Washington, D.C. – On March 3, legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives which would limit the liability of companies and fire departments that donate surplus equipment to volunteer fire departments. The bill, the Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act (H.R. 1088), enjoys a bipartisan group of 60 House cosponsors led by Rep. Michael Caste (R-DE).
“Well equipped fire departments have made it a tradition to give used equipment to those departments that are less fortunate or in dire need,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “However, in recent years, the fear of litigation if the gear later turns out to be faulty has made these donors think twice about giving.”
“Every day across the United States our firefighters respond to calls for help in their states and communities and they deserve to have access to the best firefighting and protective equipment possible,” said Rep. Castle. “Unfortunately, the threat of civil liability has stood in the way of companies donating fire equipment to volunteer, rural and other financially-strapped departments, putting our brave men and women at risk. This legislation seeks to remove this barrier and enable surplus, state of the art equipment to be donated to volunteer fire companies to benefit the thousands of volunteer firefighters nationwide and the communities they serve.”
Every year, quality fire equipment, including hoses, fire trucks, protective clothing and breathing apparatus, with an estimated worth in the millions of dollars, are destroyed or discarded instead of being donated to small fire departments in order to avoid civil liability lawsuits. The fear of litigation has forced heavy industry and wealthier fire departments to waste surplus equipment, which in many cases has years of use still left in it.
Many volunteer fire departments struggle financially to provide their members with the equipment they need to protect their communities. In fact, local taxpayers spend millions of dollars for operating expenses and for purchasing replacement equipment for their volunteer fire companies. By removing liability barriers that keep volunteer firefighters from receiving completely safe equipment, it would not only save taxpayers millions of dollars, it too would save perfectly good equipment.
H.R. 1088 is modeled after state law that has been passed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina and Texas. In fact, since this bill was signed into law in Texas in 1997, donations in excess of $13 million worth of equipment for volunteer fire departments has been distributed.
The legislation passed the House last year, but the Congress adjourned before the bill could move through the Senate.
