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.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Firefighters Special Operation Task 
Force Act''.

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. 37. 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 Infrastructures 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 destruction;
                    ``(B) a release of a hazardous material;
                    ``(C) a natural disaster; or
                    ``(D) any other emergency for which a response by a 
                fire service is appropriate.
            ``(4) Member.--The term `member', with respect to a task 
        force, means a fire service that is a party to the cooperative 
        agreement establishing the task force.
            ``(5) Task force.--The term `task force' means 2 or more 
        fire services that collectively consist 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 firefighting 
        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 response to 
        firefighting personnel;
            ``(4) to obtain appropriate equipment, including 
        firefighting vehicles or support systems for members of the 
        task force;
            ``(5) to improve the ability of a member of a task force to 
        communicate with a local police department or hospital, or with 
        any other appropriate governmental or private sector entity; 
        and
            ``(6) to ensure the compatibility and interoperability of 
        training and equipment with those obtained 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 configuration, which shall include--
            ``(1) an administrative unit, consisting of 2 chief 
        officers, 2 captains, and 2 lieutenants, to coordinate training 
        programs, logistics, and maintenance of equipment, which shall 
        operate at least 40 hours per week;
            ``(2) a command unit, consisting of 1 chief officer serving 
        as the task force commander and 1 firefighter 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;
            ``(4) at least 1 rescue company, consisting of 1 company 
        officer and 5 firefighters, which shall operate at all times; 
        and
            ``(5) 6 squad companies, each consisting of 1 company 
        officer and 5 firefighters, which shall operate at all times, 
        and which may serve, as appropriate, 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 Administrator 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 region, taking 
        into account population, business centers, 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 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 significance; 
                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 
personnel, personnel overtime, vehicles, equipment, administrative 
costs, fuel, maintenance, contractor services, and rental space.
    ``(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 2008 through 2016.''.

Summary: Firefighters Special Operation Task Force Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration to award up to 100 grants for task forces (two or more fire services that collectively consist of at least 50 firefighting personnel, operating under a cooperative agreement to coordinate incident response) each fiscal year for: (1) salary and benefits to hire firefighting personnel; (2) training; (3) equipment or support systems; (4) communications between task force members and a local police department or hospital or with any other appropriate governmental or private sector entity; and (5) compatibility and interoperability of training and equipment.

Requires the Administrator to give priority to task forces serving geographic areas that have a high population density or that are located within 50 miles of: (1) a nuclear power facility; (2) a large facility that produces, treats, or refines chemicals or petroleum products; (3) a business district of national significance; or (4) a location with one or more critical infrastructures.

Requires grantees to obtain non-federal matching funds of at least 55% of the amount awarded by the Administrator for each fiscal year.