A Timeline of Fire and Life Safety Education and of Community Risk Reduction
About this Timeline
A Timeline of Events in Fire and Life Safety Education and Community Risk Reduction is not the first attempt to chronicle the evolution of our professions, nor will it be the last. In fact, additions to the timeline -- particularly of contemporary events – are welcome evidence of the continued growth of our shared professions.
Previous efforts included:• A history of what was then called public fire education (prepared by Pam Powell and published in the NFPA Fire Journal in 1986); • A history of “fire prevention” prepared by Nancy Trench and presented at a fire education conference in Maine in 2007; • Gerry Bassett and Mary Marchone expanded upon Trench’s work in July 2018 and October 2022; • Input from participants at the “Friends in Prevention” gathering held at the Airlie House in Airlie, VA, in October 2022. • Subsequent input by an informal group consisting of Peg Carson, Jim Crawford, Pam Powell, and Nancy Trench.
This timeline is an attempt to document the events that shaped our professions. While many of the events are directly and obviously related to fire and life safety education (FLSE) or Community Risk Reduction (CRR), other events are not. For example, technological change in the area of smoke alarms led to legislative changes, which led to education programs, eventually resulting in documented life saves.
The timeline is informal, rather than scholarly. It is based on recollections of a small group of retired and active practitioners. The timeline is not definitive, but a collection of snapshots. Its value lies, perhaps, as a model for achieving useful change and meaningful progress over time and with contributions from diverse fields.
It is anticipated that having this history will be interesting, useful and maybe surprising to professionals currently practicing fire and life safety education, or other related fields of endeavor and to new folks who find their way into the field.
If you have events for possible inclusion in future editions of this timeline, please send them to us.
We welcome your thoughts.
Peg Carson Jim Crawford Pam Powell Nancy Trench A Timeline of Fire and Life Safety Education and Community Risk Reduction 1608 First recorded fire in what was to become the U.S. – in the Jamestown colony.
1631 Earliest known fire prevention legislation – which banned thatched roofs and wooden chimneys -- passed in Cambridge, MA.
1803 First federal disaster assistance after a fire that devastated a New Hampshire town.
1850 Formation of Boston Manufacturer’s Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the predecessor to Factory Mutual and FM Global, which based insurance on fire safety research and prevention efforts.
1866 Formation of National Board of Fire Underwriters, with an aim of fire loss prevention and protection of lives from fire-related harm.
1871 Peshtigo, WI, forest fire (1,152 fatalities) and the Great Chicago Fire (250 fatalities).
1874 First automatic fire sprinkler head patented by H. S. Parmelee, the owner of a railroad and a piano factory.
1894 Founding of Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
1896 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) organized and the first edition of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Fire Sprinkler Systems. 1901 Fire prevention bulletins sent by Franklin Wentworth (NFPA) to correspondents in 70 cities with the hope that local newspapers will publish the bulletins as news articles.
1903 Armour Institute of Technology formed, later becoming the Illinois Institute of Technology, the first known fire protection engineering program in the U.S.
1906 Fire Marshals Association of North America organized.
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, NY City (146 fatalities), a stimulus for codes and standards in the workplace; included fire doors to be open and unlocked, fire escapes firmly attached, and sprinkler systems.
1911 October 9, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, proposed by Fire Marshals of North America as a day to observe fire prevention.
1911 Exit Drills in Factories, Schools, Department Stores and Theaters published by NFPA, precursor to the Safety to Life Committee and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®.
1912 Syllabus for Public Instruction in Fire Prevention -- fire safety topics for teachers to use in the classroom – published by NFPA.
1912 National Bureau of Fire Underwriters invited to Congress, along with the National Fire Protection Association, to provide input toward improvements in fire safety in the U.S.
1913 First National Fire Prevention Convention conducted in Philadelphia, hosted in part by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
1914 First known home fire safety inspection program begins in Portland, OR; later leads to nationwide initiative promoted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
1917 National Board of Fire Underwriters report outlining requirementsfor the national defense related to fire safety. The report produced just before World War I.
1920 First Fire Prevention Day Proclamation signed by President Woodrow Wilson.
1922 First Fire Prevention Week Proclamation signed by President Warren G. Harding.
1923 Fire safety education in schools required by legislation in 23 states.
1929 Use of fireworks first banned by a state (Michigan) banned
1929 First call for the National Bureau of Standards to develop technology for "self-snubbing" cigarettes, advocated by U.S. Representative Edith Nourse Rogers (D-MA) after a cigarette-ignited fire in Lowell, MA.
1935 Oklahoma State University (Oklahoma A & M) begins School of Fire Protection.
1937 International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) began meeting to publish fire service training materials.
1937 Hindenburg Zeppelin fire, NJ (36 fatalities).
1940 Rhythm Club fire in Natchez, MS (209 fatalities)
1940 First known appearance of child firesetting and juvenile arson in mental health and law enforcement/criminal justice literature.
1942 Cocoanut Grove Night Club in Boston, MA fire (492 fatalities), calling attention to fire safety in public places and subsequent changes to fire and building codes.
1944 Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus Tent Fire in Hartford, CT (168 fatalities).
1944 Creation of Smokey Bear authorized in August by the U.S. Forest Service, leading to the delivery of the first poster(depicting a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire) in October by artist Albert Staehle.
1946 La Salle Hotel fire, in Chicago, IL (61 fatalities).
1946 Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta, GA (119 fatalities).
1946 U.S. Department of Education publication of Curriculum Guide for Fire Safety.
1947 Beginning of the Hartford Insurance Group’s Junior Fire Marshal Program, perhaps the first nationally distributed firesafety program for children; designed for 5th graders (ten-year-old children). 1947 President's Fire Prevention Conference of 1947. President Harry Truman invited 2,000 leaders in business, industry, government, military, higher education, and the fire service to gather, at the federal government's expense, in Washington, DC in May. A follow up meeting on wildland fires was conducted in 1948 in Washington, DC.
1947 Patent issued for ionization smoke detector in Berne, Switzerland.
1950 Distribution in October to 7,000 newspapers of ad “Don’t Gamble with Fire – The Odds are Against You,” developed by the Advertising Council and NFPA.
1952 Governor’s Fire Prevention Conference – named after Governor J. Millard Tawes – instituted in Maryland.
1953 Patent issued to industrial engineering technician John Hetrick from Pennsylvania for design for a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles, ” precursor to automobile air bags that was inspired by the inflatable protective covers on Navy torpedoes.
1956 Fire protection engineering degree program established by the University of Maryland.
1958 Our Lady of the Angels school fire in Chicago, IL (95 fatalities).
1951 Sparky the Fire Dog created by Ted Royal of the Advertising Council as NFPA’s firesafety mascot.
1959 Publication of Operation School Burning, a report of full-scale fire tests in a local school conducted by the Los Angeles Fire Department, focusing on the effect of smoke on the survivability and notable as one of the first studies to show the benefits of installing smoke and heat detectors.
1965 NFPA Fire Journal begins a regular column on “Reaching the Public.”
1961 Hartford (CT) Hospital Fire (16 fatalities), resulting in stricter requirements in NFPA 101, with enforcement later required for accreditation for Medicare reimbursement.
1964 First compendium of important and illustrative examples of accident research published by William Haddon, Jr., a physician and editor of Accident Research; a mainstay of the views of Haddon and his colleagues was that highway safety countermeasures should be subject to scientific scrutiny.
