By MELISSA B. ROBINSON
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Senators are looking for billions of dollars to help the nation's fire companies hire recruits, add equipment and improve training.

Meanwhile, fire chiefs came to Capitol Hill on Thursday to commemorate 343 colleagues who died at the World Trade Center last month and to request money from Congress for a variety of needs.

"America's fire and emergency service must reassess how we prepare, how we train, how we are equipped, how we respond, what strategies we implement and what tactics we use," John Buckman III, chief of a volunteer fire company in Evansville, Ind., and president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, said at a hearing of the Senate Commerce subcommittee on science, technology and space.

More than 31,000 fire departments operate nationwide with about 1.1 million firefighters and emergency medical personnel. About 800,000 of the personnel are volunteers.

About two-thirds of the departments, large and small, run with inadequate staffing, which the International Association of Fire Fighters said has contributed to firefighter deaths in 10 cities.

"Our ranks are thin, and reinforcements are needed quickly," said Harold Schaitberger, the association's general president.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., proposed spending $7 billion over 7 years for fire companies to hire 75,000 new personnel. A source of the money has not been found, but it's possible that some of it could come from emergency relief allocated for recovery from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Dodd, speaking at a news conference against a backdrop listing the names of the fallen firefighters, said, "Those of us standing here can think of no better way to honor them than to see (that current firefighters) have the tools and training to do the job."

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the subcommittee chairman, asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to use $600 million of the $40 billion in emergency money already approved by Congress for fire equipment and training grants.

Congress passed a law last year to create a $100 million fire grant program. Dodd, who authored the law, is seeking another $150 million this year, and the Senate has proposed extending the law through 2004.

Wherever the money comes from, fire chiefs say they need it.

In addition to a shortage of personnel, the firefighters association can't keep pace with fire companies' demand for its free-of-charge programs to train colleagues in terrorism and hazardous materials, Schaitberger said.

In New York, a critical need has arisen for training because many experienced personnel, including 14 of 19 instructors and 150 truck drivers, died on Sept. 11, officials said.

The city's fire department wants to buy simulators to train personnel quickly in driving and hazardous materials handling, said battalion chief Robert Ingram.

___

On the Net: Senate Commerce Committee: http://commerce.senate.gov

Fire Department of New York: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/fdny/home.html