In 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) revised the military building code (United Facilities Criteria) to allow for the removal of fire extinguishers from all DoD buildings that have sprinklers and a fire alarm system. The result is that members of the military and civilians working at military facilities will have a lower level of fire protection than the general public.

Brooks, as a member of FEMA, has lobbied Congress since 2016 to have this tradeoff removed. We are very close to getting the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) to include wording in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that will require fire extinguishers in all DoD facilities in keeping with all other national codes (IFC, IBC, NFPA 1, and NFPA 101).

The House Armed Services Committee is meeting THIS WEEK to debate the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, and we need you to call your Representative's office. Here are the talking points that we recommend:

• I understand the House Armed Services Committee will be considering language in the NDAA that would require fire extinguishers in all military bases - as they were until 2016. This change would bring bases in line with national model codes which are used in almost every state in the country..
• We feel that it is vitally important that we assure members of the military and civilians working for the military that they are afforded the same level of fire safety as you and I and every other civilian in the country.
• This is very important for YOUR STATE HERE - We (fill in FED) employs more than XXX people here in XXX. We do x, y, and z.
• Any assistance Representative XX can provide on this critically important issue would be greatly appreciated.

These messages will be powerful and likely influence the House Representative's decisions when they come from people in their state. Here's the wording we are requesting and below is the list of members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that you should contact within your respective state.

"portable fire extinguishers shall be installed and maintained in all Department of Defense facilities per requirements from national model fire codes developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Code Council and which require redundancy and extinguishers throughout occupancies regardless of the presence of other suppression systems or alarm systems." 

House Armed Services Committee Member's District Zip Codes and Related Maps

For your convenience below is a list of the Committee members.