1964 Annual fire deaths estimated at 12,000 (including 400 firefighters, a figure later to be found in error by the National Fire Protection Association.
1965 Unsafe at Any Speed published by Ralph Nader and speculates that seat belts and air bags together could prevent thousands of deaths in car accidents.
1966 Wingspread Conference on Fire Service Administration, Education, and Research conducted by ten fire service leaders in Racine, WI; subsequent report included 12 “statements of national significance to the fire problem in the United States” such as:• Behavior patterns of the public have a direct influence on the fire problem.• The public is complacent toward the rising trend of fire loss.
1966 Riots in Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI (43 fatalities), and 18 other cities, illustrating the fire problem when people saw fire on TV in their homes.
1966 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established by William Haddon after his appointment by President Lyndon B. Johnson; development of first federal safety standards for motor vehicles and laws on drunk driving.
1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire January 27, 1967. Three astronauts, Grissom, White, and Chaffee died. Once again, the high cost of fire was seen by people in their homes on TV.
1968 Fire Research and Safety Act (P.L. 90-259) signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, creating the:• Center for Fire Research at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS)• National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1969 Design of the first battery-operated smoke alarm to receive a UL listing; designed by BRK Electronics (which would later launch the First Alert® brand ).
1970 Establishment of the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations in Williamsburg, VA; which lobbied President Richard M. Nixon to appoint members of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1970 Invention of the first single-station battery-powered home smoke alarm, which used 9-volt batteries and the ionization detection principle (outcome of NASA research).
1970 Haddon Matrix -- an injury prevention tool that examines different factors contributing to injuries -- developed by William Haddon.
1971 Beginning of work by the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1971 Federal flammability standard for children’s sleepwear developed.
1971 Formation of Insurance Services Office (ISO), an advisory organization for property casualty insurance industry to provide statistical and actuarial services which evolved from the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU).
1972 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) established by US Congress under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
1972 System of Fire Service Professional Qualifications (“Pro Qual”) established by the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations.
1972 Reduced cost of battery-operated ionization smoke detectors to just over $100 per unit, resulting in sales of approximately 200,000 units per year (Lyman Blackwell and Duane Pearsall).
1973 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) first presentation on fire and life safety education, delivered by Catherine B. Lohr of North Carolina.
1973 Publication of the Report of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, American Burning; included 90 recommendations to reduce death and injuries and property losses by fire by 50% in the next generation; included minority report by Dr. Anne W. Phillips emphasizing the need for fire prevention.
1973 First known fire prevention collaboration of medical burn community and fire department (Patricia Mieszala, RN (Cook County Hospital) and Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Thomas O’Connell).
1974 Publication of Fire Detection: The State-of-the-Art, Richard L. P. Custer and Richard G. Bright, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards.
1974 A Study of the Motivational Psychology Related to Fire Preventive Behavior in Children and Adults by Strother and Associates is conducted for NFPA. The findings of the report led to development of the phrase “Learn Not to Burn” by Mike Lubow.
1974 U.S. Senate approved a bill, introduced by Senator Phil Hart (D-Michigan), to require “self-extinguishing” cigarettes, but Hart’s bill was defeated by the tobacco lobby in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1974 First television “Learn Not to Burn” public service announcements starring actor Dick Van Dyke released by NFPA and the Public Service Council.
1974 Enactment of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act, PL 93-498, which created the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA).
1974 First Sears, Roebuck and Company sales of BRK battery-operated smoke alarms, happening when major technology advances were made.
1975 1st reported LNTB Dick Van Dyke PSA "saves" -- MA and MI.
1975 Staffing of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA) within the US Department of Commerce, with Howard G. Tipton (formerly executive director of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control) as first Administrator and Richard Strother (author of the Motivational Psychology of Fire Preventive Behavior) as Associate Administrator for Public Education.
1975 Indiana Dunes Tests conducted, which became the basis for residential smoke alarms response characteristics and location for installation.
1975 First national fire safety education conference convened by NFPCA at the University of Maryland.
1975 Development of “Matches Aren’t for Children” (slides) and “The Story of the Little Red Fire Hat” (flannel board story) for preschoolers by Nancy Dennis Trench of Oklahoma State University.
1975 Publication of first edition of NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One-and Two- Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes.
1975 Presentation on youth firesetting behavior (ages 3-18), at the California State Psychological Association convention in Anaheim, California, leading to a national focus in the United States on youth firesetting behavior.
1975 Publication of first edition of NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, after four years of work.
1975-76 Establishment of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) at the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, with Oregon and Ohio as the first two states to participate.
1976 National conference on fire prevention convened by NFPCA in Los Angeles.
1976 Passage by Montgomery County, MD, of first retroactive residential smoke alarm legislation; started smoke alarm give-away efforts.
1976 Publication of Fire and Young Children: Learning Survival Skills, by Jeanne Block, Jack Block and William Folkman (Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station), implying that fire education programs need to be instituted before the age of five. 1976 First NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, requirement for smoke alarms in homes. 1976 The first standard for certification of smoke alarm products (UL 217) established; it remains the fundamental standard for that purpose to this day.
1976 First of five Airlie House public education conferences organized and funded by the NFPCA.
1977 Publication of NFPA 1031, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, and Fire Prevention Education Officer.
1977 NFPCA release of Public Fire Education Planning: A Five-Step Process by Richard Strother, Laura B. Buchbinder, and Pamela A. Powell
1977 National Smoke Detector Campaign organized by the NFPCA Office of Public Education in partnership with Sears, in which local fire departments added their name and logo to a provided brochure template and printed, resulting in the distribution of an estimated 1,000,000 brochures at no cost to the NFPCA.
1977 Estimated 7,395 civilian fire deaths, plus deaths of 157 firefighters reported.
1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire (165 fatalities) in Covington, KY.
1978 The International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) creates its first fire safety education section with former Montgomery County, MD, fire marshal Jim Dalton as its chair.
1978 (circa) First Fire in the United States report produced by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), formerly the NFPCA.
1978 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created by Congress and under President Jimmy Carter, renaming the NFPCA to USFA and moving the USFA from the Department of Commerce to FEMA.
1979 Dedication of National Fire Academy/USFA facility at Emmitsburg, MD.
1979 Publication of J. C. Robertson’s Introduction to Fire Prevention by Glencoe Press.
1979 Establishment of the USFA’s Public Education Assistance Program (PEAP), a competitive grants-to-states program to support state-level fire and life safety education efforts with program institutionalization, resource exchange, and technical assistance/training components.
1979 (circa) New requirement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to require two exits in manufactured housing.
1979 The Learn Not to Burn® Curriculum (incorporating 25 positive behaviors) developed by NFPA and field tested in seven cities. The curriculum is organizedby topics: prevent fires; protect when fire occurs; and persuade others to use firesafe behaviors.
1979 International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) publishes first edition of IFSTA 606, Public Fire Education.
1979 (circa) USFA funding of a research study by The Children’s Television Workshop, resulting in a published study, Fire Safety on Television for Preschoolers, which explored the appropriate fire safety messages for preschool children that could be presented on the Sesame Street television program. 1979 Establishment by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Foundation of a residential smoke detector program which provided monitored alarms to disadvantaged residents.
1980 Publication of NFPA 13D, Standard on Residential Sprinklers, which relied on results of residential sprinkler tests (Operation School Burning) conducted in Los Angeles, CA.
1980 Development by USFA/National Fire Academy of its first public education course, the one-week Public Fire Education Specialist course.
