Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7077) to require the United States Fire Administration to conduct on-site investigations of major fires, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7077

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 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 any major fire, the Administrator may send incident investigators, which may include safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists, to the site of the fire to conduct an investigation as described in subsection (b).

``(b) Investigation Required.--A fire investigation conducted under this section--

``(1) shall be conducted in coordination and cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, including Federal agencies that are authorized to investigate a major fire or an incident of which the major fire is a part; and

``(2) shall examine the 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.--Upon concluding any fire investigation under this section, the Administrator shall issue a public report to local, State, and Federal authorities on the findings of such investigation, or collaborate with another investigating Federal agency on that agency's report, including recommendations on--

``(1) any other buildings with similar characteristics that may bear similar fire risks;

``(2) improving tactical response to similar fires;

``(3) improving civilian safety practices;

``(4) assessing the costs and benefits to the community of adding fire safety features; and

``(5) how to mitigate the causes of such fire.

``(d) Discretionary Authority.--In addition to investigations conducted pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator may send fire investigators to conduct investigations 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 coordination with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, including Federal agencies that are authorized to investigate a major fire or an incident of which the major fire is a part.

``(e) 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.''.

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Ms. STEVENS. 7077, the bill now under consideration.

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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.

Although fire loss has improved significantly over the past 25 years, the fire problem in the United States of America remains serious and is deserving of our attention and our legislative action.

The United States still has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world. It is clear we have work to do to prevent these fires and, unfortunately, their deadly consequences.

According to FEMA, between 2017 and 2019, residential building fires caused an estimated 2,770 deaths, 11,650 injuries, and $8.1 billion in property loss.

In Michigan--and this is deeply personal to those of us in Oakland County--we have recently experienced a significant rise in fire-related deaths during 2022, just this year alone. According to the Bureau of Fire Services, fire-related deaths across Michigan increased by 144 percent. Fires themselves are on the rise in the first month of 2022 alone compared to 2021.

Unfortunately, it was reported that these increased fires in Michigan were all preventable, Madam Speaker, and that is why I am proud to be joining my incredible colleague from New York, Congressman Torres, today in supporting his legislation.

The Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act is part of a Federal legislative package aimed at solving the underlying issues that cause deadly fires.

H.R. 7077 is led by my friend and colleague, Congressman Ritchie Torres. On January 9 of this year, a major fire occurred at the Twin Parks North West apartment building in Representative Torres' district in which 17 people, including 8 children, tragically lost their lives.

Following that, we experienced a less deadly fire, although monumental, at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in which the second-largest wood frame structure caught on fire and nearly all collapsed.

A key objective of the U.S. Fire Administration is to significantly reduce the Nation's loss of life from fire while also achieving a reduction in property loss and nonfatal injury due to fire.

This bill authorizes the U.S. Fire Administration to conduct onsite investigations of major fires by authorizing the USFA to send incident investigators to the site of a major fire.

This bill will more fully leverage the unique expertise of the USFA to contribute to what we can learn from these fires to continue to strengthen prevention going forward.

These catastrophes deserve Federal support. They hamper our local fire departments. Our local residents deserve answers.

I mentioned the tragedy in my own region in February that the Oakland Hills Country Club, a fixture that has been in our community for generations, experienced. The 99-year-old clubhouse is one of the oldest, all-wooden structures in Michigan and it was where I worked as a hostess following my graduation from high school at Birmingham Seaholm. I was saving up money for college. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the Oakland County Sheriff recently forecasted that the total fire investigation could take up to a full year to complete.

We must learn from these fires to inform efforts to prevent major fires from occurring in the future, and the USFA is an important component of these efforts. The agency is limited in its ability to learn from these fires, as it currently lacks the authority to conduct on-site investigations. This is what this bill will achieve.

It will unlock the expertise of Federal fire safety specialists and engineers to coordinate and cooperate with local firefighter investigators after a major fire incident in their community.

It authorizes the USFA to send their own experts to the site of a major fire to conduct an on-site investigation in coordination and cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities. In doing so, this bill more fully utilizes the agency's extensive expertise to help learn from major fires and to help inform prevention efforts in the future.

