House Passes Firefighter Funding Bill - Includes Perlmutter Amendment to Improve Firefighter Safety
November 18, 2009
Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) supported the passage of H.R. 3791- Fire Grants Reauthorization Act in the House of Representatives. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes two popular, critically important firefighter assistance programs – the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). Included in H.R. 3791 is an amendment from Rep. Perlmutter establishing a study to determine the extent to which fire departments comply with consensus safety standards to reduce the number of avoidable deaths among firefighters. Additionally, the legislation would convene a task force to make recommendations to increase such compliance.
“This bill continues to fully fund investments in firefighter equipment, training and safety. Our first responders protect our neighborhoods and Congress must provide them the tools they need to do their jobs,” stated Perlmutter. “The loss of any firefighter in the line of duty is a tragedy. Even more tragic is a preventable firefighter fatality. Every year our nation loses roughly 100 firefighters in the line of duty, many of which could be prevented by following national voluntary consensus standards. My amendment authorizes the US Fire Administration to conduct a first-of-its-kind survey of our nation’s fire departments to measure how well they are adhering to these safety standards. This bill is good for our firefighters, it is good for our local communities, and it is good for homeland security”
* Click here to view Rep. Perlmutter’s floor speech on Amendment to H.R. 3791
According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, more than 100 fire fighters die in the line of duty each year, while tens of thousands of additional fire fighters sustain work-related injuries. In 2008, 114 fire fighters died in the line of duty, including four in Colorado. While the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and other groups have developed industry safety standards, they are voluntary in nature and often ignored by fire departments. Perlmutter’s Amendment would encourage the adoption of national consensus fire fighter safety standards and promote fire department compliance with such standards.
This amendment would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine the rate of fire department compliance with standards for safe operations, staffing, training and fitness among career, volunteer, and combination fire departments. DHS would also form a task force of firefighters, fire chiefs, and other individuals to study how to best increase fire department compliance with such standards. This bill would not mandate federal oversight of local fire departments, but instead would explore how the federal government could best promote fire fighter safety standards and assist fire departments with compliance.