1981 Education Section established by NFPA, with Steve Jensen (Phoenix, AZ, Fire Department) as chair.
1981 NFA Management of Public Fire Education course developed.
1982 The Sesame Street Fire Safety Project, which utilizes Sesame Street characters to introduce fire safety to preschoolers in homes and classrooms, becomes available.
1982 NFPA Research Foundation (now known as the Fire Protection Research Foundation) established.
1982-1983 Learn Not to Burn® field representatives program established by NFPA with funding from USFA Office of Public Education. Representatives used the “train the trainer” approach to assist communities, teachers and fire safety educators.
1982 Fire Related Youth Counseling Program (FRY) began in Rochester, NY, with results published in 1982 by Paul Schwartzman and colleagues.
1982 Formation of the National Fire and Burn Education Association (NFBEA) and the Institute for Fire and Burn Education (IFBE) -- both intended to be independent associations for public fire and burn safety educators.
1982-1983 USFA national public education conference contracted to the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) and NFPA conducted at Crystal City, VA.
1984 Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 results in establishment of first Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to study the topic of developing “fire safe” cigarettes. 1984 The National Juvenile Firesetters Workshop at USFA at the National Fire Academy.
1985 American Public Health Association, “Smoke Detector Legislation: Its Effect on Owner-Occupied Homes;” first peer reviewed research accepted for publication written by E. McLoughlin, M. Marchone, L. Hanger, P.S. German and S.P. Baker.
1985 6,185 fire deaths and 128 firefighter deaths reported.
1985 Executive Fire Officer (EFO) training at NFA included Strategic Analysis of Fire Prevention Programs as one of four required courses.
1985 Report on Wildfire Strikes Home produced as a result of numerous fires in Florida; collaborative efforts from USFA, IAFC and NFPA later evolved into FireWise program at NFPA.
1985 National Fire Research Strategy Conference held at the National Bureau of Standards.
1986 Educational Messages committee formed by LNTB Foundation at NFPA.
1986 Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, PR, on New Year’s Eve (97 fatalities after smoke from the fire entered the casino space).
1987 National Safe Kids organized at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
1987 NFPA 1035, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Public Fire Educators, published.
1988 NFPA establishes Learn Not to Burn® Foundation to focus on high-risk groups with Pam Powell as first Executive Director.
1989 NFPA 72 required smoke alarms to be interconnected in all new home construction.
1989 Congressional Fire Services Caucus formed with Representative Curt Weldon (D-PA) as chair.
1989 Joint Council of Fire Service Organizations disbanded; and the Congressional Fire Services Institute formed.
1989 Developing Fire and Life Safety Strategies course offered by National Fire Academy (the first time topics other than fire safety are presented in the NFA curricula), with Gerry Bassett as training specialist.
1990 Oklahoma Health Department and more than 15 other high fire death risk states funded by CDC for to install smoke alarms.
1990 Federal Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act required that government employees traveling in the U.S. on business could only be reimbursed if they stayed in any hotel (taller than three stories) that was protected by automatic fire sprinklers; also prohibited federal meetings in non-compliant hotels.
1990 The second Technical Advisory Group for the Fire Safe Cigarette Act established. 1990 NFPA publication of an initial report, Children Playing with Fire – U.S. Experience, 1980-1987 by Dr. John R. Hall identifying an astounding average of 152,090 fires set by children during this time period. Causing 394 civilian deaths, 2,352 civilian injuries and $160.7 million dollars in direct property damage. 1990 Proving Public Fire Education Works published by TriData Corporation and authored by Philip Schaenman. 1991 Distribution of The Learn Not to Burn® Preschool Program (teacher’s guide for teaching eight fire safety messages to young children) developed by NFPA's LNTB Foundation. 1992 Publication of Public Perception of Disaster Preparedness Presentations Using Disaster Damage Images (Rocky Lopes, Ph.D., American Red Cross) . 1992 Creation of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (DOJ) to lead a nationwide effort to remember America’s fallen firefighters.
1993 Publication of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, which for the first time required that smoke alarms be placed in all bedrooms.
1993 The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirement for child resistant lighters instituted. This, along with increased efforts to educate consumers and parents about the danger of child fire-play, contributed to a decline in the relative risk index for home fire deaths for children under age 5.
1994 Juvenile Firesetting and Arson, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Report identified that 52 percent of all arson arrests in the U.S. are children ages 18 and under.
1995 Introduction of the 10-year-lithium-battery-powered smoke alarm.
1991 First use of the term Community Risk Reduction (CRR), when the NFA Executive Fire Officer (EFO) course Strategic Analysis of Fire Prevention was revised to Strategic Analysis of Community Risk Reduction.
1995 4,585 civilian fire deaths plus 97 firefighter fire deaths reported.
1996 CPSC votes to relax children’s sleepwear flammability standards.
1997 Mis Primeros Pasos En Prevencion Contra Incendios, The LNTB Preschool program, available in Spanish.
1998 Candle fire deaths in U.S. up 750% from 1980 to 1998 – number of fires doubled from 1980 to 1990.
1998 NFPA launch of Risk Watch®, the first national curriculum for pre-K to grade 8 which addresses the top five causes of injury to children.
1998 Remembering When: A Falls and Fire Prevention Program for Older Adults, produced by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Centers for Disease Control) and NFPA.
1998 CDC funded smoke alarm installation and fire safety education programs in high-risk communities -- those with fire death rates higher than state and national averages and median household incomes below the poverty level.
1998 Automobile airbags mandated in the U.S.
1998 The North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education formed.
1999 Solutions 2000 report produced with sponsorship by the North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education after fire safety experts and stakeholders for high-risk groups made recommendations to address the nation’s continued fire problem; authored by Margaret (Peg) Carson.
1999 First requirement in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, for replacement of smoke alarms 10 years from date of manufacture.
2000 New York became the first state to enact a fire safe cigarette law.
2000 First edition of Campus Firewatch published by Ed Comeau, ultimately leading to passage of the Campus Firesafety Right to Know Act.
2001 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established by President George W. Bush, with FEMA (including USFA) transferred from Department of Commerce to DHS.
2001 Beyond Solutions 2000 Symposium conducted with sponsorship by the North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education; added to the previous report to develop specific action items to improve fire safety for people with disabilities; report authored by P. Carson.
2001 FEMA Fire Act Grants funded at $100 million.
2002 FEMA Fire Act Grants funded at $360 million.
2002 First NFPA 72 requirement for smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside sleeping rooms, and on every level.
2002 NIST initiates work on residential smoke alarm performance, the Indiana Dunes II study. The window of escape time in flaming fires was 3 minutes compared to 17 minutes in the 1975 study.
2002 The Executive Fire Officer course at the NFA dealing with prevention is revised; the new course is titled Leading Community Risk Reduction; an introduction to the Community Risk Reduction planning model attributed to Edward Kirtley.
2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) funded at $750 million.
2003 Oklahoma State University examines developmental milestones and teaching effective fire safety messages to young children and sequences fire safety messages to build fire safety knowledge and skills.
2003 Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, RI, (100 fatalities and 230 injuries) (February 20, 2003); the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.
2004 June 28, 2004, effective date of the New York Fire Safe Cigarette Act (the first-time cigarette manufacturing had been regulated).
2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) funded at $750 million.
2004 Firefighter Life Safety Summit produced 16 major initiatives that give the fire service a blueprint for making changes. The Fallen Firefighter Foundation will play a major role in helping the U.S. Fire Administration meet its stated goal to reduce firefighter fatalities by 25% within 5 years, and by 50% within 10 years.
