Fire Prevention: A Century of Lessons and the Work Ahead

by Dr. Lynn White

While fire prevention education became important after the 1911 Great Chicago Fire, it wasn’t until 1920 that the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation was issued in the U.S. by President Woodrow Wilson. Fire years later President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week on October 4–10, 1925, noting that in the previous year, some 15,000 people died from fire in the United States. Calling the loss “startling,” Coolidge’s proclamation stated: “This waste results from the conditions which justify a sense of shame and horror; for the greater part of it could and ought to be prevented… It is highly desirable that every effort be made to reform the conditions which have made possible so vast a destruction of the national wealth.”

Under the leadership of the International Fire Marshals Association (also called the IFMA under the National Fire Protection Association), for 101 years Fire Prevention Week has focused on a wide range of topics to help people understand what they can do to help prevent fires in their homes, workplaces, and communities. Unfortunately, we still have devastating wildland, warehouse, and other fires where people live and work. What have we not learned or practiced that could change these losses in the future?

Please share your thoughts and recommendations.  Here are a few of my thoughts.

I’m reminded of efforts NFHC founders Ron Coleman and David White made to try to get fire sprinkler systems installed in residential structures.  Their research showed how communities could benefit, but builders said it would raise cost but it usually cost less than floor coverings which buyers seldom questioned.  

I recognize that firefighters today respond to fewer fires per month in many communities than they have in the past.  That says we have made progress, and they will always be needed for the full scope of emergency services they provide today, so they will be available when a fire erupts.  If you do a Google search for current fires you learn fires haven’t stopped.  When I helped publish Industrial Fire World Magazine, our editor featured an Incident Log in each quarterly issue and we had to limit the list to the 200 fires with the most impact, or repetition of types of fires that screamed, “Is anyone paying attention?”

^{Make Fire Prevention Month a personal commitment to learn about fire causes and how they can be prevented. Look back at the fire reports in your community and have a discussion with your peers and neighbors to determine what can be done to make next year safer.  What has caused fires in the past where you live and work, and can that be changed by education, or does policy with penalties have to be put into place to motivate decision-makers and individuals to make needed changes?}

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