69–008 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 110–563 

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 4847) 

TO REAUTHORIZE THE UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

APRIL 2, 2008.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Ms. SUTTON, from the Committee on Rules, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H. Res. 1071] 

The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House 

Resolution 1071, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to the House 

with the recommendation that the resolution be adopted. 

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4847, the 

‘‘United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008,’’ 

under a structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and 

ranking minority member of the Committee on Science and Technology. 

The resolution waives all points of order against consideration of 

the bill except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. The 

resolution provides that, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of 

a substitute recommended by the Committee on Science and Technology now printed in the bill, the amendment in the nature of a 

substitute printed in part A of this report shall be considered as 

an original bill for purpose of amendment and shall be considered 

as read. The resolution waives all points of order against the 

amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part A of this 

report except those arising under clause 10 of rule XXI. This does 

not affect the point of order available under clause 9 of rule XXI 

(regarding earmark disclosure). 

The resolution makes in order only those amendments printed in 

part B of this report. Amendments so printed may be offered only 

in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read, shall be 

debatable for the time specified in this report equally divided and 

controlled by a proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 


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amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of 

the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The 

resolution waives all points of order against such amendments except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. 

The resolution provides one motion to recommit with or without 

instructions. Finally, notwithstanding the operation of the previous 

question, the Chair may postpone further consideration of the bill 

to a time designated by the Speaker. 

EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

Although the resolution waives all points of order against the bill 

and its consideration (except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of 

rule XXI), the Committee is not aware of any points of order 

against the bill or its consideration. The waivers of all points of 

order against the bill and its consideration (except those arising 

under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI) are prophylactic in nature. 

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT IN PART A PROPOSED TO BE MADE IN

ORDER AS ORIGINAL TEXT

The amendment in the nature of a substitute makes changes to 

the findings in the bill, including changes to reflect 2006 statistics 

of fire deaths, injuries, and property losses. For each fiscal year, 

the amendment removes the specific authorization for activities 

pertaining to section 8 of the original Federal Fire and Prevention 

Control Act (PL 93–498) regarding research, development, and 

standards activities. In section 4 of the bill, regarding National 

Fire Academy Training Program Modifications and Reports, the 

amendment changes the type of organization the Administrator of 

the U.S. Fire Administration (‘‘USFA’’) is authorized to contract 

with to deliver USFA training from organizations that ‘‘comply 

with national voluntary consensus standards’’ to organizations that 

‘‘prepare fire service personal to meet national voluntary consensus 

standards for fire service personnel.’’ It changes the type of organization the Administrator is authorized to enter into contracts with 

from an organization that ‘‘operates a fire service training program 

accredited by a national recognized accreditation organization’’ to 

organizations that provide ‘‘training that leads to certification by a 

program accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization.’’ It changes section 4 of the bill to provide that the incident 

command training course for fires at ports should not relate to border and port security. Finally, the amendment changes language 

requiring USFA to maintain an Internet database to strike ‘‘firerelated research’’ and substitute U.S. Fire Administration ‘‘funded 

activities to advance new knowledge and best practices in firefighting.’’

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS IN PART B TO BE MADE IN ORDER

(Summaries derived from information provided by sponsors.) 

1. Pascrell (NJ): The amendment would provide that the National Fire Academy Training Program could train fire service personnel in response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with national 

catastrophes, including terrorist-caused national catastrophes and 

incidents that involve weapons of mass destruction. (10 minutes) 


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2. Sali (ID): The amendment directs the Administrator, in collaboration with relevant Federal agencies and departments, to develop and provide information and training to such agencies and 

departments on the importance of clearing biomass in wildland 

areas of Federal lands to promote the safety of firefighters. (10 

minutes) 

3. Langevin (RI): The amendment is a non-binding resolution 

demonstrating congressional support for the adoption of fire sprinklers in commercial buildings. This amendment also would demonstrate congressional support for educational programs that raise 

awareness of the importance of installing fire sprinklers in residential buildings. (10 minutes) 

PART A: TEXT OF AMENDMENT TO BE MADE IN ORDER AS ORIGINAL

TEXT

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Fire Administration 

Reauthorization Act of 2008’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) The loss of life due to fire has dropped significantly over 

the last 25 years in the United States. However, the United 

States still has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. For 2006, the National Fire Protection Association reported 3,245 civilian fire deaths, 17,925 civilian fire injuries, and $11,307,000,000 in direct losses due to fire. 