2005 Introduction of wireless interconnected residential smoke alarms by Kidde.
2005 Firesafe cigarette bill passed in Vermont.
2005 California Cigarette Fire Safety law passed with an effective date of January 2007.
2005 First nation to require “Fire Safe Cigarettes” (Canada).
2005 Congress reauthorized the Assistance to Firefighters Grants for an additional 5 years through 2010. In 2005, Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S and expanded the eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research and Development. Research and Development Grants have been awarded since 2006. 2005 The Home Safety Council publication of the "Home Safety Literacy Project" in partnership with ProLiteracy Worldwide; the first curriculum known to deliver fire, burn and disaster preparedness information to adults with low literacy skills.
2006 National Fire Academy introduced courses on Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist I and II (T.O’Dowd).
2006 Publication of International Studies on Fire Safety, sponsored by CDC and authored by TriData Corporation and Philip Schaenman.
2007 Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education established.; presented annually at the Congressional Fire Services Institute National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner for outstanding achievement and national impact in public fire safety education.
2007 Home Safety Council initiates national needs assessment culminating in “Fire and Life Safety Education in U.S. Fire Departments: Results of a National Survey” (Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, April 2007).
2007 Fire Protection Research Foundation releases study on waking effectiveness of smoke alarms.
2007 Global Concepts in Residential Fire Safety, Parts 1, 2 and 3, produced by TriData Corporation: based on previous work done at USFA.
2008 National Fire Academy course on Executive Analysis of Community RiskReduction established (Michael Weller, Edward Kirtley, Mary Marchone and F. Richardson).
2008 Vision 20/20 -- a grassroots project for fire safety funded by Assistance to Firefighter Prevention Grants -- held its first meeting, bringing together hundreds of experts from across the nation to discuss the gaps in fire prevention. This landmark meeting, which also involved virtual focus groups across the nation, resulted in identifying five specific strategies that needed to be addressed to help fill the gaps in fire prevention.
2008 Vision 20/20 publishes 43-page National Strategies for Fire Loss Prevention Report on October 6, 2008.
2009 Dr. David Albert brings Lifetone (low decibel and intermittent tactile smoke detection device) to market.
2010 "Understanding the Impact of Fire and Life Safety Messages on Children" published by NFPA and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2010 First National Symposium on Model Performance in Community Risk Reduction conducted by Vision 20/20 in Towson, MD, by Vision 20/20. 2010 Pioneering Technology introduction of Safe-T-Element, temperature limiting stovetop cooking technology potentially eliminating cooking fires on coil top stoves.
2010 Publication of Fire Prevention Organization and Management (James Crawford) by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2010 Publication of Fire and Life Safety Educator, 1st Edition, (Marsha P. Geisler) by Delmar. 2011 National Fire Academy offers Leadership Strategies for Community Risk Reduction and Managing Effective Fire Prevention Programs (Mary Marchone).
2011 Publication of IFSTA Fire and Life Safety Educator, 3rd Edition, which included nine chapters on Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist (JFIS) I and JFIS II based on the NFPA 1035 Standard.
2011 California State Fire Marshal produces report from smoke alarm task force with analysis and recommendations.
2011 Fire is Everyone’s Fight (confirmed with high-risk audience through social marketing testing, interviews, focus groups, and surveys) theme released by Vision 20/20.
2011-2012 NFA first evaluation course, Demonstrating Your Program’s Worth, developed in partnership with CDC (Mary Marchone and Gerry Bassett).
2012 The first year that all 50 state fire safe cigarette laws are effective, and all inventories of pre-standard cigarettes presumed to have sold out.
2012 National Fire Academy courses Youth Fire Setting and Intervention and Community Risk Reduction: A Policy Approach developed (M. Marchone).
2012 Publication of 8th edition of Introduction to Fire Prevention, with Mike Love joining Robbie Robertson as co-author.
2013 National Fire Academy courses developed: Cultural Competence in Risk Reduction (G. Bassett), Service Area Risk Reduction added to Managing Officer Program (G. Bassett), and Campus Fire and Life Safety I and II (W. Stratton). 2013 Nest Labs, Inc., announced an innovation in smoke alarm technology that allows wireless interconnected alarms, for remote alerts via application on smart phones.
2013 Effective smoke alarm messaging from social market testing reports from the Vision 20/20 Project that messages that communicate need:• Emotion• Control – role of protector• Action (clear guidance)• Vivid – clear and memorable.
2013 The Michigan Public Health Institute receives fire prevention and safety grant funds to design and field test “Sound Off,” with the Home Fire Safety curriculum developed to help fire departments deliver research-based classroom lessons to low-income students in grades 2 and 3; focuses on smoke alarm installation and home fire safety drills.
2014 Home Safety Visits App (including videos on cooking, heating, smoke alarms, and speed of fire presented in English, ASL, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese Arabic, Karen, and Vietnamese) created by the Vision 20/20 Project; also included open captioning for the English videos.
2014 The Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating included points for fire departments that have a youth firesetting prevention/intervention program.
2014 National Fire Academy develops Conducting Local Risk Reduction for Company Officers (G. Bassett), Best Practices in Community Risk Reduction (M. Marchone), and Building Organizational Support for Community Risk Reduction (M. Marchone).
2015 NFA’s Community Risk Reduction Planning Model is updated (Mary Marchone) to be more comprehensive; used in other CRR courses at NFA. 2015 Smart Burner is introduced by Pioneering Technology – a plug-in temperature regulated element for coil top stoves that cycles heat just below oil ignition temperatures to prevent stove top fires.
2015 Youth Firesetting Information Repository & Evaluation System (YFIRES) established; a data collection project developed over three years, led by the International Association of Fire Fighters with the support of FEMA/Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG).
2015 The “Materials Generator” is produced by the Vision 20/20 Project; an online application to develop localized safety messages, while controlling core message content for age and content.
2016 The Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, CA (36 fatalities) in a fire in an illegaloccupancy (a warehouse that was converted into artist housing).
2017 U.S. tax reform legislation (P.L. 115-97), with two provisions to incentivize the installation of fire sprinklers.
2018 Pioneering Technology Corp. announces the launch of its new SmartRangeTM aftermarket product for electric ranges with glass cooktops and its first North American sale to a prominent U.S. college. 2018 Publication of UL 217, Standard for Smoke Alarms, 8th edition, and UL 268, Standard for Smoke Detector Systems, 7th edition; criteria to reduce nuisance alarms and address smoke characteristics between a fast moving and smoldering polyurethane foam fires included.
2019 National Fire Academy courses developed: Introduction to Strategic Community Risk Reduction (M. Weller) and Introduction to Community Risk Assessment (M. Weller). 2019 Publication of UL 858 (60A), Standard for Safety of Household Electric Ranges, with new test requirement for cooking oil ignition for household electric coiled cooktops/ranges. 2019 CRR Week Initiated by ad hoc group.
2020 National Fire Academy Fire and Life Safety Educator Fundamentals course developed.
2020 NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development, 1st Edition, published.
2021 According to the NFPA “Fire Loss in the U.S.” reports (2021 data) 3,800 fire deaths as the highest number of home fire deaths since 2007. 2021 Publication of Community Risk Reduction: Principles and Practices (Beverley Walker) by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2023 “Prevention Activities in U.S. Fire Departments: Results and Recommendations from a National Survey” published by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in March 2023.
