S. 3845

Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act

This bill authorizes the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to conduct on-site investigations of major fires and other fires under other specified circumstances.

In the case of a major fire, the USFA may send incident investigators (e.g., safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists) to the site. Any such investigation shall (1) be conducted in coordination with appropriate federal, state, and local authorities; and (2) examine the determined cause and origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters.

Upon concluding any such investigation, the USFA must issue a public report to local, state, and federal authorities on the findings of such investigation or collaborate with another investigating federal agency on that agency's report.

Additionally, the USFA may send fire investigators to conduct investigations at the site of any fire with unusual or remarkable context that results in losses less severe than those occurring as a result of a major fire.