Additionally, this bill requires USFA to issue a public report on the findings of the investigation to local, State, and Federal authorities. This report would include recommendations on how to mitigate the causes of the investigated fire, as well as buildings with similar characteristics that may bear similar fire risks.

The sharing of national best practices is how we succeed as the United States of America. If other Federal agencies, for example, NIST, are also investigating the fire, the bill would encourage the agency to collaborate on a comprehensive report and interagency effort. In fact, collaboration with local, State, and other Federal authorities is a central theme of this entire bill. We are just ensuring that USFA also has the specific authorities it needs to carry out its mission.

I thank my colleague, Congressman Ritchie Torres, a freshman in this body, for his fantastic leadership on this bill. I also recognize my Science Committee colleagues, Congressman Peter Meijer from west Michigan and Congressman Anthony Gonzalez from the State of Ohio.

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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).

Mr. TORRES of New York. Madam Speaker, I am here to speak about H.R. 7077, which stems from the tragedy of Twin Parks North West, the scene of New York's deadliest fire in more than three decades, one that left the South Bronx with a death count of 17, including 8 children, one as young as 2 years of age.

The legislation would empower the United States Fire Administration to investigate the deadliest fires, in partnership with State and local governments. Not all local jurisdictions have the capacity to investigate the causes of complex fires on their own. The Federal Government, tapping into the technical expertise of the USFA, can and should aid fire investigations in the aim of ascertaining the truth about what exactly happened and why.

We must investigate the deadliest fires so that every lesson is learned and so that no life is ever lost in vain.

The objective here is to enable the USFA to share lessons learned with governments at all levels in the hopes of transforming those lessons into policies and practices that prevent fires and save lives.

Every time a fire breaks out and a life is lost, we should be reminded of a simple injunction: Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Let us enable the USFA to learn from the deadliest fires so that we as a Nation never repeat them.

I am enormously grateful for the partnership of Congress Member Haley Stevens; without whose support the bill would never have been brought to the floor. I am also enormously grateful for the bipartisan cooperation of Congress Members Bice, Meijer, and Gonzalez.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record letters supporting my legislation from the FDNY, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Association of State Fire Marshals, and the International Association of Fire Fighters. FDNY, Brooklyn, NY, May 9, 2022. Hon. Ritchie Torres, Congressman, Washington, DC.

Dear Congressman Torres: I am pleased to write in support of H.R. 7077. This bill authorizes the U.S. Fire Administration to conduct on-site investigations of major fires and other fires under other specified circumstances.

This bill would help to prevent future fires and deadly tragedies by empowering the U.S. Fire Administration to launch investigations, which assess a range of broad systematic matters that contribute to fire incidents. The most recent fire at Twin Parks was a tragic reminder that a serious fire can happen at any time, particularly in vulnerable communities. Through investigations and education, we can prevent future tragedies, and this bill will assist in doing just that.

I look forward to partnering with your office on this bill and other critical legislation that furthers New York City. Sincerely, Laura Kavanagh, Acting Fire Commissioner, Fire Department of the City of New York. ____ International Association of Fire Chiefs, Chantilly, VA, March 4, 2022. Hon. Ritchie Torres, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Torres: On behalf of the nearly 12,000 members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), I endorse the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act. This legislation will allow the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to examine the cause of major fires and share lessons learned with local governments to prevent future tragedies. The IAFC asks Congress to pass this legislation.

Deaths and property loss from fire remain a national tragedy. The National Fire Protection Association reports that, in 2020, local fire departments responded to more than 1.3 million fires. These resulted in 3,500 civilian fire deaths, 15,200 injuries and more almost $22 billion in property loss. Despite efforts to reduce the threat of fire, the United States still has one of the worst fire problems in the industrialized world.

The USFA can play a significant role in reducing fire deaths and property loss. It has programs to promote fire prevention and to train local fire departments to develop effective fire prevention programs. The Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act can add a valuable tool to USFA's programs by allowing USFA to examine the cause and origin of major fires and report on them. Specifically, the bill would allow USFA to coordinate with the appropriate federal, state, and local authorities, which are authorized to investigate major fires. The USFA investigators would examine the determined cause and origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters, including the use of codes and standards, demographics, structural characteristics, smoke and fire dynamics during the fire, and the costs of associated injuries and deaths. Then the USFA would release a report on this fire with recommendations about fire prevention in similar buildings; how to improve the tactical response to similar fires; and how to protect civilian life and property. In addition, USFA could include this information in its educational curricula at the National Fire Academy to ensure that important lessons learned from major fires are distributed throughout the national fire and emergency service.