A Timeline of Events in Fire and Life Safety Education and Community Risk Reduction is not the first attempt to chronicle the evolution of our professions, nor will it be the last. In fact, additions to the timeline -- particularly of contemporary events – are welcome evidence of the continued growth of our shared professions.
Previous efforts included:• A history of what was then called public fire education (prepared by Pam Powell and published in the NFPA Fire Journal in 1986); • A history of “fire prevention” prepared by Nancy Trench and presented at a fire education conference in Maine in 2007; • Gerry Bassett and Mary Marchone expanded upon Trench’s work in July 2018 and October 2022; • Input from participants at the “Friends in Prevention” gathering held at the Airlie House in Airlie, VA, in October 2022. • Subsequent input by an informal group consisting of Peg Carson, Jim Crawford, Pam Powell, and Nancy Trench.
This timeline is an attempt to document the events that shaped our professions. While many of the events are directly and obviously related to fire and life safety education (FLSE) or Community Risk Reduction (CRR), other events are not. For example, technological change in the area of smoke alarms led to legislative changes, which led to education programs, eventually resulting in documented life saves.
The timeline is informal, rather than scholarly. It is based on recollections of a small group of retired and active practitioners. The timeline is not definitive, but a collection of snapshots. Its value lies, perhaps, as a model for achieving useful change and meaningful progress over time and with contributions from diverse fields.
It is anticipated that having this history will be interesting, useful and maybe surprising to professionals currently practicing fire and life safety education, or other related fields of endeavor and to new folks who find their way into the field.
If you have events for possible inclusion in future editions of this timeline, please send them to us.
We welcome your thoughts.
Peg Carson Jim Crawford Pam Powell Nancy Trench A Timeline of Fire and Life Safety Education and Community Risk Reduction 1608 First recorded fire in what was to become the U.S. – in the Jamestown colony.
1631 Earliest known fire prevention legislation – which banned thatched roofs and wooden chimneys -- passed in Cambridge, MA.
1803 First federal disaster assistance after a fire that devastated a New Hampshire town.
1850 Formation of Boston Manufacturer’s Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the predecessor to Factory Mutual and FM Global, which based insurance on fire safety research and prevention efforts.
1866 Formation of National Board of Fire Underwriters, with an aim of fire loss prevention and protection of lives from fire-related harm.
1871 Peshtigo, WI, forest fire (1,152 fatalities) and the Great Chicago Fire (250 fatalities).
1874 First automatic fire sprinkler head patented by H. S. Parmelee, the owner of a railroad and a piano factory.
1894 Founding of Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
1896 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) organized and the first edition of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Fire Sprinkler Systems. 1901 Fire prevention bulletins sent by Franklin Wentworth (NFPA) to correspondents in 70 cities with the hope that local newspapers will publish the bulletins as news articles.
1903 Armour Institute of Technology formed, later becoming the Illinois Institute of Technology, the first known fire protection engineering program in the U.S.
1906 Fire Marshals Association of North America organized.
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, NY City (146 fatalities), a stimulus for codes and standards in the workplace; included fire doors to be open and unlocked, fire escapes firmly attached, and sprinkler systems.
1911 October 9, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, proposed by Fire Marshals of North America as a day to observe fire prevention.
1911 Exit Drills in Factories, Schools, Department Stores and Theaters published by NFPA, precursor to the Safety to Life Committee and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®.
1912 Syllabus for Public Instruction in Fire Prevention -- fire safety topics for teachers to use in the classroom – published by NFPA.
1912 National Bureau of Fire Underwriters invited to Congress, along with the National Fire Protection Association, to provide input toward improvements in fire safety in the U.S.
1913 First National Fire Prevention Convention conducted in Philadelphia, hosted in part by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
1914 First known home fire safety inspection program begins in Portland, OR; later leads to nationwide initiative promoted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
1917 National Board of Fire Underwriters report outlining requirementsfor the national defense related to fire safety. The report produced just before World War I.
1920 First Fire Prevention Day Proclamation signed by President Woodrow Wilson.
1922 First Fire Prevention Week Proclamation signed by President Warren G. Harding.
1923 Fire safety education in schools required by legislation in 23 states.
1929 Use of fireworks first banned by a state (Michigan) banned
1929 First call for the National Bureau of Standards to develop technology for "self-snubbing" cigarettes, advocated by U.S. Representative Edith Nourse Rogers (D-MA) after a cigarette-ignited fire in Lowell, MA.
1935 Oklahoma State University (Oklahoma A & M) begins School of Fire Protection.
1937 International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) began meeting to publish fire service training materials.
1937 Hindenburg Zeppelin fire, NJ (36 fatalities).
1940 Rhythm Club fire in Natchez, MS (209 fatalities)
1940 First known appearance of child firesetting and juvenile arson in mental health and law enforcement/criminal justice literature.
1942 Cocoanut Grove Night Club in Boston, MA fire (492 fatalities), calling attention to fire safety in public places and subsequent changes to fire and building codes.
1944 Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus Tent Fire in Hartford, CT (168 fatalities).
1944 Creation of Smokey Bear authorized in August by the U.S. Forest Service, leading to the delivery of the first poster(depicting a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire) in October by artist Albert Staehle.
1946 La Salle Hotel fire, in Chicago, IL (61 fatalities).
1946 Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta, GA (119 fatalities).
1946 U.S. Department of Education publication of Curriculum Guide for Fire Safety.
1947 Beginning of the Hartford Insurance Group’s Junior Fire Marshal Program, perhaps the first nationally distributed firesafety program for children; designed for 5th graders (ten-year-old children). 1947 President's Fire Prevention Conference of 1947. President Harry Truman invited 2,000 leaders in business, industry, government, military, higher education, and the fire service to gather, at the federal government's expense, in Washington, DC in May. A follow up meeting on wildland fires was conducted in 1948 in Washington, DC.
1947 Patent issued for ionization smoke detector in Berne, Switzerland.
1950 Distribution in October to 7,000 newspapers of ad “Don’t Gamble with Fire – The Odds are Against You,” developed by the Advertising Council and NFPA.
1952 Governor’s Fire Prevention Conference – named after Governor J. Millard Tawes – instituted in Maryland.
1953 Patent issued to industrial engineering technician John Hetrick from Pennsylvania for design for a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles, ” precursor to automobile air bags that was inspired by the inflatable protective covers on Navy torpedoes.
1956 Fire protection engineering degree program established by the University of Maryland.
1958 Our Lady of the Angels school fire in Chicago, IL (95 fatalities).
1951 Sparky the Fire Dog created by Ted Royal of the Advertising Council as NFPA’s firesafety mascot.
1959 Publication of Operation School Burning, a report of full-scale fire tests in a local school conducted by the Los Angeles Fire Department, focusing on the effect of smoke on the survivability and notable as one of the first studies to show the benefits of installing smoke and heat detectors.
1965 NFPA Fire Journal begins a regular column on “Reaching the Public.”
1961 Hartford (CT) Hospital Fire (16 fatalities), resulting in stricter requirements in NFPA 101, with enforcement later required for accreditation for Medicare reimbursement.
1964 First compendium of important and illustrative examples of accident research published by William Haddon, Jr., a physician and editor of Accident Research; a mainstay of the views of Haddon and his colleagues was that highway safety countermeasures should be subject to scientific scrutiny.
1964 Annual fire deaths estimated at 12,000 (including 400 firefighters, a figure later to be found in error by the National Fire Protection Association.
