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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 729 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 729

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      October 29, 2009.
Whereas firefighters are often the first to respond to an emergency, whether the 
        emergency is a fire, transportation accident, natural disaster, act of 
        terrorism, medical emergency, or spill of hazardous materials;
Whereas firefighters tirelessly promote fire prevention and safety to protect 
        our Nation;
Whereas people often do not recognize the important and dangerous work of 
        firefighters;
Whereas the United States has more than 1,000,000 firefighters, 71 percent of 
        whom are volunteer firefighters and approximately 15,000 of whom are 
        female;
Whereas there are 1,600,000 fires, on average, in the United States each year;
Whereas approximately 30,000 fire departments operate within the United States;
Whereas a fire department responds to a fire in the United States every 20 
        seconds;
Whereas fire departments respond to nearly 2,000,000 calls in the United States 
        each year without hesitation;
Whereas approximately 100 firefighters die in the United States each year in the 
        line of duty;
Whereas 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters died in the line of duty 
        at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001;
Whereas an estimated 32,500 structure fires were intentionally set in the United 
        States in 2007, resulting in 295 civilian deaths;
Whereas 103 on-duty firefighter fatalities occurred in 2008-2009 on the fire 
        ground, 11 at other emergency calls, 39 while responding to or returning 
        from alarms, 7 during training activities, and 17 during other on-duty 
        activities;
Whereas approximately 3,600 people die in the United States each year as a 
        result of fires, and over 19,000 are injured;
Whereas October 9 is the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, in which 
        more than 300 people lost their lives;
Whereas President Harding declared the week of October 9 to be ``Fire Prevention 
        Week'' in 1922;
Whereas the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service takes place each year 
        at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on the Sunday 
        before Fire Prevention Week;
Whereas the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation sponsors the annual memorial 
        service to pay tribute to firefighters who died in the line of duty 
        during the previous year;
Whereas given its significance, the Sunday before Fire Prevention Week would be 
        an ideal day to commemorate Federal, State, and local firefighters 
        killed or disabled in the line of duty;
Whereas the Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to 
        honor America's fallen firefighters and their families; and
Whereas in 2001, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 107-051 requiring 
        that the flag of the United States at all public buildings be flown at 
        half staff in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service 
        in Emittsburg, Maryland: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) urges the President to designate a day as ``National 
        Firefighters Memorial Day'' to commemorate Federal, State, and local 
        firefighters killed or disabled in the line of duty; and
            (2) calls upon the people of the United States to observe such a day 
        with appropriate ceremonies and respect.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
```