HR4671-119

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Interior Secretary to develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program within six months. The program must assist next of kin of firefighters who suffer line-of-duty illness or are critically injured or killed, and next of kin of wildland fire support personnel critically injured or killed in the line of duty.

The program must address initial and later notifications, reimbursement of next-of-kin travel expenses to visit injured, ill, or killed personnel, qualifications and duties of casualty assistance officers, officer reassignment notices, centralized short-term and long-term case management, rapid access to expert case managers and counselors, and no-cost website or other benefit information for survivors and next of kin.

Who Benefits and How

Families and next of kin of federal wildland firefighters benefit from structured notifications, travel reimbursement, benefit information, and case-management support after death, critical injury, or line-of-duty illness. Federal wildland firefighters and wildland fire support personnel benefit because their families receive a formal assistance pathway. Casualty assistance officers and case managers benefit from defined qualifications, duties, supervision, accountability, and transfer rules. Survivor counselors benefit from a formal role in supporting families.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior Department wildland-fire program staff must design the program within six months and operate notification, reimbursement, case-management, website, and counseling systems. Casualty assistance officers must receive training, perform survivor support duties, and notify families when officers are reassigned. Case managers must provide short-term and long-term support to survivors. DOJ and Social Security Administration staff may need to coordinate benefit information where survivor benefits or death-related claims overlap with their programs. Federal appropriators must fund the program if implementation requires new resources.

Key Provisions

• Requires Interior to develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program within six months.
• Provides assistance to next of kin of killed, critically injured, or ill firefighters and wildland fire support personnel.
• Requires notification procedures for deaths, hospitalization, medical treatment, critical injury, and line-of-duty illness.
• Provides reimbursement of next-of-kin travel expenses for visits to affected personnel.
• Requires casualty assistance officer qualifications, training, duties, supervision, accountability, relief, and transfer procedures.
• Provides centralized case management, expert counselors, and no-cost benefit information.