Sutton Paves Way for Passage of Fire Safety Bill

Mr. Speaker, twenty-seven years ago, in 1971, over 12,000 citizens and more than 250 firefighters tragically lost their lives due to fires. In response to those tragic occurrences, this body passed the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act into law, establishing the United States Fire Administration, also known as the USFA, and the National Fire Academy, known as the NFA. The USFA was created to reduce the incidence of death, injury and property loss from fire through public education, data collection, research and training. Mr. Speaker, we have made great progress. Since the creation of the USFA in 1974, the number of fire deaths has been reduced by more than one-half. Besides providing training and educational programs for over 30,000 fire departments across this great Nation, the USFA promotes fire safety and prevention programs to the public. Mr. Speaker, these educational and outreach programs undoubtedly have saved thousands of lives and thousands of dollars, and will continue to do so. Reports published by the USFA provide essential information to help reduce the risk of fires. For example, the USFA releases a report in December to encourage fire safety during the holiday season. According to last year's report, ``Fires occurring during the holiday season claimed the lives of over 400 people, injured more than 1,650, and caused $990 million in damage.'' The report outlines precautionary tests to help American families avoid devastating but often preventable accidents. The USFA also collects reliable data on civilian and firefighter deaths and injuries. In 2006, there were 3,245 civilian deaths from fires and 81 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in residences, which represents 25 percent of all fires. Direct property loss due to fires was approximately $11.3 billion, $755 million of which was the result of 31,000 intentionally-set structure fires. Mr. Speaker, sadly, 106 firefighters were killed in the line of duty in 2006. For nearly 30 years, the USFA has collected data on the number and causes of firefighter fatalities. The analysis of this invaluable research allows the USFA to find solutions to specific problems and reduce the number of fatalities with our firefighters. While the number of firefighter deaths has been greatly reduced, approximately 100 brave firefighters make the ultimate sacrifice to protect our loved ones and our communities each year. We must continue to strive to prevent fires, to learn the lessons from unpreventable fires, and to properly train and equip our firefighters. It is vital that our Federal Government ensure that our brave firefighters have the training and the support they need to keep our families and communities safe. Mr. Speaker, this reauthorization bill will promote national consensus standards for safe fire fighting at all levels of Government. H.R. 4847 will also help to provide training for firefighters who are increasingly called on to handle modern-day challenges and catastrophes, including fire fighting in the wildland-urban interface and responding to hazardous material incidents. Firefighters are the first on the scene and the last to leave. Captain Robert Livingston echoed these sentiments in his testimony before the House Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation when he said, ``The days of firefighters whose primary function was to `put the wet stuff on the red stuff' are long gone. The men and women of the 21st century fire service have evolved into highly-trained, highly-skilled all-purpose emergency responders with broad responsibilities.'' Firefighters in my district know this all too well. With the recent and reoccurring damaging floods in cities like Barberton, North Royalton, Elyria and Lorain, our firefighters have been called upon to provide emergency flood assistance. And we must never forget, Mr. Speaker, the heroics our Nation witnessed on September 11th as these brave men and women ran into the Twin Towers to save as many people as possible. Three hundred forty-one of New York City's finest firefighters, three fire safety directors, two paramedics and one volunteer firefighter died in the line of duty at the World Trade Center on that fatal day. It is our responsibility to provide the resources necessary to train those who protect us, and today, with passage of this act, we will be providing the support to meet the needs of our firefighters for the 21st century. By reauthorizing and improving this act, we are ensuring that the USFA continues to provide training, education and the tools to the firefighters we entrust to protect our communities and our families. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.