---
kind: "section"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 2207"
title: "15"
title_heading: "Commerce and Trade"
number: "2207"
heading: "Fire technology"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/15/2207"
units:
  - "Chapter 49 — Fire Prevention and Control"
---

# §2207. Fire technology

- (a) **Development—** The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) shall conduct a continuing program of development, testing, and evaluation of equipment for use by the Nation’s fire, rescue, and civil defense services, with the aim of making available improved suppression, protective, auxiliary, and warning [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d) incorporating the latest technology. Attention shall be given to the standardization, compatibility, and interchangeability of such equipment. Such development, testing, and evaluation activities shall include, but need not be limited to—
  - (1) safer, less cumbersome articles of protective clothing, including helmets, boots, and coats;
  - (2) breathing apparatus with the necessary duration of service, reliability, low weight, and ease of operation for practical use;
  - (3) safe and reliable auxiliary equipment for use in [fire prevention](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5), detection, and control, such as fire location detectors, visual and audio communications equipment, and mobile equipment;
  - (4) special clothing and equipment needed for forest fires, brush fires, oil and gasoline fires, aircraft fires and crash rescue, fires occurring aboard waterborne vessels, and in other special [firefighting](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) situations;
  - (5) fire detectors and related equipment for residential use with high sensitivity and reliability, and which are sufficiently inexpensive to purchase, install, and maintain to insure wide acceptance and use;
  - (6) in-place [fire prevention](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) systems of low cost and of increased reliability and effectiveness;
  - (7) methods of testing fire alarms and fire protection [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d) and systems on a non-interference basis;
  - (8) the development of purchase specifications, standards, and acceptance and validation test procedures for all such equipment and [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d); and
  - (9) operation tests, demonstration projects, and fire investigations in support of the activities set forth in this section.
- (b) **Limitation on manufacture and sale of equipment—** The [Administration](/usc/15/2203.md?p=2) shall not engage in the manufacture or sale of any equipment or [device](/usc/15/55.md?p=d) developed pursuant to this section, except to the extent that it deems it necessary to adequately develop, test, or evaluate such equipment or [device](/usc/15/55.md?p=d).
- (c) **Management studies—**
  - (1) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) is authorized to conduct, directly or through contracts or grants, studies of the operations and management aspects of fire services, utilizing quantitative techniques, such as operations research, management economics, cost effectiveness studies, and such other techniques and methods as may be applicable and useful. Such studies shall include, but need not be limited to, the allocation of resources, the optimum location of fire stations, the optimum geographical area for an integrated fire service, the manner of responding to alarms, the operation of citywide and regional fire dispatch centers, [firefighting](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) under conditions of civil disturbance, and the effectiveness, frequency, and methods of building inspections.
  - (2) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) is authorized to conduct, directly or through contracts or grants, studies of the operations and management aspects of fire service-based emergency medical services and coordination between emergency medical services and fire services. Such studies may include the optimum protocols for on-scene care, the allocation of resources, and the training requirements for fire service-based emergency medical services.
  - (3) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) is authorized to conduct, directly or through contracts or grants, research concerning the productivity and efficiency of fire service personnel, the job categories and skills required by fire services under varying conditions, the reduction of injuries to fire service personnel, the most effective [fire prevention](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) programs and activities, and techniques for accurately measuring and analyzing the foregoing.
  - (4) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) is authorized to conduct, directly or through contracts, grants, or other forms of assistance, development, testing and demonstration projects to the extent deemed necessary to introduce and to encourage the acceptance of new technology, standards, operating methods, command techniques, and management systems for utilization by the fire services.
  - (5) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) is authorized to assist the Nation’s fire services, directly or through contracts, grants, or other forms of assistance, to measure and evaluate, on a cost-benefit basis, the effectiveness of the programs and activities of each fire service and the predictable consequences on the applicable [local](/usc/15/2203.md?p=7) fire services of coordination or combination, in whole or in part, in a regional, metropolitan, or statewide fire service.
- (d) **Rural and wildland-urban interface assistance—** The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) may, in coordination with the [Secretary](/usc/15/2203.md?p=9) of Agriculture, the [Secretary](/usc/15/2203.md?p=9) of the Interior, and the Wildland Fire Leadership Council, assist the fire services of the United States, directly or through contracts, grants, or other forms of assistance, in sponsoring and encouraging research into approaches, techniques, systems, equipment, and land-use policies to improve [fire prevention](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) and control in—
  - (1) the rural and remote areas of the United States; and
  - (2) the [wildland-urban interface](/usc/15/2203.md?p=11).
- (e) **Assistance to other Federal agencies—** At the request of other Federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) may provide assistance in [fire prevention](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) and control technologies, including methods of containing insect-infested forest fires and limiting dispersal of resultant fire particle smoke, and methods of measuring and tracking the dispersal of fine particle smoke resulting from fires of insect-infested fuel.
- (f) **Technology evaluation and standards development—**
  - (1) **In general—** In addition to, or as part of, the program conducted under [subsection (a)](#a), the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3), in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Inter-Agency Board for Equipment Standardization and Inter-Operability, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Directorate of Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, national voluntary consensus standards development organizations, interested Federal, [State](/usc/15/2203.md?p=10), and [local](/usc/15/2203.md?p=7) agencies, and other interested parties, shall—