I thank you again for introducing this important legislation. The nation must work harder to reduce the loss of life and property through tragic fires. Your bill will empower the USFA to examine the causes of major fires and educate the nation on how to prevent future tragedies. We look forward to collaborating with you to pass this bill. Sincerely, Fire Chief Kenneth W. Stuebing, BHSc, CCP(f), President and Board Chair. ____ National Association of State Fire Marshals, March 31, 2022. Hon. Ritchie Torres, Hon. Haley Stevens, Hon. Peter Meijer, Hon. Anthony Gonzalez, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representatives Torres, Stevens, Meijer, & Gonzalez: The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) thanks you for your leadership introducing legislation to authorize the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to conduct on-site investigations of major fires and fires with unusual or remarkable context. NASFM strongly endorses H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.

NASFM membership comprises the most senior state fire officials in the United States. Our primary mission is to protect human life, property and the environment from fire and related hazards. As such, we are extremely supportive of your legislation to empower the USFA to help establish a broader analysis of major fires and provide recommendations for enhanced risk reduction and fire prevention efforts.

This bipartisan legislation will increase fire investigation collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels by allowing the USFA to send safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists to the sites of major fires throughout the country. The bill also requires the USFA to issue a report in coordination with appropriate federal, state, and local authorities to determine the cause and origin of the fire with recommendations to implement, and enforcement of national safety codes and standards, to prevent similar fires in the future.

``The National Association of State Fire Marshals enthusiastically supports H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.'' said NASFM Executive Director Jim Narva, ``By ensuring the inclusion of a more diverse risk reduction focus, the investigations authorized under this Act will help identify underlying issues and recommend actions to help prevent future tragedies, saving countless lives.''

Thank you again for your leadership, we look forward to working with you to enact this important fire risk reduction and prevention legislation into law. Sincerely, Jim Narva, Executive Director. ____ International Association of Fire Fighters Washington, DC, April 1, 2022. Hon. Ritchie Torres, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Torres: On behalf of the more than 327,000 professional fire fighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), thank you for introducing the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act (H.R. 7077). The IAFF appreciates your work to enable the U.S. Fire Administrator to investigate fires and identify essential lessons learned that can save lives in the future.

Fires continue to be a significant threat across the nation. This past January alone, three fires led to the deaths of 3 fire fighters and 29 members of the public. When these major fires occur, there are always lessons that can prevent future deaths. Sadly, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) lacks the formal authority to investigate fires and translate lessons learned into ways to enhance fire fighters' training and public education efforts. The IAFF is pleased to support your legislation as it empowers the USFA to identify important findings from each fire.

The IAFF also appreciates that H.R. 7077 places a high value on communicating the findings of fire investigations to the public. Far too often, findings from fire investigations are only partially released or done so in a manner that does not allow findings to be used for future educational purposes. The USFA has a strong track record of educating the fire service and developing valuable training. Authorizing the USFA to conduct these investigations is a meaningful way to ensure that these findings will be shared with the broader fire service and fully incorporated into future training and educational opportunities.

Thank you again for your leadership and work to support fire fighters across the nation. Congress must make every effort to support our fire fighters' safety and enable them to succeed in serving their communities. H.R. 7077 provides an important new tool by empowering the USFA to serve the American fire service in a new capacity. The IAFF looks forward to working with you to secure the passage of H.R. 7077 as quickly as possible. Sincerely, Edward A. Kelly, General President.
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical bill, H.R. 7077, a bill to empower the U.S. Fire Administration to act in regard to the event of fires for investigative purposes.

I also note that the Members who are supporting this bill not only share a time zone but also share a generation and share a vision for the future, a vision for the future of this country that utilizes the best of government and interagency effort, government acting cohesively together when needed, having the Federal Government come in and support local fire departments in the wake of catastrophic fires.

This is quite palpable, Madam Speaker. The urgency to pass the bill, H.R. 7077, could not be more palpable.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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