---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 2576b"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "2576b"
heading: "Excess personal property: sale or donation to assist firefighting agencies"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/2576b"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part IV — Service, Supply, and Property"
  - "Chapter 153 — Exchange of Material and Disposal of Obsolete, Surplus, or Unclaimed Property"
---

# §2576b. Excess personal property: sale or donation to assist firefighting agencies

- (a) **Transfer Authorized.—** Subject to [subsection (b)](#b), the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense shall transfer to a firefighting [agency](/usc/10/3451.md?p=3) in a [State](/usc/10/4951.md?p=4) any personal property of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense that the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) determines is—
  - (1) excess to the needs of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense; and
  - (2) suitable for use in providing fire and emergency medical services, including personal protective equipment and equipment for communication and monitoring.
- (b) **Conditions for Transfer.—** The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense shall transfer personal property under this section only if—
  - (1) the property is drawn from existing stocks of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense;
  - (2) the recipient firefighting [agency](/usc/10/3451.md?p=3) accepts the property on an as-is, where-is basis;
  - (3) the transfer is made without the expenditure of any funds available to the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense for the [procurement](/usc/10/3011.md?p=1) of defense equipment; and
  - (4) all costs incurred subsequent to the transfer of the property are borne or reimbursed by the recipient.
- (c) **Consideration.—** Subject to [subsection (b)(4)](#b-4), the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) may transfer personal property under this section without charge to the recipient firefighting [agency](/usc/10/3451.md?p=3).
- (d) **Definitions.—** In this section:
  - (1) **State.—** The term “[State](/usc/10/4951.md?p=4)” [includes](/usc/10/101.md?p=g-4) the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1).
  - (2) **Firefighting agency.—** The term “firefighting [agency](/usc/10/3451.md?p=3)” means any volunteer, paid, or combined [departments](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) that provide fire and emergency medical services.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title XVII, § 1706(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–367; amended Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title III, § 354, Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1861.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2004—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 108–375 substituted “shall” for “may” in introductory provisions.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Identification of Defense Technologies Suitable for Use, or Conversion for Use, in Providing Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title XVII, § 1707], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–367, provided that: Appointment of Task Force; Purpose.—The Secretary of Defense shall appoint a task force consisting of representatives from the Department of Defense and each of the seven major fire organizations identified in subsection (b) to identify defense technologies and equipment that— can be readily put to civilian use by fire service and the emergency response agencies; and can be transferred to these agencies using the authority provided by section 2576b of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 1706 of this Act. Participating Major Fire Organizations.—Members of the task force shall be appointed from each of the following: The International Association of Fire Chiefs. The International Association of Fire Fighters. The National Volunteer Fire Council. The International Association of Arson Investigators. The International Society of Fire Service Instructors. The National Association of State Fire Marshals. The National Fire Protection Association. Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense for activities of the task force $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.”