H. R. 7077 

One Hundred Seventeenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-two 

An Act 

To require the United States Fire Administration to conduct on-site investigations 

of major fires, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering the U.S. Fire 

Administration Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FIRE SAFETY INVESTIGATIONS. 

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: 

‘‘SEC. 38. INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a major fire, the Administrator 

may send incident investigators, which may include safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, 

researchers, and fire training specialists, to the site of the fire 

to conduct a fire safety investigation as described in subsection 

(b). 

‘‘(b) INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.—A fire safety investigation conducted under this section— 

‘‘(1) shall be conducted in coordination and cooperation 

with appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

authorities, including Federal agencies that are authorized to 

investigate any fire; and 

‘‘(2) shall examine the previously determined cause and 

origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters to 

include use of codes and standards, demographics, structural 

characteristics, smoke and fire dynamics (movement) during 

the event, and costs of associated injuries and deaths. 

‘‘(c) REPORT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), upon concluding any fire safety investigation under this section, the 

Administrator shall— 

‘‘(A) issue a public report to the appropriate Federal, 

State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities on the 

findings of such investigation; or 

‘‘(B) collaborate with another investigating Federal, 

State, local, Tribal, or territorial agency on the report of 

that agency. 

‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator, in consultation with 

appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities determines that issuing a report under paragraph (1) would 
H. R. 7077—2 

have a negative impact on a potential or ongoing criminal 

investigation, the Administrator is not required to issue such 

report. 

‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each public report issued under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations on— 

‘‘(A) any other buildings with similar characteristics 

that may bear similar fire risks; 

‘‘(B) improving tactical response to similar fires; 

‘‘(C) improving civilian safety practices; 

‘‘(D) assessing the costs and benefits to the community 

of adding fire safety features; and 

‘‘(E) how to mitigate the causes of the fire. 

‘‘(d) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—In addition to a fire safety 

investigation conducted pursuant to subsection (a), provided doing 

so would not have a negative impact on a potential or ongoing 

criminal investigation, the Administrator may send fire investigators to conduct a fire safety investigation at the site of any fire 

with unusual or remarkable context that results in losses less 

severe than those occurring as a result of a major fire, in coordination and cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, and territorial authorities, including Federal agencies that 

are authorized to investigate the fire. 

‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

to— 

‘‘(1) affect or otherwise diminish the authorities or the 

mandates vested in other Federal agencies; 

‘‘(2) grant the Administrator authority to investigate a 

major fire for the purpose of an enforcement action or criminal 

prosecution; or 

‘‘(3) require the Administrator to send investigators or issue 

a report for a major fire when the Administrator, in coordination and cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, and territorial authorities, determine that it may compromise a potential or ongoing criminal investigation. 

‘‘(f) MAJOR FIRE DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the 

term ‘major fire’ shall have the meaning given such term under 

regulations to be issued by the Administrator.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.