    - (A) develop new, and utilize existing, measurement techniques and testing methodologies for evaluating new [firefighting](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) technologies, including—
      - (i) personal protection equipment;
      - (ii) [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d) for advance warning of extreme hazard;
      - (iii) equipment for enhanced vision;
      - (iv) [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d) to locate victims, firefighters, and other rescue personnel in above-ground and below-ground structures;
      - (v) equipment and methods to provide information for incident command, including the monitoring and reporting of individual personnel welfare;
      - (vi) equipment and methods for training, especially for virtual reality training; and
      - (vii) robotics and other remote-controlled [devices](/usc/15/55.md?p=d);
    - (B) evaluate the compatibility of new equipment and technology with existing [firefighting](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) technology; and
    - (C) support the development of new voluntary consensus standards through national voluntary consensus standards organizations for new [firefighting](/usc/15/2203.md?p=5) technologies based on techniques and methodologies described in [subparagraph (A)](#f-1-A).
  - (2) **Standards for new equipment—**
    - (A) The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) shall, by regulation, require that new equipment or systems purchased through the assistance program established by [section 2229 of this title](/usc/15/2229.md) meet or exceed applicable voluntary consensus standards for such equipment or systems for which applicable voluntary consensus standards have been established. The [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) may waive the requirement under this subparagraph with respect to specific standards.
    - (B) If an [applicant](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) for a grant under [section 2229 of this title](/usc/15/2229.md) proposes to purchase, with assistance provided under the grant, new equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed applicable voluntary consensus standards, the [applicant](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) shall include in the application an explanation of why such equipment or systems will serve the needs of the [applicant](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) better than equipment or systems that do meet or exceed such standards.
    - (C) In making a determination whether or not to waive the requirement under [subparagraph (A)](#f-2-A) with respect to a specific standard, the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) shall, to the greatest extent practicable—
      - (i) consult with grant [applicants](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) and other members of the fire services regarding the impact on fire departments of the requirement to meet or exceed the specific standard;
      - (ii) take into consideration the explanation provided by the [applicant](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) under [subparagraph (B)](#f-2-B); and
      - (iii) seek to minimize the impact of the requirement to meet or exceed the specific standard on the [applicant](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3), particularly if meeting the standard would impose additional costs.
    - (D) [Applicants](/usc/15/7a.md?p=3) that apply for a grant under the terms of [subparagraph (B)](#f-2-B) may include a second grant request in the application to be considered by the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) in the event that the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) does not approve the primary grant request on the grounds of the equipment not meeting applicable voluntary consensus standards.
- (g) **Coordination—** In establishing and conducting programs under this section, the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) shall take full advantage of applicable technological developments made by other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, by [State](/usc/15/2203.md?p=10) and [local governments](/usc/15/34.md?p=1), and by business, industry, and nonprofit associations.
- (h) **Publication of research results—**
  - (1) **In general—** For each fire-related research program funded by the [Administration](/usc/15/2203.md?p=2), the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) shall make available to the public on the Internet website of the [Administration](/usc/15/2203.md?p=2) the following:
    - (A) A description of such research program, including the scope, methodology, and goals thereof.
    - (B) Information that identifies the individuals or institutions conducting the research program.
    - (C) The amount of funding provided by the [Administration](/usc/15/2203.md?p=2) for such program.
    - (D) The results or findings of the research program.
  - (2) **Deadlines—**
    - (A) **In general—** Except as provided in [subparagraph (B)](#h-2-B), the information required by [paragraph (1)](#h-1) shall be published with respect to a research program as follows:
      - (i) The information described in subparagraphs [(A)](#h-1-A), [(B)](#h-1-B), and [(C)](#h-1-C) of paragraph (1) with respect to such research program shall be made available under [paragraph (1)](#h-1) not later than 30 days after the [Administrator](/usc/15/2203.md?p=3) has awarded the funding for such research program.
      - (ii) The information described in [subparagraph (D)](#h-1-D) of paragraph (1) with respect to a research program shall be made available under [paragraph (1)](#h-1) not later than 60 days after the date such research program has been completed.
    - (B) **Exception—** No information shall be required to be published under this subsection before the date that is 1 year after October 8, 2008.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 93–498, § 8, Oct. 29, 1974, 88 Stat. 1540; Pub. L. 108–169, title II, § 202, Dec. 6, 2003, 117 Stat. 2037; Pub. L. 110–376, §§ 6, 9(b), Oct. 8, 2008, 122 Stat. 4059, 4061.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2008—Subsec. (c)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 110–376, § 9(b), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (4) as (3) to (5), respectively.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–376, § 6(a), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Administrator is authorized to assist the Nation’s fire services, directly or through contracts, grants, or other forms of assistance, to sponsor and encourage research into approaches, techniques, systems, and equipment to improve fire prevention and control in the rural and remote areas of the Nation.”

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–376, § 6(b), added subsec. (h).

2003—Subsecs. (e) to (g). Pub. L. 108–169 added subsecs. (e) and (f) and redesignated former subsec. (e) as (g).

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Transfer of Functions

For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1) of Title 6, Domestic Security.

For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

### Executive Documents

### Transfer of Functions

Functions of National Fire Prevention and Control Administration [now United States Fire Administration] and National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control generally transferred to Federal Emergency Management Agency. For further details see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 2202 of this title.