HARRISBURG – Three bills supporting PA’s emergency responders were approved by the PA Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee. House Bill 843 would establish a second urban search and rescue team in western Pennsylvania. Currently, there is a team – Task Force 1 -located in Philadelphia; however, western Pennsylvania has had several major incidents in recent years, where emergency response is needed in minutes, not hours. House Bill 1304 would update language in the 911 Law to keep up with changing technologies and increase penalties for misuse of the 911 system. House Bill 2407 would update the state Fire and EMS Grant Program by enabling companies to use grants for preventative health measures, mental health awareness, and treatment. The bill also gives firefighters the flexibility to test after each module rather than taking a cumulative test to receive their Firefighter I certification. It also increases the thresholds that fire and EMS companies can borrow from the low-interest Fire and EMS Loan Program. All three bills go to the full state Senate.
