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The bill directs existing Fire Prevention and Safety grants to address lithium‑ion battery thermal runaway—boosting firefighter safety and local resilience to battery fires—while potentially increasing federal costs, diverting limited prevention funds, and adding some administrative ambiguity about eligible devices.
Firefighters and EMS personnel can receive grant-funded equipment and training to fight lithium‑ion battery thermal runaway fires, improving responder safety and on-scene effectiveness.
Local and state governments can use Fire Prevention and Safety grants to fund programs addressing battery-related fires, reducing property loss, business disruptions, and community risk from a growing class of fires.
Clarifying definitions for 'lithium‑ion cell or battery' and 'thermal runaway' improves grant eligibility clarity and helps FEMA and applicants target programs more effectively.
Taxpayers and local governments may face higher federal grant spending or a need for additional appropriations to cover expanded eligible activities under the program.
Limited prevention-grant resources could be diverted toward thermal runaway response programs, reducing funding available for other community fire-prevention projects.
Narrow exclusions referenced in the battery definition could create uncertainty about which devices qualify, complicating grant administration for state and local governments and possibly frustrating firefighters seeking funding.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds definitions for lithium‑ion batteries and thermal runaway and allows firefighter grants to be used to suppress and prepare for thermal runaway fires.
Creates new definitions for "lithium‑ion cell or battery" and "thermal runaway" and explicitly allows existing firefighter assistance grant programs to fund suppression of thermal runaway fires, including those caused by lithium‑ion batteries. It also clarifies that certain batteries excluded by federal hazardous materials rules are not covered by the definition and adjusts the placement of other existing definitions in the statute. The change gives fire departments and related recipients clearer authority to use prevention and safety grant funds for training, equipment, and response programs aimed at controlling thermal runaway incidents involving lithium‑ion batteries.
Introduced March 12, 2026 by Alice Costandina Titus · Last progress March 12, 2026