By Sens. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., announced Friday they are introducing legislation to set a national standard for wildfire response time on federal lands.
The Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act would establish a 30-minute national standard response time for wildfires on federal land administered by the Interior or Agriculture departments.
“Establishing an aggressive national wildfire standard response time, just like we have for structure fires, is an America First, commonsense way to protect our nation and our people,” Sheehy said in a statement. “The WRAP Act will help our brave firefighters put out wildfires while they are small and dramatically reduce catastrophic wildfire damage. This bill will save lives and prevent hundreds of billions of dollars in future property damage.”
The standard response time set by the National Fire Protection Association for structural fires is just shy of 5½ minutes. But there is no such standard for wildfires, which the senators said lets fires sometimes rage for days and increases the risk of significant damage.
“As New Jerseyans and people across our country experience worsening devastation from wildfires due to climate change, a more aggressive response time can be a lifesaving tool for them and our first responders,” Kim said in a statement. “With this bill, we are able to expand on the success of standards for structure fires and put our best foot forward in protecting communities from the threat of wildfires.”
The effort is backed by the Western Fire Chiefs Association and the United Aerial Firefighters Association.
The bill is the latest component of Sheehy’s sweeping legislative efforts on wildfires. Sheehy, a first-term senator, former Navy SEAL and aerial firefighter, has teamed up with Democrats on 10 bipartisan fire-related bills in his first two months in office, including an effort to create a National Wildland Firefighting Service last month. The legislative effort follows devastating wildfires in and around Los Angeles that captured the nation’s attention this year.
An aide said Sheehy hopes to be able to fold the bills into a larger legislative package. In the coming weeks, congressional Republicans hope to pass substantial budget and reconciliation packages.