1965 Unsafe at Any Speed published by Ralph Nader and speculates that seat belts and air bags together could prevent thousands of deaths in car accidents.
1966 Wingspread Conference on Fire Service Administration, Education, and Research conducted by ten fire service leaders in Racine, WI; subsequent report included 12 “statements of national significance to the fire problem in the United States” such as:• Behavior patterns of the public have a direct influence on the fire problem.• The public is complacent toward the rising trend of fire loss.
1966 Riots in Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI (43 fatalities), and 18 other cities, illustrating the fire problem when people saw fire on TV in their homes.
1966 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established by William Haddon after his appointment by President Lyndon B. Johnson; development of first federal safety standards for motor vehicles and laws on drunk driving.
1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire January 27, 1967. Three astronauts, Grissom, White, and Chaffee died. Once again, the high cost of fire was seen by people in their homes on TV.
1968 Fire Research and Safety Act (P.L. 90-259) signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, creating the:• Center for Fire Research at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS)• National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1969 Design of the first battery-operated smoke alarm to receive a UL listing; designed by BRK Electronics (which would later launch the First Alert® brand ).
1970 Establishment of the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations in Williamsburg, VA; which lobbied President Richard M. Nixon to appoint members of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1970 Invention of the first single-station battery-powered home smoke alarm, which used 9-volt batteries and the ionization detection principle (outcome of NASA research).
1970 Haddon Matrix -- an injury prevention tool that examines different factors contributing to injuries -- developed by William Haddon.
1971 Beginning of work by the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
1971 Federal flammability standard for children’s sleepwear developed.
1971 Formation of Insurance Services Office (ISO), an advisory organization for property casualty insurance industry to provide statistical and actuarial services which evolved from the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU).
1972 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) established by US Congress under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
1972 System of Fire Service Professional Qualifications (“Pro Qual”) established by the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations.
1972 Reduced cost of battery-operated ionization smoke detectors to just over $100 per unit, resulting in sales of approximately 200,000 units per year (Lyman Blackwell and Duane Pearsall).
1973 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) first presentation on fire and life safety education, delivered by Catherine B. Lohr of North Carolina.
1973 Publication of the Report of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, American Burning; included 90 recommendations to reduce death and injuries and property losses by fire by 50% in the next generation; included minority report by Dr. Anne W. Phillips emphasizing the need for fire prevention.
1973 First known fire prevention collaboration of medical burn community and fire department (Patricia Mieszala, RN (Cook County Hospital) and Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Thomas O’Connell).
1974 Publication of Fire Detection: The State-of-the-Art, Richard L. P. Custer and Richard G. Bright, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards.
1974 A Study of the Motivational Psychology Related to Fire Preventive Behavior in Children and Adults by Strother and Associates is conducted for NFPA. The findings of the report led to development of the phrase “Learn Not to Burn” by Mike Lubow.
1974 U.S. Senate approved a bill, introduced by Senator Phil Hart (D-Michigan), to require “self-extinguishing” cigarettes, but Hart’s bill was defeated by the tobacco lobby in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1974 First television “Learn Not to Burn” public service announcements starring actor Dick Van Dyke released by NFPA and the Public Service Council.
1974 Enactment of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act, PL 93-498, which created the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA).
1974 First Sears, Roebuck and Company sales of BRK battery-operated smoke alarms, happening when major technology advances were made.
1975 1st reported LNTB Dick Van Dyke PSA "saves" -- MA and MI.
1975 Staffing of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA) within the US Department of Commerce, with Howard G. Tipton (formerly executive director of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control) as first Administrator and Richard Strother (author of the Motivational Psychology of Fire Preventive Behavior) as Associate Administrator for Public Education.
1975 Indiana Dunes Tests conducted, which became the basis for residential smoke alarms response characteristics and location for installation.
1975 First national fire safety education conference convened by NFPCA at the University of Maryland.
1975 Development of “Matches Aren’t for Children” (slides) and “The Story of the Little Red Fire Hat” (flannel board story) for preschoolers by Nancy Dennis Trench of Oklahoma State University.
1975 Publication of first edition of NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One-and Two- Family Dwellings and Mobile Homes.
1975 Presentation on youth firesetting behavior (ages 3-18), at the California State Psychological Association convention in Anaheim, California, leading to a national focus in the United States on youth firesetting behavior.
1975 Publication of first edition of NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code, after four years of work.
1975-76 Establishment of the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) at the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, with Oregon and Ohio as the first two states to participate.
1976 National conference on fire prevention convened by NFPCA in Los Angeles.
1976 Passage by Montgomery County, MD, of first retroactive residential smoke alarm legislation; started smoke alarm give-away efforts.
1976 Publication of Fire and Young Children: Learning Survival Skills, by Jeanne Block, Jack Block and William Folkman (Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station), implying that fire education programs need to be instituted before the age of five. 1976 First NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, requirement for smoke alarms in homes. 1976 The first standard for certification of smoke alarm products (UL 217) established; it remains the fundamental standard for that purpose to this day.
1976 First of five Airlie House public education conferences organized and funded by the NFPCA.
1977 Publication of NFPA 1031, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, and Fire Prevention Education Officer.
1977 NFPCA release of Public Fire Education Planning: A Five-Step Process by Richard Strother, Laura B. Buchbinder, and Pamela A. Powell
1977 National Smoke Detector Campaign organized by the NFPCA Office of Public Education in partnership with Sears, in which local fire departments added their name and logo to a provided brochure template and printed, resulting in the distribution of an estimated 1,000,000 brochures at no cost to the NFPCA.
1977 Estimated 7,395 civilian fire deaths, plus deaths of 157 firefighters reported.
1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire (165 fatalities) in Covington, KY.
1978 The International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) creates its first fire safety education section with former Montgomery County, MD, fire marshal Jim Dalton as its chair.
1978 (circa) First Fire in the United States report produced by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), formerly the NFPCA.
1978 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created by Congress and under President Jimmy Carter, renaming the NFPCA to USFA and moving the USFA from the Department of Commerce to FEMA.
1979 Dedication of National Fire Academy/USFA facility at Emmitsburg, MD.
1979 Publication of J. C. Robertson’s Introduction to Fire Prevention by Glencoe Press.
1979 Establishment of the USFA’s Public Education Assistance Program (PEAP), a competitive grants-to-states program to support state-level fire and life safety education efforts with program institutionalization, resource exchange, and technical assistance/training components.
1979 (circa) New requirement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to require two exits in manufactured housing.
1979 The Learn Not to Burn® Curriculum (incorporating 25 positive behaviors) developed by NFPA and field tested in seven cities. The curriculum is organizedby topics: prevent fires; protect when fire occurs; and persuade others to use firesafe behaviors.
1979 International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) publishes first edition of IFSTA 606, Public Fire Education.
1979 (circa) USFA funding of a research study by The Children’s Television Workshop, resulting in a published study, Fire Safety on Television for Preschoolers, which explored the appropriate fire safety messages for preschool children that could be presented on the Sesame Street television program. 1979 Establishment by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Foundation of a residential smoke detector program which provided monitored alarms to disadvantaged residents.
1980 Publication of NFPA 13D, Standard on Residential Sprinklers, which relied on results of residential sprinkler tests (Operation School Burning) conducted in Los Angeles, CA.
1980 Development by USFA/National Fire Academy of its first public education course, the one-week Public Fire Education Specialist course.
