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 ‘‘Empowering the U.S. 
Fire Administration Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FIRE 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 any major fire, the 
Administrator may send incident investigators, which may 
include safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes 
and standards experts, researchers, and fire training spe-
cialists, to the site of the fire to conduct an investigation 
as described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.—A fire investigation 
conducted under this section— 
‘‘(1) shall be conducted in coordination and co-
operation with appropriate Federal, State, and local 
authorities, including Federal agencies that are au-
thorized to investigate a major fire or an incident of 
which the major fire is a part; and 
‘‘(2) shall examine the determined cause and ori-
gin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters 
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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.—Upon concluding any fire investiga-
tion under this section, the Administrator shall issue a pub-
lic report to local, State, and Federal authorities on the 
findings of such investigation, or collaborate with another 
investigating Federal agency on that agency’s report, in-
cluding recommendations on— 
‘‘(1) any other buildings with similar character-
istics that may bear similar fire risks; 
‘‘(2) improving tactical response to similar fires; 
‘‘(3) improving civilian safety practices; 
‘‘(4) assessing the costs and benefits to the com-
munity of adding fire safety features; and 
‘‘(5) how to mitigate the causes of such fire. 
‘‘(d) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—In addition to in-
vestigations conducted pursuant to subsection (a), the Ad-
ministrator may send fire investigators to conduct inves-
tigations 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 with appropriate 
Federal, State, and local authorities, including Federal 
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agencies that are authorized to investigate a major fire or 
an incident of which the major fire is a part. 
‘‘(e) MAJOR FIRE DEFINED.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘major fire’ shall have the meaning given such 
term under regulations to be issued by the Administrator.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 229 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7077 
[Report No. 117–309] 
A BILL 
To require the United States Fire Administration 
to conduct on-site investigations of major fires, 
and for other purposes. 
MAY 6, 2022 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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