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 special-
ists, 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 con-
ducted 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 con-
cluding 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 authori-
ties 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 para-
graph (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 investiga-
tors 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 coordina-
tion 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 coordina-
tion and cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial authorities, determine that it may com-
promise 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.