LANSING – The House Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a legislative package that establishes a new Bureau of Fire Services, which would consolidate fire-fighting resources and promote more effective and efficient fire-fighting techniques within the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG). The plan now goes to the entire House next.
"For these bills to pass out of the House Appropriations Committee unanimously shows that we have strong support," said State Rep. Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn), a co-sponsor of the package and a fire chief for 22 years before retiring in 1996. "I think it's important to give our firefighters the resources needed to make their jobs more efficient. Our firefighters put their lives on the line everyday. This vote is a major first step and our firefighters deserve it."
The legislative plan would, among other things, establish a Bureau of Fire Services headed by the State Fire Marshal. The plan follows an executive directive that Governor Jennifer M. Granholm issued in November ordering that planning begin immediately on a new agency that would be responsible for the fire-service related aspects of the state's homeland security and emergency response.
The legislative plan would:
- Establish the Bureau of Fire Services within DLEG and transfer the duties of the State Fire Marshal to the newly created office;
- Recognize the act creating the Arson Strike Force Unit;
- Transfer the Fire Fighting Training Council to the Bureau of Fire Services;
- Require that local units of government apply to the Bureau of Fire Services for permits to process fireworks; and
Provide tort damage immunity to fire-fighting instructors.