SMART Firefighting for the 21st Century

Existing law, the Fire Fighting Thermal Imaging Equipment Act of 2001, establishes in the Office of Emergency Services the thermal imaging equipment purchasing program and requires the office to acquire firefighting thermal imaging equipment on behalf of local and state agencies that provide fire suppression services and are interested in obtaining this equipment. Existing law requires the Director of Emergency Services to establish an advisory committee in this connection and seek funding for the program from the private sector. The bill would revise those provisions and rename that act the Firefighting for the 21st Century Act of 2018 and would create within the Office of Emergency Services the SMART Firefighting for the 21st Century Pilot Program for the purpose of providing grants to local and state agencies to acquire and utilize SMART firefighting equipment. The bill would require the office to choose no more than five pilot locations, with at least one in a rural area, one in a suburban area, and one in an urban area, and a fire department selected in each location. The bill would require a fire department in order to be eligible for funding under these provisions to establish a labor management committee that is composed of equal number of representatives of the employer and of employees. The bill would provide that a fire department in each pilot location would be eligible for a grant not to exceed $5,000,000, and would require the fire department to use grant funds to fund costs associated with the purchase of SMART firefighting equipment and the training of department personnel in its use. The bill would create the SMART Firefighting for the 21st Century Fund, the moneys of which would be available to the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure for the purposes of the program, including the provision of grants to pilot program participants. The bill would make conforming changes to this effect by repealing language referring to thermal imaging equipment. The bill would require the director to form a task force with a prescribed membership to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program and report to the Legislature in this regard on or before January 1, 2021. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022.