PROTECT Firefighters Act

This bill tells the U.S. Fire Administrator to create a national plan within one year to improve the gear, training, and staffing of firefighter Rapid Intervention Teams—stand‑by crews that rescue firefighters who are missing, trapped, or hurt at a fire or other emergency . The plan must review what standards exist now, how to get modern equipment and safety gear to these teams, and how to make their training and equipment more consistent and compatible across departments.

The plan must also take a close look at teams that may respond to fires at ports and on ships. It has to decide if their training, equipment, and staffing are enough for different types of ships—including foreign‑flagged vessels—and list any money or logistics problems that stand in the way. The Administrator must review five years of firefighter line‑of‑duty death reports to spot trends and explain how lack of gear, training, staffing, or standardization played a role, then offer Congress recommendations to fix these problems. A public briefing on the plan is due within 18 months.

• Who is affected: Firefighter Rapid Intervention Teams and the departments that use them, especially those that may respond to port and ship fires.
• What changes: A national strategy to improve access to modern equipment and safety gear, raise training and staffing standards, and make equipment and training work the same across departments; recommendations to overcome funding and logistical barriers .
• When: Strategy due within one year of enactment; briefing due within 18 months .