(2) Every year, over 100 firefighters die in the line of duty. 

The United States Fire Administration should continue its 

leadership to help local fire agencies dramatically reduce these 

fatalities. 

(3) Members of the fire service community should continue 

to work together to further the promotion of national voluntary 

consensus standards that increase firefighter safety. 

(4) The United States Fire Administration provides crucial 

support to the Nation’s 30,300 fire departments through training, data collection, fire awareness and education, and other 

activities for improving fire prevention, control, and suppression technologies. 

(5) The collection of data on fire and other emergency incidents is a vital tool both for policy makers and emergency responders to identify and develop responses to emerging hazards. Improving the United States Fire Administration’s data 

collection capabilities is essential for accurately tracking and 

responding to the magnitude and nature of the Nation’s fire 

problem. 

(6) The research and development performed by the Federal 

Government and non-government organizations on fire technologies, techniques, and tools advance the capabilities of the 

Nation’s fire service to prevent and suppress fires. 

(7) The United States Fire Administration is one of the 

strongest voices representing the Nation’s fire service within 

the Federal Government, and, as such, it should have a prominent place within the Federal Government. 


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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR UNITED STATES 

FIRE ADMINISTRATION. 

Section 17(g)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 

of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216(g)(1)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 

and inserting a semicolon; and 

(3) by adding after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraphs: 

‘‘(E) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

‘‘(F) $72,100,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

‘‘(G) $74,263,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

‘‘(H) $76,490,890 for fiscal year 2012.’’. 

SEC. 4. NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY TRAINING PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS AND REPORTS. 

(a) AMENDMENTS TO FIRE ACADEMY TRAINING.—Section 7(d)(1) of 

the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

2206(d)(1)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘terrorist-caused national catastrophes’’ and inserting ‘‘national catastrophes’’; 

(2) in subparagraph (K), by striking ‘‘forest’’ and inserting 

‘‘wildland’’; 

(3) in subparagraph (M), by striking ‘‘response tactics and’’

and inserting ‘‘response, tactics, and’’; 

(4) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) through (N) as subparagraphs (M) through (R), respectively; and 

(5) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the following new 

subparagraphs: 

‘‘(I) response, tactics, and strategies for fighting largescale fires or multiple fires in a general area that cross jurisdictional boundaries; 

‘‘(J) response, tactics, and strategies for fighting fires occurring at the wildland-urban interface; 

‘‘(K) response, tactics, and strategies for fighting fires involving hazardous materials; 

‘‘(L) advanced emergency medical services training;’’. 

(b) TRIENNIAL REPORTS.—Section 7 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2206) 

is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

‘‘(m) TRIENNIAL REPORT.—In the first annual report filed pursuant to section 16 for which the deadline for filing is after the expiration of the 18-month period that begins on the date of the enactment of the United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act 

of 2008, and in every third annual report thereafter, the Administrator shall include information about changes made to the Academy curriculum, including—

‘‘(1) the basis for such changes, including a review of the incorporation of lessons learned by emergency response personnel after significant emergency events and emergency preparedness exercises performed under the National Exercise 

Program; and 

‘‘(2) the desired training outcome of all such changes.’’. 

