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, transpor-
tation 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 fire-
fighters, 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;
•HRES 729 EH 
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 inten-
tionally 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 in-
jured; 
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 Pre-
vention Week; 
Whereas the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation spon-
sors the annual memorial service to pay tribute to fire-
fighters who died in the line of duty during the previous 
year; 
Whereas given its significance, the Sunday before Fire Pre-
vention Week would be an ideal day to commemorate 
Federal, State, and local firefighters killed or disabled in 
the line of duty;
•HRES 729 EH 
Whereas the Congress created the National Fallen Fire-
fighters 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 Serv-
ice in Emittsburg, Maryland: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges the President to designate a day as ‘‘Na-
tional Firefighters Memorial Day’’ to commemorate Fed-
eral, State, and local firefighters killed or disabled in the 
line of duty; and 
(2) calls upon the people of the United States to ob-
serve such a day with appropriate ceremonies and re-
spect. 
Attest: 
Clerk.