Fire service organizations testify at congressional hearings
National fire service organizations testified on health and safety issues before congressional committees during the month of February.
At a hearing on the reauthorization of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) held by the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Transportation (Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure), the following fire service positions were presented: (1) uniform haz mat regulations are needed to protect life, property, and the environment; (2) funding for firefighter haz mat training should be increased, and all state firefighter training should be at an operational level; (3) the Operation Respond Emergency Information System (OREIS) is endorsed; and (4) the exemption of certain agricultural commodities and the residential chlorine swimming pool maintenance industry from haz mat safety regulations is opposed.
The same House subcommittee held a hearing concerning fire safety issues in the House complex as reported by the Inspector General of the U.S. House of Representatives (see News in Brief, “Study: Fire protection inadequate in Capitol and House buildings,” Feb. 22, 1999). Present at the hearing were the Inspector General, the Architect of the Capitol (AoC), and representatives of the National Fire Protection Association. Issues raised were proper egress from the House buildings, detection and suppression technologies, and awareness training programs for building occupants. Herb Franklin, assistant architect of the Capitol (AoC), acknowledged that certain concerns in the report were valid. He explained that the work schedule of the House members has impeded progress in correcting the problems. Much of the work, he added, must be done at night when offices are closed and vacated and that, because of the antique artwork present in the Capitol buildings, workers must be very meticulous. Franklin reported, however, that the completion of a fire safety project, scheduled for 2001, will make the Capitol complex a prototype for fire safety in historical buildings. During the hearing it was suggested that the Congressional Fire Services Institute continue working with the AoC in training all House and Capitol employees in the proper use of fire extinguishers.
At a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Health and Environment and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Commerce Committee), the issue of whether to disseminate through the Internet–thereby allowing general public access–chemical “worst-case” scenario data obtained from industrial facilities throughout the country by the Environmental Protection Agency under Section 112r of the Clean Air Act was discussed. (See “Electronic release of dangerous chemical site data challenged,” News in Brief, March 1999). The fire service [specifically, NFVC Delaware Director E. James Monihan, Chief John Eversole of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Robert Blitzer of Science Applications International Corporation, and Timothy Gablehuse of the Jefferson County (CO) Local Emergency Planning Committee] contended that placing this information, which includes chemical storage types and capacities and potential life hazards, on the Internet could facilitate domestic terrorism involving these industrial sites.
The EPA had said it would not place the information on the Internet after having been made aware of the security concerns of fire service organizations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, but some environmental groups have threatened to obtain the data through the Freedom of Information Act and place it on their Web sites. Congress was asked to intervene so that the information would be disseminated in a safe and secure manner. n
