November 2, 1973
Page 35836
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Fire Protection and Control Act which we are considering today addresses in a constructive manner an historically cruel enemy of all mankind – fire. Throughout history, fires have brought death and destruction, striking down the helpless and healthy alike, destroying the lifework of men and women without mercy. The proud and brave efforts of firefighters have met the threat of fire for generations. But their work has never been given the maximum support needed to minimize the danger of fire.
The Fire Protection and Control Act, S. 1769, would establish programs of education and support for local firefighters that would help them meet the threat of fire. I hope the Senate will give this goal a strong endorsement by passing this bill, so that it may soon become law.
Only a little imagination is needed to translate the appalling statistics about fires in the United States into their cruel toll of death and destruction. The statistics for 1972, released October 10 by the National Fire Protection Association, tell a sad story. Last year nearly 21,000 people died in fires. There were 2 3/4 million fires in the Nation. And the property loss from these fires was almost $3 billion. And all of these figures sadly reflect an increase over the previous year.
In the face of these mounting tragedies, the firefighters of America have responded with a record of service of which they can be proud. In my own State of Maine, there are over 400 municipal fire departments, with about 12,000 firefighters, most of them volunteers. Maine's professional firefighters work a 56-hour week at modest wages. And they perform the most hazardous job of any in the Nation, with a death rate 15 percent greater than the next most dangerous occupations.
The firefighters in Maine have been part of a strong firefighting tradition which has benefited from widespread community support. Initiatives by State governments have helped their work. One notable example is the fire technology program for professional firefighters which Maine initiated in 1968, which now operates at five vocational technical institutes in the State, and which leads to an associate degree in fire technology. But firemen could be given extra help on the national level to do their job more effectively. Critical national needs exist: there is no central, comprehensive source of data on fires; there is little research conducted on controlling or responding to fires; there is little national effort in the field of training firemen; and there are few sources to which the local firefighting agency can turn for technical advice.
The Fire Protection and Control Act constitutes a framework of sensible Federal effort to meet some of these needs, without altering the nature of firefighting as a local function.
The support furnished by this act would be through a National Program for Fire Prevention and Control – FIREPAC. Working within the Commerce Department, the FIREPAC program would devote resources to getting answers to crucial questions of fire control, would provide that information to firefighters and firefighting agencies throughout America, and would give needed support to firefighting personnel themselves. The FIREPAC program includes research and development programs and studies covering the many topics involved in firefighting from physics to psychology, as well as comprehensive planning programs – called master plan demonstration projects – to be established in selected States. The FIREPAC program would gather firefighting expertise on a national level and distribute it to the firefighting community through an annual conference of firefighting professionals, a national fire data center, a program of fire services technical assistance to local firefighting agencies, and a FIREPAC Academy to train fire service personnel and promote fire service training. Finally, the FIREPAC program would bolster the efforts of firefighting personnel through public safety officer awards and a study of firefighting employment.
The Fire Prevention and Control Act before us today is a modest Federal contribution to the heroic efforts of local firefighters across the Nation. I give it my full support.