00:00Thank you, Chairman Strong. I now recognize the gentleman from New York,
00:05Ranking Member Kennedy, for his five minutes of questioning.
00:09Thank you, Chairman. And again, thanks to each of you for your testimony.
00:13Also, Dr. Ledbetter, thank you for your 30 years of service in the United States Marine Corps.
00:19Extremely impressive.
00:23So I represent a congressional district, Buffalo-Niagara region in western New York,
00:28and we have our own fair share of extreme weather, and oftentimes it's extreme winter weather.
00:36We average over 90 inches of snowfall each winter.
00:41A few years back, Christmas weekend, over 48 hours,
00:47there was over 50 inches of snow that dropped, along with blinding wind and low-zero temperatures.
00:56It was a blizzard, Winter Storm Elliot, breaking record numbers,
01:01and 47 people perished in my community, just to give you an idea of the impact of this storm.
01:08I mentioned earlier in my opening remarks how the local law enforcement used drone technology
01:15to find an individual that had been lost in a wooded area using infrared technology.
01:23And of course, Chief Fetterman, you're speaking to the impact of drone technology during wildfires,
01:30all of these natural disasters that are occurring with more ferociousness and certainly more often.
01:40Chief Fetterman, can you describe the importance of testing and piloting drones in emergencies
01:49that are caused by these extreme weather events?
01:53Yes, sir. Ranking Member Kennedy, thank you for the question.
01:56So certainly, the last time you want to put a drone up is the first time.
02:00So what we want to ensure is that our personnel, when they're using drones for life safety,
02:06is to ensure they have plenty of opportunities to be prepared and they're well-trained,
02:12and so we can leverage the technology, example, IR technology, in a remote rescue environment safely,
02:20professionally, and most importantly, quickly.
02:23You know, time is life in our business, and so having that preparation in blue sky days is most important.
02:32That way, our folks are ready and prepared to go to work when the time is right.
02:37Thank you. Are there ways the federal government can help with these test cases?
02:42So certainly, as I stated, the support of grants that can assist with the testing process and the training process,
02:55for example, recently we used UASI grants for an incident management team training
03:01that revolved around drone swarms and aircraft and what would occur.
03:07So our personnel, and that was an operational area-wide, county-wide program, test, and training,
03:16is making us better prepared to respond.
03:19Thank you. And Chief Federman, can you speak to how the federal agencies support fire response?
03:29I'm personally extremely concerned about the impacts on local first responders that the cuts to FEMA and NOAA will have.
03:40Can you speak to the agency's support?
03:44Sure. So certainly, there are impacts to the fire service.
03:49Specifically under FEMA, U.S. Fire Administration is an essential element for fire service leadership
03:57and the American Fire Service.
04:00As I stated, the National Fire Academy is the backbone of our leadership.
04:05It's analogous to the Navy War College.
04:08It is important to our fire service leadership to be educated.
04:12Certainly, the grants, I think as we mentioned, the funding opportunities to leverage,
04:17to get those tools into the hands of the local first responders that are responding on federal responsibility area land.
04:24And lastly, our fire department and many fire departments and police departments across this nation
04:31participate in the National Urban Search and Rescue System.
04:34And that is a system that I personally deployed within a handful of states and supported local first responders.
04:42The National Urban Search and Rescue System and its 28 national task forces is a critical element of FEMA,
04:50and it responds on every national disaster.
04:54For example, every hurricane, mud and debris flow, flooding, the Surfside building collapse in Florida.
05:03Those are elements and areas that those task forces respond and support all of the local entities.
05:09And I can't say enough about how well and what a cost-effective resource those are,
05:15because those aren't federal responders all the time.
05:17Those are hosted by the home agency, so it's a great program.
05:20I have more questions, but I'm out of time. I yield back. Thank you.
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