Firefighting Research and Coordination Act

Firefighting Research and Coordination Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to direct the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration (Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)) to: (1) develop new, and utilize existing, measurement techniques and testing methodologies for evaluating new firefighting technologies; (2) evaluate the compatibility of new equipment and technology with existing technology; and (3) support the development of new standards through national voluntary consensus standards organizations for new firefighting technologies based on specified techniques and methodologies.

Includes among the technologies to be evaluated: (1) personal protection equipment; (2) devices for advance warning of extreme hazard; (3) equipment for enhanced vision; (4) devices to locate victims, firefighters, and other rescue personnel in above-ground and below-ground structures; (5) equipment and methods to provide information for incident command, including monitoring and reporting of individual personnel welfare; (6) equipment and methods for training, especially virtual reality training; and (7) robotics and other remote-controlled devices.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003.

(Sec. 3) Directs the Administrator to provide technical assistance and training to State and local fire service officials to establish nationwide and State mutual aid systems for dealing with national emergencies that: (1) include threat assessment and equipment deployment strategies; (2) include means of collecting asset and resource information to provide accurate and timely data for regional deployment; and (3) are consistent with FEMA's Federal Response Plan.

Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and make model mutual aid plans for both intrastate and interstate assistance available to State and local fire service officials; and (2) report to specified congressional committees on the need for a strategy concerning deployment of volunteers and emergency response personnel, including a national credentialing system, in the event of a national emergency.

Requires the Director of FEMA to: (1) revise FEMA's Federal Response Plan to incorporate plans for responding to terrorist attacks, particularly in urban areas, including fire detection and suppression and related emergency services; and (2) report on such revision to specified congressional committees.

(Sec. 4) Authorizes the Superintendent of the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control to train fire service personnel in: (1) strategies for building collapse rescue; (2) the use of technology in response to fires; (3) response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with terrorist-caused national catastrophes; (4) use of and familiarity with the national plan; (5) leadership and strategic skills, including integrated management systems operations and integrated response; (6) strategies and tactics for fighting forest fires; (7) integration of terrorism response agencies into the national terrorism incident response system; and (8) response tactics and strategies for fighting fires at U.S. ports, including fires on the water and aboard vessels.

Authorizes the Superintendent to consult with other Federal, State, and local agency officials in developing curricula for classes at the Academy.

Directs the Administrator to coordinate fire service personnel training with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and other Federal agency heads to: (1) ensure that it does not duplicate existing courses available to fire service personnel; and (2) establish a mechanism for eliminating duplicative training programs.