1981 Education Section established by NFPA, with Steve Jensen (Phoenix, AZ, Fire Department) as chair.
1981 NFA Management of Public Fire Education course developed.
1982 The Sesame Street Fire Safety Project, which utilizes Sesame Street characters to introduce fire safety to preschoolers in homes and classrooms, becomes available.
1982 NFPA Research Foundation (now known as the Fire Protection Research Foundation) established.
1982-1983 Learn Not to Burn® field representatives program established by NFPA with funding from USFA Office of Public Education. Representatives used the “train the trainer” approach to assist communities, teachers and fire safety educators.
1982 Fire Related Youth Counseling Program (FRY) began in Rochester, NY, with results published in 1982 by Paul Schwartzman and colleagues.
1982 Formation of the National Fire and Burn Education Association (NFBEA) and the Institute for Fire and Burn Education (IFBE) -- both intended to be independent associations for public fire and burn safety educators.
1982-1983 USFA national public education conference contracted to the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) and NFPA conducted at Crystal City, VA.
1984 Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 results in establishment of first Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to study the topic of developing “fire safe” cigarettes. 1984 The National Juvenile Firesetters Workshop at USFA at the National Fire Academy.
1985 American Public Health Association, “Smoke Detector Legislation: Its Effect on Owner-Occupied Homes;” first peer reviewed research accepted for publication written by E. McLoughlin, M. Marchone, L. Hanger, P.S. German and S.P. Baker.
1985 6,185 fire deaths and 128 firefighter deaths reported.
1985 Executive Fire Officer (EFO) training at NFA included Strategic Analysis of Fire Prevention Programs as one of four required courses.
1985 Report on Wildfire Strikes Home produced as a result of numerous fires in Florida; collaborative efforts from USFA, IAFC and NFPA later evolved into FireWise program at NFPA.
1985 National Fire Research Strategy Conference held at the National Bureau of Standards.
1986 Educational Messages committee formed by LNTB Foundation at NFPA.
1986 Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, PR, on New Year’s Eve (97 fatalities after smoke from the fire entered the casino space).
1987 National Safe Kids organized at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
1987 NFPA 1035, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Public Fire Educators, published.
1988 NFPA establishes Learn Not to Burn® Foundation to focus on high-risk groups with Pam Powell as first Executive Director.
1989 NFPA 72 required smoke alarms to be interconnected in all new home construction.
1989 Congressional Fire Services Caucus formed with Representative Curt Weldon (D-PA) as chair.
1989 Joint Council of Fire Service Organizations disbanded; and the Congressional Fire Services Institute formed.
1989 Developing Fire and Life Safety Strategies course offered by National Fire Academy (the first time topics other than fire safety are presented in the NFA curricula), with Gerry Bassett as training specialist.
1990 Oklahoma Health Department and more than 15 other high fire death risk states funded by CDC for to install smoke alarms.
1990 Federal Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act required that government employees traveling in the U.S. on business could only be reimbursed if they stayed in any hotel (taller than three stories) that was protected by automatic fire sprinklers; also prohibited federal meetings in non-compliant hotels.
1990 The second Technical Advisory Group for the Fire Safe Cigarette Act established. 1990 NFPA publication of an initial report, Children Playing with Fire – U.S. Experience, 1980-1987 by Dr. John R. Hall identifying an astounding average of 152,090 fires set by children during this time period. Causing 394 civilian deaths, 2,352 civilian injuries and $160.7 million dollars in direct property damage. 1990 Proving Public Fire Education Works published by TriData Corporation and authored by Philip Schaenman. 1991 Distribution of The Learn Not to Burn® Preschool Program (teacher’s guide for teaching eight fire safety messages to young children) developed by NFPA's LNTB Foundation. 1992 Publication of Public Perception of Disaster Preparedness Presentations Using Disaster Damage Images (Rocky Lopes, Ph.D., American Red Cross) . 1992 Creation of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (DOJ) to lead a nationwide effort to remember America’s fallen firefighters.
1993 Publication of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, which for the first time required that smoke alarms be placed in all bedrooms.
1993 The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requirement for child resistant lighters instituted. This, along with increased efforts to educate consumers and parents about the danger of child fire-play, contributed to a decline in the relative risk index for home fire deaths for children under age 5.
1994 Juvenile Firesetting and Arson, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Report identified that 52 percent of all arson arrests in the U.S. are children ages 18 and under.
1995 Introduction of the 10-year-lithium-battery-powered smoke alarm.
1991 First use of the term Community Risk Reduction (CRR), when the NFA Executive Fire Officer (EFO) course Strategic Analysis of Fire Prevention was revised to Strategic Analysis of Community Risk Reduction.
1995 4,585 civilian fire deaths plus 97 firefighter fire deaths reported.
1996 CPSC votes to relax children’s sleepwear flammability standards.
1997 Mis Primeros Pasos En Prevencion Contra Incendios, The LNTB Preschool program, available in Spanish.
1998 Candle fire deaths in U.S. up 750% from 1980 to 1998 – number of fires doubled from 1980 to 1990.
1998 NFPA launch of Risk Watch®, the first national curriculum for pre-K to grade 8 which addresses the top five causes of injury to children.
1998 Remembering When: A Falls and Fire Prevention Program for Older Adults, produced by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Centers for Disease Control) and NFPA.
1998 CDC funded smoke alarm installation and fire safety education programs in high-risk communities -- those with fire death rates higher than state and national averages and median household incomes below the poverty level.
1998 Automobile airbags mandated in the U.S.
1998 The North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education formed.
1999 Solutions 2000 report produced with sponsorship by the North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education after fire safety experts and stakeholders for high-risk groups made recommendations to address the nation’s continued fire problem; authored by Margaret (Peg) Carson.
1999 First requirement in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, for replacement of smoke alarms 10 years from date of manufacture.
2000 New York became the first state to enact a fire safe cigarette law.
2000 First edition of Campus Firewatch published by Ed Comeau, ultimately leading to passage of the Campus Firesafety Right to Know Act.
2001 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established by President George W. Bush, with FEMA (including USFA) transferred from Department of Commerce to DHS.
2001 Beyond Solutions 2000 Symposium conducted with sponsorship by the North American Coalition for Fire and Life Safety Education; added to the previous report to develop specific action items to improve fire safety for people with disabilities; report authored by P. Carson.
2001 FEMA Fire Act Grants funded at $100 million.
2002 FEMA Fire Act Grants funded at $360 million.
2002 First NFPA 72 requirement for smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside sleeping rooms, and on every level.
2002 NIST initiates work on residential smoke alarm performance, the Indiana Dunes II study. The window of escape time in flaming fires was 3 minutes compared to 17 minutes in the 1975 study.
2002 The Executive Fire Officer course at the NFA dealing with prevention is revised; the new course is titled Leading Community Risk Reduction; an introduction to the Community Risk Reduction planning model attributed to Edward Kirtley.
2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) funded at $750 million.
2003 Oklahoma State University examines developmental milestones and teaching effective fire safety messages to young children and sequences fire safety messages to build fire safety knowledge and skills.
2003 Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, RI, (100 fatalities and 230 injuries) (February 20, 2003); the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.
2004 June 28, 2004, effective date of the New York Fire Safe Cigarette Act (the first-time cigarette manufacturing had been regulated).
2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) funded at $750 million.
2004 Firefighter Life Safety Summit produced 16 major initiatives that give the fire service a blueprint for making changes. The Fallen Firefighter Foundation will play a major role in helping the U.S. Fire Administration meet its stated goal to reduce firefighter fatalities by 25% within 5 years, and by 50% within 10 years.
