Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 70867 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, U.S. Department 

of Homeland Security. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on a proposed continuing 

information collection. In accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), this 

notice seeks comments concerning the 

use of a census form to collect data for 

the development of a national fire 

department database. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Fire Administration (USFA) receives 

many requests from fire service 

organizations and the general public for 

information related to fire departments, 

including total number of departments, 

number of stations per department, 

population protected, and number of 

firefighters. The USFA also has a need 

for this information to guide 

programmatic decisions, and produce 

mailing lists for USFA publications. 

Recommendations for the creation of the 

fire department database came out of a 

Blue Ribbon Panel’s review of the 

USFA—initiated by former FEMA 

Director James Lee Witt in the spring of 

1998. The report included a review of 

the structure, mission and funding of 

the USFA, future policies, programmatic 

needs, course development and 

delivery, and the role of the USFA to 

reflect changes in the fire service. The 

panel included 13 members of the U.S. 

fire community. As a result of those 

recommendations, the USFA is working 

to identify all fire departments in the 

United States to develop and populate 

a national database that will include 

information related to demographics, 

capabilities and activities of fire 

departments Nationwide. In the first 

year of this effort, information was 

collected from 16,000 fire departments. 

Since the first year of the collection, an 

additional 8,000 departments have 

registered with the census for a total of 

24,000 fire departments. This leaves an 

estimated 9,000 departments still to 

respond. 

Collection of Information 

Title: National Fire Department 

Census. 

Type of Information Collection: 

Extension of a currently approved 

collection. 

OMB Number: 1660–0070. 

Abstract: Many data products and 

reports exist that contain fragmented or 

estimated information about fire 

department demographics, and 

capabilities, but there is no single 

reference source today that aggregates 

this data to provide a complete and 

accurate profile of fire departments in 

the United States. The U.S. Fire 

Administration (USFA) receives many 

requests for information related to fire 

departments, including total number of 

departments, number of stations per 

department, population protected, 

apparatus and equipment status. The 

USFA is working to identify all fire 

departments in the United States to 

develop and populate a national 

database that will include information 

related to demographics, capabilities 

and activities. The database will be used 

by USFA to guide programmatic 

decisions, provide the Fire Service and 

the public with information about fire 

departments, to produce mailing lists 

for USFA publications and other 

materials. In the first year of this effort, 

information was collected from 16,000 

fire departments. Since the first year of 

the collection, an additional 8,000 

departments have registered with the 

census for a total of 24,000 fire 

departments. This leaves an estimated 

9,000 departments still to respond. 

Additionally, fire departments already 

registered with the census will be 

contacted once every five years to 

provide updates or changes to their 

census data so that USFA can keep the 

database as current as possible. Fire 

departments are able to complete the 

census form on-line through the USFA 

web site, or by filling out a paper census 

form and faxing the completed form, or 

sending it in a return envelope. 

Affected Public: Federal, State, local 

government, volunteer and industrial 

fire departments. 

ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS

FEMA forms 

Number of 

respondents 

(A) 

Frequency of 

response 

(B) 

Hours per response 

(C) 

Annual burden 

hours 

(A × B × C) 

9,000 1 25 Minutes (.42) ..... 3,750 

Total ................................................................................................. 9,000 1 25 Minutes (.42) ..... 3,750 

Estimated Cost: The estimated costs to 

the government will be contracted direct 

labor and associated overhead costs of 

$50,000. There would be no costs to the 

respondent other than the minimal 

direct labor cost of a single firefighter or 

emergency service worker taking a small 

amount of time to complete the census 

form and this would be applicable only 

to those fire departments and emergency 

service agencies with career employees. 

The majority of the respondents will be 

from volunteer fire departments for 

which no direct labor costs will be 

incurred. The estimate of respondent 

costs for those career departments is 

computed as follows: Estimated number 

of census forms multiplied by the 

national median hourly rate of a 

firefighter of $17.42 multiplied by .42 

(representing the estimated 25 minutes 

it takes to complete the census form) 

and multiply that by .27 which 

represents the percentage of 

respondents who are career (paid) 

personnel. Using this equation, total 

estimated costs to respondents of 

$17,779 is derived (9,000 estimated 

census forms x $17.42 = $156,780 x .42 

= $65,848 x .27 = $17,779). The average 

cost per census form is a minimal $1.96. 

The respondents are under no obligation 

to complete the census form and may 

refuse to do so or stop at any time so 

the average cost to the respondent of 

$1.96 could easily not be incurred by 

refusing to fill out the census form. 

