Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; National Fire Department Registry

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

60-Day notice of revision and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment on a revision of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice seeks comments concerning the use of a form to collect data for the development and continuation of the National Fire Department Registry.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before June 28, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please use only one of the following means to submit comments at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA—FEMA-2021-0014.Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov,, and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy and Security Notice that is available via a link on the homepage.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gayle Kelch, Statistician, FEMA, United States Fire Administration, National Fire Data Center at (301) 447-1154 or email gayle.kelch@fema.dhs.gov. You may contact the Information Management Division for copies of the proposed collection of information at email address: FEMA-Information-Collections-Management@fema.dhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-498), as enacted in 15 U.S.C. Chap 49, provides for the gathering and analyzing of data as deemed useful and applicable for fire departments. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) receives many requests from fire service organizations and the general public for information related to fire departments, including total number of departments, number of stations per department, population protected, and number of firefighters. The USFA also has a need for this information to guide programmatic decisions and produce mailing lists for USFA publications. Recommendations for the creation of the fire department census database came out of a Blue Ribbon Panel's review of the USFA. The report included a review of the structure, mission, and funding of the USFA, future policies, programmatic needs, course development and delivery, and the role of the USFA to reflect changes in the fire service. As a result of those recommendations, the USFA is working to identify all fire departments in the United States to develop a database that will include information related to demographics, capabilities, and activities of fire departments Nationwide. In the fall of 2016, the USFA renamed the census to the National Fire Department Registry. In the fall of 2001, information was collected from 16,000 fire departments. Since the first year of the collection, an additional 11,225 departments have registered for a total of 27,225 fire departments. This leaves an estimated 2,775 departments still to respond. Additionally, about 5,445 current registered departments are contacted by USFA each year and are asked to provide updates to any previously submitted information.

Collection of Information

Title: National Fire Department Registry.

Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved information collection.

OMB Number: 1660-0070.

FEMA Forms: FEMA Form 070-0-0-1.

Abstract: This collection seeks to identify fire departments in the United States to compile a database related to their demographics, capabilities, and activities. The database is used to guide programmatic decisions and provide information to the public and the fire service.

Affected Public: State, local or tribal government.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,370.

Estimated Number of Responses: 6,370.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,293.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $9,840.

Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: $0.

Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: $0.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: $55,815.

Comments

Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.