November 18, 2025
Mrs. Kim (for herself and Mr. Crow) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To direct the establishment of a public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration partnership, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Fire Innovation Unit Act
.
Sec. 2. Public-private wildfire technology deployment and demonstration partnership
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Covered agency
The term covered agency means—
(A)
each Federal land management agency (as defined in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801));
(B)
the Department of Defense;
(C)
the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
(D)
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(E)
the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(F)
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(G)
the United States Fire Administration;
(H)
the General Services Administration;
(I)
a State, Tribal, county, or municipal fire department, fire district, land management agency, natural resources agency, or equivalent agency operating through the United States Fire Administration or pursuant to an agreement with a Federal agency; and
(J)
any other Federal agency involved in wildfire response.
(2) Covered entity
The term covered entity means—
(A)
a private entity;
(B)
a nonprofit organization; and
(C)
an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)).
(3) Pilot Program
The term Pilot Program
means the deployment and demonstration pilot program established under subsection (b).
(4) Relevant committees of Congress
The term relevant committees of Congress means—
(A)
in the Senate—
(i)
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry;
(ii)
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources;
(iii)
the Committee on Indian Affairs;
(iv)
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and
(v)
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and
(B)
in the House of Representatives—
(i)
the Committee on Agriculture;
(ii)
the Committee on Natural Resources; and
(iii)
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
(5) Secretaries
The term Secretaries means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, acting jointly.
(b) Establishment
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall establish a deployment and demonstration pilot program for new and innovative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, response, and mitigation technologies.
(c) Functions
In carrying out the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall—
(1)
consult with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group;
(2)
in consultation with the heads of the covered agencies, identify and advance the demonstration and deployment of key technology priority areas, including for mature and commercially available technologies, with respect to the deployment of wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation technologies, including—
(A)
innovations in hazardous fuels reduction activities or treatments, including the use of prescribed or cultural fire;
(B)
spatial planning for unplanned human-caused ignitions;
(C)
wildfire modeling and effectiveness algorithms;
(D)
dispatch communications;
(E)
remote sensing, detection, and tracking;
(F)
safety equipment;
(G)
common operating pictures or operational dashboards;
(H)
interoperable commercial data;
(I)
autonomous suppression systems;
(J)
grid resilience;
(K)
community resilience and home hardening; and
(L)
prioritization and decision support tools;
(3)
connect each covered entity selected to participate in the Pilot Program with the appropriate covered agency to coordinate real-time and on-the-ground testing of technology during wildfire mitigation activities and training;
(4)
define clear criteria for evaluating the success of technologies (including mature and commercially available technologies) demonstrated under the Pilot Program, focusing on effectiveness, scalability, and cost-efficiency; and
(5)
coordinate with covered agencies to ensure the efficient deployment of scaled technologies, including through expanded public-private partnerships, multiagency contracting for procurement, and authorization of covered agency staff with technological procurement expertise to assist other covered agencies in need of that expertise.
(d) Applications
To be eligible to participate in the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall submit to the Secretaries an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretaries may require, including a proposal to demonstrate technologies specific to key technology priority areas identified under subsection (c)(2).
(e) Existing partnerships
(1) In general
A covered agency may submit a statement to the Secretaries describing the effectiveness, scalability, and cost-efficiency of an existing partnership, pilot project, or contract a covered entity providing a technology described in subsection (c)(2).
(2) Successfulness
The Secretaries may deem a technology described in a statement submitted under paragraph (1) to be a successful technology for purposes of this section.
(f) Outreach
The Secretaries, in coordination with the heads of the covered agencies, shall make publicly available the key technology priority areas identified under subsection (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply under subsection (d) to deploy and demonstrate technologies to address those priority areas.
(g) Reports and recommendations
Not later than 180 days after the date of establishment of the Pilot Program, and annually thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report that includes the following with respect to the Pilot Program:
(1)
A brief description of potential technologies deployed and demonstrated.
(2)
An estimate of the cost of acquiring each such technology and applying the technology at scale.
(3)
Outreach efforts by covered agencies to covered entities developing wildfire technologies.
(4)
Assessments of, and recommendations relating to, new technologies with potential adoption and application at-scale in the wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation efforts of Federal land management agencies (as defined in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)).
(5)
A description of the relationship and coordination between the Pilot Program and the activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the Fire Weather Testbed.
(6)
Barriers and solutions for procurement of technologies by covered agencies.
(h) Sunset
The Pilot Program terminates on the date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act.