LANSING – State Rep. Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn) along with other state lawmakers and fire fighting professionals announced a bipartisan legislative package that would establish a new Bureau of Fire Services that would consolidate fire-fighting resources and promote more effective and efficient fire-fighting techniques within the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG).
"Our firefighters and fire chief in many cases put their lives on the line for our safety and well-being," said Polidori, a co-sponsor of the package and a fire chief for 22 years before retiring in 1996. "These bills will give them the proper tools they need to make their jobs easier and more efficient."
The 25-bill plan will, among other things, establish a Bureau of Fire Services headed by the State Fire Marshall. 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 will:
- Establish the Bureau of Fire Services within DLEG and transfer the duties of the State Fire Marshall 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.