Cantwell Questions USDA Official, Demands Better Safety and Training for Wildland Firefighters

Cantwell Questions USDA Official, Demands Better Safety and Training for Wildland Firefighters

Senator secures commitment from USDA to report by end of fire season on implementation of safety and training recommendations

At a hearing Wednesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary Mark Rey on lapses in wildland firefighter safety and training, and reiterated her call for needed improvements. Cantwell's questioning followed a recent USDA Inspector General report detailing gaps in contract firefighter training as well as poor record keeping oversight by federal officials. At the hearing, Cantwell secured a commitment from Undersecretary Rey to produce a report by the end of this year's fire season on the progress made toward implementing the Inspector General's recommendations.

"Almost five years after the Thirtymile Fire, wildland firefighters still aren't getting the training they need," said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "We're still seeing gaps in safety, training, and record-keeping, to the point where we don't know if required safety training is even taking place. We need comprehensive training for all firefighters, both federal and private."

A report released last month by the USDA Inspector General found that the Forest Service did not have a procedure to verify the qualifications of many contract firefighters. The report found that roughly one in three firefighters sampled either did not meet national qualifications or that training records were inadequate. The use of contract firefighters has increased dramatically in western states during the past decade.

To further improve safety and training, Cantwell introduced the Wildland Firefighter Safety Act last year. The legislation, currently under consideration in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, would implement important safeguards to review the effectiveness of wildland firefighter training. Specifically, Cantwell's legislation would: + Require that contract firefighters receive the same training as federal firefighters, and create a federal program administered by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to monitor and enforce compliance + Require a system to track the money spent on wildland firefighter safety and training

+ Direct the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to jointly submit a report on the implementation and efficacy of wildland firefighter safety and training programs

In 2001, four forest firefighters lost their lives fighting the Thirtymile Fire north of Winthrop. An investigation revealed that Forest Service safety rules were violated and the deaths could have been prevented. In a number of Senate hearings, Cantwell focused on what went wrong, and has worked to help create a cultural shift within the Forest Service to increase accountability and improve training. Cantwell also worked with Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA) to pass legislation injecting independence into investigations of future wildland firefighter fatalities. The law, signed in July 2002, requires the USDA's Inspector General, not just the Forest Service itself, to independently investigate future wildland firefighter fatalities.

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=253592&&days=30&