I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3370 
To direct the United States Fire Administration to develop a comprehensive 
strategy to improve equipment, training, and staffing standards for fire-
fighter Rapid Intervention Teams, including those Teams that respond 
to port facility fires, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2025 
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To direct the United States Fire Administration to develop 
a comprehensive strategy to improve equipment, training, 
and staffing standards for firefighter Rapid Intervention 
Teams, including those Teams that respond to port facil-
ity fires, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Providing Resources 
and Operational Training to Eliminate Crisis Threats to 
Firefighters Act’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT Firefighters Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STRATEGY TO IMPROVE EQUIPMENT, TRAINING, 
AND 
STAFFING 
STANDARDS 
FOR 
RAPID 
INTERVENTION TEAMS. 
(a) STRATEGY.— 
(1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the United 
States Fire Administrator shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Science, Space, and Technology and the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate a comprehensive strategy detailing the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Current equipment, training, and 
staffing standards for firefighter Rapid Inter-
vention Teams. 
(B) How to improve access for such Teams 
to modern and high-quality equipment, safety 
gear, training, and staffing levels. 
(C) How to ensure equipment and training 
standardization and interoperability between 
such Teams. 
(2) MATTERS.—The strategy under paragraph 
(1) shall address, at a minimum, the following: 
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(A) An identification of such training 
standards, firefighting equipment, and staffing 
level standards that, as of the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, are in use by firefighter Rapid 
Intervention Teams and the extent to which 
such training and equipment is standard and 
interoperable across such Teams in each indi-
vidual State and nationwide, including regard-
ing the following: 
(i) The frequency with which such 
Teams undergo training, and any financial 
or logistical barriers that impact such 
Teams’ access to such training. 
(ii) The type and quality of fire-
fighting equipment used by such Teams 
and any financial or logistical barriers that 
impact such Teams’ access to state-of-the- 
art firefighting equipment. 
(iii) Staffing levels and response times 
for such Teams, particularly for depart-
ments that are facing general firefighter 
staffing shortages, and any financial or 
logistical barriers to improving staffing lev-
els and responses times for such Teams. 
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(iv) The level of standardization of 
firefighting equipment and training be-
tween such Teams across different local-
ities and different States, a description of 
current State or national efforts to im-
prove firefighting equipment and training 
interoperability, and any financial or 
logistical barriers that impact such efforts 
to so improve such interoperability. 
(B) An identification of such training 
standards, firefighting equipment, and staffing 
level standards that, as of the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, are in use by firefighter Rapid 
Intervention Teams at maritime and port facili-
ties or those Teams that may be required to re-
spond to fires at such facilities, the extent to 
which such training and equipment is standard 
and interoperable across such Teams in each in-
dividual State and nationwide, and a determina-
tion by the United States Fire Administrator 
regarding whether such training and equipment 
is sufficient to prepare such Teams for fires on 
the various ships that dock at such facilities, in-
cluding relating to the following: 
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(i) The frequency with which such 
Teams undergo maritime-specific training 
and any financial or logistical barriers that 
impact such Teams’ access to such train-
ing. 
(ii) The type and quality of maritime- 
specific firefighting equipment used by 
such Teams and any financial or logistical 
barriers that impact such Teams’ access to 
state-of-the-art firefighting equipment. 
(iii) Staffing levels and response times 
for such Teams, particularly for depart-
ments that are facing general firefighter 
staffing shortages, and any financial or 
logistical barriers to improving staffing lev-
els and responses times for such Teams. 
(iv) The level of standardization for 
interoperability of the firefighting equip-
ment, training, and staffing levels of 
Teams that respond to maritime or port 
facility fires across different localities and 
different States, a description of current 
State or national efforts to improve such 
maritime-specific 
firefighting 
equipment 
and training interoperability, and any fi-
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nancial or logistical barriers that impact 
such efforts to so improve such interoper-
ability. 
(v) A determination of whether the 
firefighting equipment, training, and staff-
ing levels of such Teams that respond to 
fires at maritime and port facilities is suf-
ficient for use on the various ships that 
dock at such facilities, including foreign- 
flagged ships that may use different fire-
fighting equipment than that typically en-
countered by United States-based Teams, 
and a description of any financial or 
logistical barriers that impact fire depart-
ments’ ability to make such equipment and 
training sufficient for such uses. 
(C) A review of the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health’s Fire Fighter 
Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program 
Line of Duty Death reports over the five-year 
period immediately preceding the date of the 
enactment of this Act that— 
(i) summarizes trends in fire depart-
ments’ access to modern and high-quality 
firefighting equipment, safety gear, train-
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ing, and staffing levels for Rapid Interven-
tion Teams, including the level of fire-
fighting equipment and training standard-
ization between such Teams; and 
(ii) analyzes the role that a lack of 
modern and high-quality firefighting equip-
ment, safety gear, training, or staffing lev-
els for Rapid Intervention Teams, includ-
ing a lack of firefighting equipment and 
training 
standardization 
between 
such 
Teams, played in firefighter Line of Duty 
Deaths. 
(D) Recommendations for how Congress 
can expand access to modern and high-quality 
firefighting equipment, safety gear, training, 
and staffing levels for Rapid Intervention 
Teams and ensure firefighting equipment and 
training standardization between such Teams, 
including specific recommendations regarding 
how such Teams can overcome the logistical or 
financial barriers to improved firefighting 
equipment, training, and staffing identified 
under subparagraph (A). 
(E) Recommendations for how Congress 
can expand access to modern and high-quality 
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firefighting equipment, safety gear, training, 
and staffing levels for Rapid Intervention 
Teams at maritime and port facilities or those 
Teams that may be required to fight fires at 
such facilities and ensure firefighting equipment 
and training standardization between such 
Teams, including specific recommendations re-
garding how such Teams can overcome the 
logistical or financial barriers to improved fire-
fighting equipment, training, and staffing and 
any lack of sufficiency of such equipment, train-
ing, or staffing with respect to the various ships 
that dock at such facilities in accordance with 
subparagraph (B). 
(F) Recommendations for how Congress 
can address the specific causes of incidents in 
which a firefighter employed by the Federal 
Government, a State, or a locality was killed 
while in the line of duty as identified in sub-
paragraph (C). 
(b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the United States Fire 
Administrator shall provide to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology and the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Com-
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mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate a briefing on the matters covered by 
the strategy under subsection (a). 
(c) FIREFIGHTER RAPID INTERVENTION TEAM DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘firefighter Rapid Inter-
vention Team’’ means a designated firefighting crew that 
serves as a stand-by rescue team at the scene of a fire 
or other emergency and is available for the immediate 
search and rescue of missing, trapped, or injured fire-
fighters if required. 
Æ 
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