2005 Introduction of wireless interconnected residential smoke alarms by Kidde.
2005 Firesafe cigarette bill passed in Vermont.
2005 California Cigarette Fire Safety law passed with an effective date of January 2007.
2005 First nation to require “Fire Safe Cigarettes” (Canada).
2005 Congress reauthorized the Assistance to Firefighters Grants for an additional 5 years through 2010. In 2005, Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S and expanded the eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research and Development. Research and Development Grants have been awarded since 2006. 2005 The Home Safety Council publication of the "Home Safety Literacy Project" in partnership with ProLiteracy Worldwide; the first curriculum known to deliver fire, burn and disaster preparedness information to adults with low literacy skills.
2006 National Fire Academy introduced courses on Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist I and II (T.O’Dowd).
2006 Publication of International Studies on Fire Safety, sponsored by CDC and authored by TriData Corporation and Philip Schaenman.
2007 Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education established.; presented annually at the Congressional Fire Services Institute National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner for outstanding achievement and national impact in public fire safety education.
2007 Home Safety Council initiates national needs assessment culminating in “Fire and Life Safety Education in U.S. Fire Departments: Results of a National Survey” (Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, April 2007).
2007 Fire Protection Research Foundation releases study on waking effectiveness of smoke alarms.
2007 Global Concepts in Residential Fire Safety, Parts 1, 2 and 3, produced by TriData Corporation: based on previous work done at USFA.
2008 National Fire Academy course on Executive Analysis of Community RiskReduction established (Michael Weller, Edward Kirtley, Mary Marchone and F. Richardson).
2008 Vision 20/20 -- a grassroots project for fire safety funded by Assistance to Firefighter Prevention Grants -- held its first meeting, bringing together hundreds of experts from across the nation to discuss the gaps in fire prevention. This landmark meeting, which also involved virtual focus groups across the nation, resulted in identifying five specific strategies that needed to be addressed to help fill the gaps in fire prevention.
2008 Vision 20/20 publishes 43-page National Strategies for Fire Loss Prevention Report on October 6, 2008.
2009 Dr. David Albert brings Lifetone (low decibel and intermittent tactile smoke detection device) to market.
2010 "Understanding the Impact of Fire and Life Safety Messages on Children" published by NFPA and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2010 First National Symposium on Model Performance in Community Risk Reduction conducted by Vision 20/20 in Towson, MD, by Vision 20/20. 2010 Pioneering Technology introduction of Safe-T-Element, temperature limiting stovetop cooking technology potentially eliminating cooking fires on coil top stoves.
2010 Publication of Fire Prevention Organization and Management (James Crawford) by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2010 Publication of Fire and Life Safety Educator, 1st Edition, (Marsha P. Geisler) by Delmar. 2011 National Fire Academy offers Leadership Strategies for Community Risk Reduction and Managing Effective Fire Prevention Programs (Mary Marchone).
2011 Publication of IFSTA Fire and Life Safety Educator, 3rd Edition, which included nine chapters on Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist (JFIS) I and JFIS II based on the NFPA 1035 Standard.
2011 California State Fire Marshal produces report from smoke alarm task force with analysis and recommendations.
2011 Fire is Everyone’s Fight (confirmed with high-risk audience through social marketing testing, interviews, focus groups, and surveys) theme released by Vision 20/20.
2011-2012 NFA first evaluation course, Demonstrating Your Program’s Worth, developed in partnership with CDC (Mary Marchone and Gerry Bassett).
2012 The first year that all 50 state fire safe cigarette laws are effective, and all inventories of pre-standard cigarettes presumed to have sold out.
2012 National Fire Academy courses Youth Fire Setting and Intervention and Community Risk Reduction: A Policy Approach developed (M. Marchone).
2012 Publication of 8th edition of Introduction to Fire Prevention, with Mike Love joining Robbie Robertson as co-author.
2013 National Fire Academy courses developed: Cultural Competence in Risk Reduction (G. Bassett), Service Area Risk Reduction added to Managing Officer Program (G. Bassett), and Campus Fire and Life Safety I and II (W. Stratton). 2013 Nest Labs, Inc., announced an innovation in smoke alarm technology that allows wireless interconnected alarms, for remote alerts via application on smart phones.
2013 Effective smoke alarm messaging from social market testing reports from the Vision 20/20 Project that messages that communicate need:• Emotion• Control – role of protector• Action (clear guidance)• Vivid – clear and memorable.
2013 The Michigan Public Health Institute receives fire prevention and safety grant funds to design and field test “Sound Off,” with the Home Fire Safety curriculum developed to help fire departments deliver research-based classroom lessons to low-income students in grades 2 and 3; focuses on smoke alarm installation and home fire safety drills.
2014 Home Safety Visits App (including videos on cooking, heating, smoke alarms, and speed of fire presented in English, ASL, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese Arabic, Karen, and Vietnamese) created by the Vision 20/20 Project; also included open captioning for the English videos.
2014 The Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating included points for fire departments that have a youth firesetting prevention/intervention program.
2014 National Fire Academy develops Conducting Local Risk Reduction for Company Officers (G. Bassett), Best Practices in Community Risk Reduction (M. Marchone), and Building Organizational Support for Community Risk Reduction (M. Marchone).
2015 NFA’s Community Risk Reduction Planning Model is updated (Mary Marchone) to be more comprehensive; used in other CRR courses at NFA. 2015 Smart Burner is introduced by Pioneering Technology – a plug-in temperature regulated element for coil top stoves that cycles heat just below oil ignition temperatures to prevent stove top fires.
2015 Youth Firesetting Information Repository & Evaluation System (YFIRES) established; a data collection project developed over three years, led by the International Association of Fire Fighters with the support of FEMA/Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG).
2015 The “Materials Generator” is produced by the Vision 20/20 Project; an online application to develop localized safety messages, while controlling core message content for age and content.
2016 The Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, CA (36 fatalities) in a fire in an illegaloccupancy (a warehouse that was converted into artist housing).
2017 U.S. tax reform legislation (P.L. 115-97), with two provisions to incentivize the installation of fire sprinklers.
2018 Pioneering Technology Corp. announces the launch of its new SmartRangeTM aftermarket product for electric ranges with glass cooktops and its first North American sale to a prominent U.S. college. 2018 Publication of UL 217, Standard for Smoke Alarms, 8th edition, and UL 268, Standard for Smoke Detector Systems, 7th edition; criteria to reduce nuisance alarms and address smoke characteristics between a fast moving and smoldering polyurethane foam fires included.
2019 National Fire Academy courses developed: Introduction to Strategic Community Risk Reduction (M. Weller) and Introduction to Community Risk Assessment (M. Weller). 2019 Publication of UL 858 (60A), Standard for Safety of Household Electric Ranges, with new test requirement for cooking oil ignition for household electric coiled cooktops/ranges. 2019 CRR Week Initiated by ad hoc group.
2020 National Fire Academy Fire and Life Safety Educator Fundamentals course developed.
2020 NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development, 1st Edition, published.
2021 According to the NFPA “Fire Loss in the U.S.” reports (2021 data) 3,800 fire deaths as the highest number of home fire deaths since 2007. 2021 Publication of Community Risk Reduction: Principles and Practices (Beverley Walker) by Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2023 “Prevention Activities in U.S. Fire Departments: Results and Recommendations from a National Survey” published by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in March 2023.