i'm kevin o'connor. i'm especially pleased before this subcommittee because i am a constituent of member john sarbanes and after the november elections will be a proud constituent of the ranking member as firefighters take on . additional responsibilities and extended capabilities, so, too, must the fire administration evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century fire service. the days of firefighter primary function to put out fires is long gone. today's firefighters are well educated responders with broad responsibilities. most significantly your firefighters are always the first boots on the ground for any manmade or natural disaster. the prevalence of the fire based delivery systems requires the agency to integrate training and preparedness into its mags. although usfa is beginning to move in that direction, we want to ensure that ems be afforded its appropriate recognition and attention. while the fire administration continues to integrate into its programs, it must work the change the perception fo

more about his vision for the administration, particularly pleased to welcome my good friend, kevin o'connor, as well as our other witnesses. and i want to thank you for taking the time out of your schedules to be with us. the fired a manager was created in 1974 with the goal of reducing the number of fire-related deaths by half from a staggering 12,000 per year. through the good work of the fired a manager and our first respond beers, we met this goal in 1988. the number of fire-related deaths continues to decline, but unfortunately our country's fire-related death rate is still one of the highest in the industrialized world, and it's estimated that in 2009 fire cost the united states over $331 billion in economic and human losses. chairman quayle just spoke about the loss in his own state. the fired fired a manager contio play a central role in making our communities safer.

kevin o'connor, assistant to the general prison for the international association of firefighters. thank you again to the witnesses for being here today. as the witnesses should know, spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each. after all witnesses of spoken, members of the committee will have five minutes each to ask questions. i now recognize the first witness, the united states fire administrator, ernest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quayle to the crosby, ranking member edwards and members of the committee. my name is ernest mitchell, jr. of the emergency management agency and the united states fire administrator in charge of the united states fire administration at the department of homeland security. it is indeed an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire had fenestration. the fire administration is committed to providing national leadership to foster a solid foundation for the fire and emergency stakeholders and prevention preparedness and response, and my testimony today i will share an overview of the administration's core functions,

kevin o'connor. thank you again for to our witnesses for being here today. as our witness, no spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each. after witnesses have spoken. members will have five minutes to answer questions. i now recognize earnest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quyale, ranking members. it is indeed an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire administration. the fire administration is committed to providing national leadership to fostering a solid -- stakeholders in prevention, prepardness and response. in my testimony, i will share an overview of the core functions, major priorities, present activities and goals. despite making progress over time, have been higher than in most of the industrialized world. this has held true in both fire deaths and dollar loss rates. thousands of americans die each year and thousands more are injured. average annual fire losses greatly exceed those from floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. the fire administration provides fire safety and prevention programs to help decrease t

kevin o'connor, assistant to the general president for the international association of firefighters. thank you again for, to our witnesses for being here today. as our witnesses should know, spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each, after all witnesses have spoken, members of the committee lieutenawill h minutes each to ask questions. i now recognize chief ernest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quayle and distinguished members of the committee. i'm at the federal emergency management agency and the administrator in charge of the administration at the department of homeland security. it an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire administration. the fire administration is committed to providing national leadership, to foster a solid foundation for our fire and emergency services stakeholders, and prevention preparedness and response. in my testimony today i will share an overview of the fire administration's core functions major priorities and present activities and goals. despite making prol ovgress ove time, fire in the united states has been higher than

i'm kevin o'connor representing the national association of firefighters whose 300,000 members proudly serve communities in each of the nation's 435 congressional districts. i'm pleased to be before this subcommittee i'm currently a student of member john sarbanes after the november elections will be a new constituent of the ranking member. as firefighters have taken on additional capabilities to meet total response needs of our communities so too must the fire administration evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century fire service. the days of firefighters whose primary function was to simply put out fires. today's firefighters are highly educated and skilled all purpose emergency responders with broad responsibilities ranging from ems, hazmat and all hazards response. most significantly your firefighters are always the first boots on the ground for any manmade or natural disaster. the prevalence of fire based ems delivery system requires the agency to fully integrate ems training and preparedness into its mission. usfa is beginning to move in that direction, we want to make sure tha

kevin o'connor, assistant to the general president for the international association of fire tight -- firefighters. spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each. after all witnesses have spoken, members of the committee will have five minutes each to ask questions. i now recognize our first witness, the united states fired a morer, ernest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quayle, ranking member edwards and distinguished members of the committee. my name is ernest mitchell jr., i'm an assistant administrator at the federal emergency management agency and the united states fire, administrator in charge of the united states fire administration at the department of homeland security. it is, indeed, an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire administration. the fire administration is committed to providing national leadership to forcer a solid foundation for our stakeholders in prevention, preparedness and response. in my testimony today,ly share on overview of the administration's core functions, major priorities and present activities and goals. despite making pro

o'connor. ( groaning ) mr. casey, i'm going to administer the sacrament of the sick. rebecca. sandy. hi. kevind told me. how are you doing? terrible. i flew in this morning. this is my worst nightmare. how is he? he's barely hanging on. the doctors aren't hopeful. becky, i feel so sorry for you. how is he doing? rebecca: he keeps everything inside. i don't know... he seems so different. poor kid. sandy, you should see the apartment. it's a total mess. there's no food in the refrigerator, nothing. i guess he still needs someone to take care of him. i feel bad... i yelled at him this morning. it's o.k. you're upset, that's normal. i know, but i shouldn't have yelled at him. i mean, he doesn't... i bet you could use a cup of coffee. there's a cafeteria on the third floor. what do you say we go? yeah. it's so good to see you. i feel guilty for leaving dad alone. i don't know... the doctor said things don't look good. i asked for a second opinion. the other doctor said the same thing. i don't know if he's going to make it. rebecca... your dad's always been a fighter. he'll make it. one coffee. two