(c) AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATOR TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS

TO PROVIDE ON-SITE TRAINING THROUGH CERTAIN ACCREDITED ORVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:05 Apr 03, 2008 Jkt 069008 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR563.XXX HR563

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GANIZATIONS.—Section 7(f) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2206(f)) is 

amended to read as follows: 

‘‘(f) ASSISTANCE.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is authorized to provide assistance to State and local fire service training programs through grants, contracts, or otherwise. 

‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE

ON-SITE TRAINING THROUGH CERTAIN ACCREDITED ORGANIZATIONS.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is authorized to 

enter into a contract with one or more nationally recognized organizations that have established on-site training 

programs that prepare fire service personnel to meet national voluntary consensus standards for fire service personnel and that facilitate the delivery of the education and 

training programs outlined in subsection (d)(1) directly to 

fire service personnel. 

‘‘(B) RESTRICTIONS.—The Administrator shall not enter 

into a contract with such organization unless such organization—

‘‘(i) provides training that leads to certification by a 

program accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization; or 

‘‘(ii) at the time the Administrator enters into the 

contract, provides training under such a program 

under a cooperative agreement with a Federal agency. 

‘‘(3) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—The amounts expended 

by the Administrator to carry out this subsection in any fiscal 

year shall not exceed 4 percent of the amount authorized to be 

appropriated in such fiscal year pursuant to section 17 of this 

Act.’’. 

(d) INCIDENT COMMAND TRAINING COURSE FOR FIRES AT PORTS

REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 

of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, in consultation with the Superintendent of the National 

Academy for Fire Prevention and Control, shall consolidate and integrate into the current Academy curriculum a course on incident 

command training for fire service personnel for fighting fires at 

United States ports and in marine environments, including fires on 

the water and aboard vessels. Such course shall not relate to border and port security. 

SEC. 5. NATIONAL FIRE INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM UPGRADES. 

(a) INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM DATABASE.—Section 9 of the 

Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2208) 

is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

‘‘(d) NATIONAL FIRE INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM UPDATE.—Of 

the amounts made available pursuant to subparagraphs (E), (F), 

and (G) of section 17(g)(1), the Administrator shall use no more 

than an aggregate amount of $5,000,000 during the 3-year period 

consisting of fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011 to carry out activities necessary to update the National Fire Incident Reporting system to an Internet-based, real-time incident reporting database, including capital investment, contractor engagement, and user education.’’. 


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(b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 9(b)(2) of such Act (15 

U.S.C. 2208(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘assist State,’’ and inserting ‘‘assist Federal, State,’’. 

SEC. 6. FIRE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION. 

(a) ASSISTANCE TO FIRE SERVICES FOR FIRE PREVENTION AND

CONTROL IN WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—Section 8(d) of the 

Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

2207(d)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘RURAL ASSISTANCE’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘RURAL AND WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE ASSISTANCE’’; 

(2) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) The 

Administrator’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(2) The Administrator is authorized to assist the Nation’s fire 

services, directly or through contracts, grants, or other forms of assistance, for activities and equipment to improve fire prevention 

and control in the wildland-urban interface.’’. 

(b) DISSEMINATION.—Section 8 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2207) is 

amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

‘‘(h) DISSEMINATION.—Beginning 1 year after the date of the enactment of the United States Fire Administration Reauthorization 

Act of 2008, the Administrator, in collaboration with the relevant 

departments and agencies of the Federal Government, shall make 

available to the public information regarding United States Fire 

Administration funded activities to advance new knowledge and 

best practices in firefighting, through a regularly updated Internet 

database.’’. 

SEC. 7. ENCOURAGING ADOPTION OF STANDARDS FOR FIREFIGHTER 

HEALTH AND SAFETY. 

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

section: 

‘‘SEC. 37. ENCOURAGING ADOPTION OF STANDARDS FOR FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFETY. 

‘‘The Administrator shall promote adoption by fire services of national voluntary consensus standards for firefighter health and 

safety, including such standards for firefighter operations, training, 

staffing, and fitness, by educating fire services about such standards, encouraging the adoption at all levels of government of such 

standards, and making recommendations on other ways in which 

the Federal government can promote the adoption of such standards by fire services.’’. 