Comments: Written comments are 

solicited to (a) evaluate whether the 

proposed data collection is necessary for 

the proper performance of the agency, 

including whether the information shall 

have practical utility; (b) evaluate the 

accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the 

burden of the proposed collection of 

70868 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 23, 2005 / Notices 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) minimize the burden 

of the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including through 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. Comments should be 

received within 60 days of the date of 

this notice. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should 

submit written comments to Chief, 

Records Management Section, 

Information Resources Management 

Branch, Information Technology 

Services Division, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Department of 

Homeland Security, 500 C Street, SW., 

Room 316, Washington, DC 20472. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Gayle Kelch, Statistician, 

United States Fire Administration, 

National Fire Data Center (301) 447–

1154 for additional information. You 

may contact the Records Management 

Branch for copies of the proposed 

collection of information at facsimile 

number (202) 646–3347 or e-mail 

address: FEMA-InformationCollections@dhs.gov. 

Dated: November 15, 2005. 

Darcy Bingham, 

Branch Chief, Information Resources 

Management Branch, Information 

Technology Services Division. 

[FR Doc. 05–23134 Filed 11–22–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–17–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, U.S. Department 

of Homeland Security. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on proposed revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), this notice seeks 

comments concerning the community 

inspection report, which is the subject 

of this information collection 

submission. The community inspection 

report will be used in the 

implementation of the inspection 

procedure in the Monroe County, the 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida and any other 

community that incorporates in Monroe 

County on or after January 1, 1999. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the communities 

of Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, Florida, and any 

other communities in Monroe County 

that incorporate after January 1, 1999 

verify that structures in their 

communities (those built after the 

effective date of the Flood Insurance 

Rate Map (FIRM), referred to as PostFIRM) comply with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance; and 

(2) to ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

community inspection report, which is 

the subject of this information collection 

submission, will be used in the 

implementation of the inspection 

procedure in the Monroe County, the 

City of Marathon, and the Village of 

Islamorada, Florida and any other 

community that incorporates in Monroe 

County on or after January 1, 1999. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the communities 

of Monroe County, City of Marathon, the 

Village of Islamorada, Florida, and any 

other communities in Monroe County 

that incorporate after January 1, 1999 

verify that structures in their 

communities (those built after the 

effective date of the Flood Insurance 

Rate Map (FIRM), referred to as PostFIRM) comply with the community’s 

floodplain management ordinance; and 

(2) to ensure that property owners pay 

flood insurance premiums 

commensurate with their flood risk. 

The National Flood Insurance 

Program (NFIP) was established by the 

National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

(Pub. L. 90–448), as amended. The 

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

(Pub. L. 93–234) and the National Flood 

Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 

103–325) made significant changes to 

the program. The primary purposes of 

the NFIP are to: (1) Better indemnify 

individuals for flood losses through 

insurance; (2) reduce future flood 

damages through state and community 

floodplain management regulations; and 

(3) reduce federal expenditures for 

disaster assistance and flood control. 

The NFIP makes Federally-backed flood 

insurance coverage available only in 

those communities that adopt and 

enforce a floodplain management 

ordinance to regulate new development 

in flood hazard areas. Over 19,000 

communities participate in the NFIP. 

The concept behind the program is 

that the communities would join the 

NFIP to make their citizens eligible to 

purchase subsidized flood insurance for 

existing buildings. It was recognized 

that insurance for many of these 

buildings would be prohibitively 

expensive if the premium were not 

subsidized. It was also recognized that 

most of these flood prone buildings 

were built by individuals that did not 

have sufficient knowledge of the hazard 

to make informed decisions. 

In exchange for the availability of this 

subsidized insurance, communities 

would protect new construction through 

adoption and enforcement of 

community floodplain management 

ordinances. Owners of these new 

buildings (those built after the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) had identified flood hazards in 

the community) would pay actuarial 

rates for flood insurance that fully 

reflect the risk to the building. 

Community floodplain management 

regulations require that residential 

buildings be elevated to or above the 

elevation of the base flood (the flood 

that has a 1 percent chance of occurring 

during any given year, also known as 

the 100-year flood). Non-residential 

buildings can either be elevated or flood 

proofed (made watertight) to the base 

flood. Without community oversight of 

building activities and development in 

the floodplain, the best efforts of some 

to reduce flood losses could be 

undermined or destroyed by the careless 

building of others. Community 

enforcement of a floodplain 

management ordinance is critical in 

protecting a building from future flood 

damages, in reducing taxpayer funded 

disaster assistance, and also in keeping 

flood insurance rates affordable. 

The purpose of the inspection 

procedures is to require owners of 

insured buildings (policyholders) to 

obtain an inspection from community 

floodplain management officials and 

submit a community inspection report 

as a condition of renewing the Standard 

Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) on the 

building. The community inspection 

report, which is the subject of this 

information collection submission, will 

materially assist in reducing the number 

of buildings at risk to flood losses. The 

inspection procedure has two major 

purposes: (1) To help the pilot