The U.S. House of Representatives on May 11 voted 379-37 to pass a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) that would authorize the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to conduct on-site investigations of major fires and other fires under other specified circumstances.
“There is currently a serious lack of coordination between the federal U.S. Fire Administration and the other state and local authorities. In fact, the U.S. Fire Administration does not have the authority to conduct on-site investigations of major fires,” Rep. Meijer said in support of the bill prior to the House vote. “As a result, our state and local authorities are limited in their capabilities to investigate these major fires.
“The U.S. Fire Administration’s expertise can and should be used to the fullest extent, in coordination with all existing authorities responsible for fire investigations,” said the congressman.
The Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, H.R. 7077, which Rep. Meijer cosponsored on March 15 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and fellow original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), would require the USFA to send incident investigators to the site of a major fire where an investigation would be conducted in coordination and cooperation with appropriate federal, state and local authorities to examine the determining cause and origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters, according to the congressional record bill summary.
Upon concluding the investigation, the USFA must issue a public report to local, state and federal authorities on its findings or collaborate with another investigating federal agency on that agency’s report, the summary says.
“H.R. 7077 is so important. It simply addresses the existing coordination gap between the federal, state and local authorities. It allows the U.S. Fire Administrator to send investigators, including safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, and fire training specialists to the site of a major fire,” Rep. Meijer explained. “These experts can then work on the ground with the state and local authorities to determine cause, examine building failures, provide answers to those affected by these fires and establish lessons learned so similar fires can be prevented in the future.”
The bill on May 12 was received for consideration in the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is currently reviewing the identical bill, S. 3845, also introduced on March 15 by U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).