I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1787

To remove civil liability barriers that discourage the donation of fire 

equipment to volunteer fire companies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 11, 2003

Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 

WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. SMITH of 

Michigan, Mr. GOODE, Mr. COLE, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. 

DUNCAN, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. KING of New York, 

Mr. WALSH, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. NEY, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 

EMANUEL, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, and Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To remove civil liability barriers that discourage the donation 

of fire equipment to volunteer fire companies.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan Vol5 unteer Firefighter Assistance Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF CIVIL LIABILITY BARRIERS THAT DIS2 COURAGE THE DONATION OF FIRE EQUIP3 MENT TO VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES. 

4 (a) LIABILITY PROTECTION.—A person who donates 

5 fire control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire 

6 company shall not be liable for civil damages under any 

7 State or Federal law for personal injuries, property dam8 age or loss, or death proximately caused by the equipment 

9 after the donation. 

10 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 

11 a person if—

12 (1) the person’s act or omission proximately 

13 causing the injury, damage, loss, or death con14 stitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct; 

15 or 

16 (2) the person is the manufacturer of the fire 

17 control or fire rescue equipment. 

18 (c) PREEMPTION.—This Act preempts the laws of 

19 any State to the extent that such laws are inconsistent 

20 with this Act, except that notwithstanding subsection (b) 

21 this Act shall not preempt any State law that provides 

22 additional protection from liability for a person who do23 nates fire control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer 

24 fire company. 

25 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 (1) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes any 

2 governmental or other entity. 

3 (2) FIRE CONTROL OR RESCUE EQUIPMENT.—

4 The term ‘‘fire control or fire rescue equipment’’ in5 cludes any fire vehicle, fire fighting tool, protective 

6 gear, fire hose, or breathing apparatus. 

7 (3) GROSS NEGLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘gross 

8 negligence’’ means voluntary and conscious conduct 

9 harmful to the health or well-being of another per10 son by a person who, at the time of the conduct, 

11 knew that the conduct was likely to be harmful to 

12 the health or well-being of another person. 

13 (4) INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT.—The term 

14 ‘‘intentional misconduct’’ means voluntary and con15 scious conduct harmful to the health or well-being of 

16 another person by a person who, at the time of the 

17 conduct, knew that the conduct was harmful to the 

18 health or well-being of another person. 

19 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

20 several States, the District of Columbia, the Com21 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the 

22 Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, 

23 the Virgin Islands, any other territory or possession 

24 of the United States, and any political subdivision of 

25 any such State, territory, or possession. 
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1 (6) VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY.—The term 

2 ‘‘volunteer fire company’’ means an association of 

3 individuals who provide fire protection and other 

4 emergency services, where at least 30 percent of the 

5 individuals receive little or no compensation com6 pared with an entry level full-time paid individual in 

7 that association or in the nearest such association 

8 with an entry level full-time paid individual. 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act applies only to li10 ability for injury, damage, loss, or death caused by equip11 ment that, for purposes of subsection (a), is donated on 

12 or after the date that is 30 days after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act.

Æ