SEC. 8. COORDINATION REGARDING FIRE SERVICE-BASED EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(e) of the Federal Fire Prevention 

and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2218(e)) is amended to read as 

follows: 

‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, the Administrator shall utilize existing programs, data, information, and 

facilities already available in other Federal Government departments and agencies and, where appropriate, existing research organizations, centers, and universities. 


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‘‘(2) COORDINATION OF FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PRO- GRAMS.—The Administrator shall provide liaison at an appropriate organizational level to assure coordination of the Administrator’s activities with State and local government agencies, 

departments, bureaus, or offices concerned with any matter related to programs of fire prevention and control with private 

and other Federal organizations and offices so concerned. ‘‘(3) COORDINATION OF FIRE SERVICE-BASED EMERGENCY MED- ICAL SERVICES PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall provide liaison at an appropriate organizational level to assure coordination of the Administrator’s activities with State and local government agencies, departments, bureaus, or offices concerned 

with programs related to emergency medical services provided 

by fire service-based systems with private and other Federal 

organizations and offices so concerned.’’. (b) FIRE SERVICE-BASED EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES BEST

PRACTICES.—Section 8(c) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2207(c)) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and 

(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: ‘‘(2) The Administrator is authorized to conduct, directly or 

through contracts or grants, studies of the operations and management aspects of fire service-based emergency medical services and 

coordination between emergency medical services and fire services. 

Such studies may include the optimum protocols for on-scene care, 

the allocation of resources, and the training requirements for fire 

service-based emergency medical services.’’. 

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

Section 4 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

(15 U.S.C. 2203) is amended— (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘Administration, who is the Assistant Administrator of the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency’’; 

(2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

(3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 

inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

(4) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; 

(5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(6) ‘hazardous materials’ has the meaning given such term 

in section 5102(2) of title 49, United States Code;’’; and 

(6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(10) ‘wildland-urban interface’ has the meaning given such 

term in section 101(16) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(16)).’’. 

PART B: TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO BE MADE IN ORDER

1. AN AMENDMENT TO BE OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE PASCRELL

OF NEW JERSEY, OR HIS DESIGNEE, DEBATABLE FOR 10 MINUTES

Page 3, strike lines 23 through 25 and insert the following new 

paragraph: 


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(1) by amending subparagraph (H) to read as follows: ‘‘(H) response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with national catastrophes, including terrorist-caused national catastrophes and incidents that involve weapons of mass destruction;’’; 

2. AN AMENDMENT TO BE OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE SALI OF

IDAHO, OR HIS DESIGNEE, DEBATABLE FOR 10 MINUTES

Page 9, line 24, strike ‘‘section’’ and insert ‘‘sections’’. 

Page 10, after line 11, insert the following: 

‘‘SEC. 38. TRAINING AGENCIES ON IMPORTANCE OF CLEARING BIOMASS IN WILDLAND AREAS TO PROMOTE FIREFIGHTER 

SAFETY. 

‘‘In collaboration with the relevant departments and agencies of 

the Federal Government, the Administrator shall develop and provide information and training to relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government on the importance of clearing biomass in wildland areas of Federal lands to promote the safety of 

firefighters.’’. 

3. AN AMENDMENT TO BE OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE LANGEVIN

OF RHODE ISLAND, OR HIS DESIGNEE, DEBATABLE FOR 10 MINUTES

At the end of the bill, add the following new section: 

SEC. 10. SUPPORTING THE ADOPTION OF FIRE SPRINKLERS. 

Congress supports the recommendations of the United States 

Fire Administration regarding the adoption of fire sprinklers in 

commercial buildings and educational programs to raise awareness 

of the importance of installing fire sprinklers in residential buildings. 

Æ 


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