I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5909 
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize 
the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to provide 
assistance to firefighting task forces, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2010 
Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the United 
States Fire Administration to provide assistance to fire-
fighting task forces, 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 ‘‘Firefighters Special 
Operation Task Force Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR FIREFIGHTING TASK FORCES. 
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 new section: 
‘‘SEC. 38. ASSISTANCE FOR FIREFIGHTING TASK FORCES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘critical infrastructure’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastruc-
tures Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 
‘‘(2) FIREFIGHTING
PERSONNEL.—The term 
‘firefighting personnel’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 33(a). 
‘‘(3) INCIDENT RESPONSE.—The term ‘incident 
response’ means a response by a task force or task 
force unit to— 
‘‘(A) a terrorist attack, including such an 
attack that utilizes a weapon of mass destruc-
tion; 
‘‘(B) a release of a hazardous material; 
‘‘(C) a natural disaster; or 
‘‘(D) any other emergency for which a re-
sponse by a fire service is appropriate. 
‘‘(4) MEMBER.—The term ‘member’, with re-
spect to a task force, means a fire service that is a 
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party to the cooperative agreement establishing the 
task force. 
‘‘(5) TASK
FORCE.—The term ‘task force’ 
means 2 or more fire services that collectively con-
sist of at least 50 firefighting personnel, operating 
pursuant to a cooperative agreement for the purpose 
of coordinating incident response among such fire 
services. 
‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Administrator may 
award not more than 100 grants for task forces each fiscal 
year for the purposes described in subsection (c). 
‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—A grant awarded under this section 
shall be used— 
‘‘(1) to provide salary and benefits to hire fire-
fighting personnel or rehire firefighting personnel 
who have been laid off to provide services to the task 
force, including salary and benefits; 
‘‘(2) to pay expenses related to the participation 
of firefighting personnel in appropriate training 
courses; 
‘‘(3) to provide training related to incident re-
sponse to firefighting personnel; 
‘‘(4) to obtain appropriate equipment, including 
firefighting vehicles or support systems for members 
of the task force; 
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‘‘(5) to improve the ability of a member of a 
task force to communicate with a local police depart-
ment or hospital, or with any other appropriate gov-
ernmental or private sector entity; and 
‘‘(6) to ensure the compatibility and interoper-
ability of training and equipment with those ob-
tained by other task forces. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION GUIDANCE.—The Administrator 
shall make available to potential applicants for assistance 
under this section a description of a model task force con-
figuration, which shall include— 
‘‘(1) an administrative unit, consisting of 2 
chief officers, 2 captains, and 2 lieutenants, to co-
ordinate training programs, logistics, and mainte-
nance of equipment, which shall operate at least 40 
hours per week; 
‘‘(2) a command unit, consisting of 1 chief offi-
cer serving as the task force commander and 1 fire-
fighter serving as communications coordinator, 
which shall operate at all times; 
‘‘(3) at least 1 hazardous materials company, 
consisting of 1 company officer and 5 firefighters, 
which shall operate at all times; 
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‘‘(4) at least 1 rescue company, consisting of 1 
company officer and 5 firefighters, which shall oper-
ate at all times; and 
‘‘(5) 6 squad companies, each consisting of 1 
company officer and 5 firefighters, which shall oper-
ate at all times, and which may serve, as appro-
priate, as a hazardous materials company or rescue 
company as described in paragraphs (3) and (4). 
‘‘(e) APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—Each task 
force desiring assistance under this section shall submit 
an application to the Administrator at such time, in such 
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Ad-
ministrator may reasonably require. In order to qualify for 
a grant, an applicant’s proposal shall provide for— 
‘‘(1) prompt incident response; 
‘‘(2) a unified command system; 
‘‘(3) common training and equipment for task 
force members; 
‘‘(4) maximum coverage in the task force re-
gion, taking into account population, business cen-
ters, vital infrastructures, transportation corridors, 
and government centers; and 
‘‘(5) preservation during the life of the grant of 
the overall personnel level for each fire service, at 
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least at the level in effect at the time the application 
was submitted. 
‘‘(f) SELECTION PRIORITY.—In selecting a task force 
to receive assistance under this section, the Administrator 
shall give priority to task forces that serve a geographic 
area that— 
‘‘(1) has a high population density; or 
‘‘(2) is located not more than 50 miles from— 
‘‘(A) a facility that produces nuclear 
power; 
‘‘(B) a large facility that produces, treats, 
or refines chemicals or petroleum products; 
‘‘(C) a business district of national signifi-
cance; or 
‘‘(D) a location with one or more critical 
infrastructures. 
‘‘(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 
may provide assistance to a Task Force under this section 
for a fiscal year only if the task force agrees to obtain 
from non-Federal sources for such fiscal year at least 55 
percent of the costs of the task force. The non-Federal 
contributions may be in-kind contributions, including per-
sonnel, personnel overtime, vehicles, equipment, adminis-
trative costs, fuel, maintenance, contractor services, and 
rental space. 
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‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 
carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for 
each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2019.’’. 
Æ 
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