The public law 90-259, Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968
Date
The public law 90-259, Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968
Preventable and unwanted fires continue to exert an unacceptably high cost of economic losses and human suffering in the United States. This threat to property and human life is not fully addressed by the public and policymakers involved. Community problems highly impact the fire department’s effectiveness, and costly changing conditions range from false alarms deliberately set fires and abandoned building fires. The low-income and marginalized areas often have suffered from low fire inspections making them highly susceptible to fires likely of high severity (Diamantes, 2020). The World Trade Centre collapse demonstrated the devastation and power of uncontrolled fires. The occurrence of these fire disasters is only a reinforcement that fire is a relentless and dangerous foe and that more needs to be done to prevent, mitigate and respond. Laws have been enacted to respond to fires and implement policies for prevention and mitigation. This paper discusses the public law 90-259.
The public law 90-259
Public law 90-259, often referred to as The Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968, was enacted to facilitate safety programs and increase panoptic fire research. Then-president Lyndon Johnson advocated the 36th. The Act petitioned for increased fire safety education and subsequent training programs. Furthermore, improved collection of comprehensive fire data, adoption and demonstration of new approaches, and constant improvement of the fire prevention techniques will reduce personal injury, property damage, and fire mortalities (Diamantes, 2020). Public law 90-259 was penned under two titles, the National Commission on Fire Prevention and control and the Fire research safety program
Title 1: – Fire Research and Safety Program
The fire research and safety program, through grants and contracts, is permitted to directly conduct fire-related investigations to ascertain the fire causes, the severity of the fires in matters of death, property damage, and the frequency of occurrence of the fires, among fire pertinent factors. Secondly, to conduct in-depth research on the nature of fires and be actively involved in implementing improved fire prevention techniques to reduce the overall effects of fires. Thirdly, be engaged in fire data collection, analysis, and dissemination to relevant authorities about injury property damage, fire-related mortalities, and comprehensive fire information reference services. Notably, the Act is authorized to provide education programs through public education, sensitization of the fire hazards, and guidance on fire safety techniques. Furthermore, educate the public on the avoidance of fire hazards. Notably providing training to improve the efficiency of the fire service providers, improve their capability to fight fire disasters even in the most bizarre cases (Johnston et al. 2022)
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Additionally, Title 1 of the public law 90-259 is authorized through grants to support nonprofit organizations and education programs in funding science curriculums in fires protection engineering, institutional materials, seminars, fire safety courses, and pushing for the incorporation of safety courses in the appropriate curriculums.
Title II- National Commission of Fire Prevention and Control
The control and prevention of destructive fires are often obscured by the population’s geographic demographics, with the propagation population spread out in urban and suburban environs. This title of the law was enacted to conduct an investigation but study the population dynamics and formulate the necessary approach techniques to curb the increased destructive fires that result in detrimental property damage and numerous fire mortalities (Johnston et al. 2022). The commission comprises the secretary of state housing and urban development, secretary of commerce, and eighteen other members. The members are appointed by the president only if they meet the qualification and training to execute the commission’s functions.
Following its commission, the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control established a high per capita of fire mortalities in the United States of all other industrialized nations globally. Additionally, the commission discovered that the fire problem is exacerbated by the failure to conduct sufficient research on fire-related adversaries, lack of well-defined building, and fire prevention codes that contribute to the increased severity of the fires. Furthermore, the insufficient national fire data collection and analysis systems prevent the proper research regarding fires that would be prevented if adequately analyzed (Li et al., 397). Moreso, the inadequacy of fire treatment and rehabilitation facilities for fire victims. These inadequacies are attributed to an increased number of preventable fires and a consequential severity resulting from their occurrence. According to congress, property loss and life loss to fire are unacceptable; thus, the needs for civil defense programs and fire service benefit from close cooperation.
While executing its purpose, the Fire Prevention and Control Act has undergone numerous reforms to cater to the inadequacies. For example, the creation of the new United States Fire Administration and National Fire Academy, which works actively with concerted efforts from responsible shareholders to improve fire safety. This includes the introduction of smoke detectors that come in handy to enhance fire safety. This has, in turn, reduced drastically the extremely high level of fire-related damages and deaths. Notably, the continued improvement of the fire safety and protection Act has accommodated the increase in fire research practices. This includes implementing models that incorporate integration and collaborative research and addressing the lack of research that hastens the deployment of improved fire safety practices to improve the level of fire safety approaches nationally.
Notably, an improved regulatory practice in building and design ensures that the protocols are followed, and the stipulated building codes are adhered to. Furthermore, following the Act’s enactment, it has led to the passage of the National fire Datacenter, whose primary role is to collect, analyze and distribute fire data. Additionally, they work toward determining the cause of fires and push for mitigation strategies (Hiers et al.,14). Secondly, through unique initiatives and partnerships, federal agencies, media, and safety interest affiliated groups, there are increased education and safety awareness programs to the public targeting the vulnerable people of society, including the disabled, young and elderly, on fire safety strategies.
Conclusion
The severity of fires is felt way after their occurrence. The United States has suffered devastating fire incidences that have shaped fire safety policies today. The Fire Protection and Safety Act of 1968 addressed fire-related issues. They have achieved fire prevention, response, and mitigation milestone through the many related programs. The national fire academy offers advanced professional programs and life safety training to mid-level and senior fire officers who improve their response to fire incidents. Lastly, with the rapid advancement of technology, much more has been put into improving fire and life safety, with improved fire detection techniques, immediate suppression, and a quick notifications system for emergency response in the event of fires. At the same time, it is the responsibility of the lack and federal governments to provide fire safety tools. It is a personal responsibility to work toward fire prevention by adhering to the fire safety provisions. Overall, it is fire safety is a communal responsibility that requires cooperative arrangements among the stakeholders involved.
Works cited
Diamantes, David, and A. Maurice Jones Jr. Principles of fire prevention. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2020.
Hiers, J. Kevin, et al. “Prescribed fire science: The case for a refined research agenda.” Fire Ecology 16.1
(2020): 1-15.
Johnston, Kendal, and Nichola Tyler. “The effectiveness of fire safety education interventions for young people who set fires: A systematic review.” Aggression and Violent Behavior (2022): 101743.
Li, Shi-yu, Gang Tao, and Li-jing Zhang. “Fire risk assessment of high-rise buildings based on the gray-face mathematical model.” Procedia Engineering 211 (2018): 395-402.
