[Federal Register: March 4, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 41)]
[Notices]               
[Page 9387]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04mr09-25]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

 
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Allocation of 
Resources for Fire Service and Emergency Medical Service

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before May 4, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at dHynek@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Jason D. Averill, Fire Protection Engineer, 100 Bureau 
Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8664, (301) 975-2585; or 
jason.averill@nist.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This information collection will be conducted by the Building and 
Fire Research Laboratory, a part of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, to establish a technical basis for optimal allocation 
of fire service and emergency medical service (EMS) resources. 
Presently, no scientifically-based method exists with which a fire 
chief or local administrator may evaluate the capacity of the fire and 
emergency medical services to respond to risks which are or may be 
present within the community served. Additionally, there is no 
validated capability to quantitatively evaluate alternative levels of 
hazard mitigation or services. This project will provide the technical 
foundation to model the existing community hazards and response 
capacity, as well as explore the impact of changes to the service 
capacity.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents from fire and emergency service districts throughout 
the U.S. will record event-specific fire and emergency medical response 
data through a secure, web-based database program. Respondents are 
authorized representatives of a fire or EMS district trained in the 
data entry format required in this data collection. The data will be 
collected in a statistically representative manner in order to support 
generalization of the findings to a wide array of communities in the 
U.S.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0693-0047.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 400.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,267.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: February 27, 2009.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E9-4554 Filed 3-3-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-13-P