
funded under this Act shall give priority to the use of public 
education materials that have already been developed, if such materials 
meet the demands of the program being funded.

SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION.

    The Administrator may enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, 
or grants with States for the purpose of implementing the revised 
National Fire Incident Reporting System, established under section 9 of 
the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208), 
to improve and enhance the collection and analysis of fire data at the 
State and local levels.

SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.

    Each eligible entity desiring a contract, cooperative agreement, or 
grant under this Act shall submit an application to the Administrator 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 
the Administrator may reasonably require.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND EVALUATION.

    (a) Annual Report to Administrator.--An entity receiving funds 
under section 3 shall prepare and submit to the Administrator an annual 
report which contains such information as the Administrator may 
require. At a minimum, the report shall describe the program activities 
undertaken with such funds, including--
            (1) any program that has been developed directly or 
        indirectly by the entity, and the target population of such 
        program;
            (2) support materials that have been obtained and the 
        method by which such materials are distributed; and
            (3) any initiatives undertaken by the entity to develop 
        public-private partnerships to secure non-Federal support for 
        the development and distribution of programs and material in 
        furtherance of this Act.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The Administrator shall prepare and submit 
to the Congress an annual report which includes a description of the 
programs undertaken and materials developed and distributed by entities 
receiving funds under section 3.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Fire Safety Education.--For the purposes of carrying out 
section 3 of this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1997 and 1998, of which no 
more than $500,000 may be spent in any fiscal year on administrative 
costs.
    (b) Data Collection.--For the purposes of carrying out section 4 of 
this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for fiscal 
year 1996, of which no more than $300,000 shall be spent on 
administrative costs.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the United States Fire Administration;
            (2) the term ``eligible entity'' means the office of the 
        State fire marshal for a State or an equivalent State office 
        having primary responsibility for fire safety and prevention in 
        the State;
            (3) the term ``fire safety and prevention education 
        programs'' includes publications, audiovisual presentations, 
        and demonstrations; and
            (4) the term ``State'' means any State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
        the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or 
        possession of the United States.