Introduction to Fire Prevention

by Robertson, James C.

• ISBN13: 9780131190313
• ISBN10: 0131190318
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

The prevention of unwanted fires has long been considered the responsibility of the modern-day fire department, however other agencies and organizations play a vital part in educating the public about fire prevention. From the responsibilities of the fire department to the role of the private and public sectors, this best-selling text presents a broad-based look at fire prevention including arson suppression, fire safety education, and code enforcement. The sixth edition has been updated to cover current concepts in all aspects of fire prevention and features lessons learned from recent fire tragedies.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
History and Philosophy of Fire Prevention	p. 1
Historical Background	p. 1
Early Fire Prevention Measures in North America	p. 3
Tragedy a Spur to Regulations	p. 6
Laboratories Improve Fire Safety	p. 14
Variables in the Philosophy of Fire Prevention	p. 14
Summary	p. 15
Review Questions	p. 16
Status of Education, Engineering, and Enforcement in USA	p. 19
The Three "Es"	p. 19
Education	p. 21
Engineering	p. 23
Enforcement	p. 34
Summary	p. 35
Review Questions	p. 35
Public Fire and Life Safety Education Programs	p. 38
Scope of Fire and Life Safety Education Programs	p. 38
Home Inspection Program	p. 40
Fire Prevention Education through Civic Organizations	p. 42
Fire Safety Clinics and Seminars	p. 43
Community Events	p. 43
Fire and Life Safety Education in the Schools	p. 44
Hospital Programs	p. 47
Scout Groups	p. 47
Wildland Fire Prevention	p. 48
Public Safety Combined Programs	p. 48
Publicity Programs	p. 49
Media Publicity	p. 50
Smoke Alarm Programs	p. 51
Fire Prevention Week	p. 51
Volunteer Fire Departments	p. 52
Review of Successful Programs	p. 52
Future Needs in Fire and Life Safety Education	p. 53
Summary	p. 53
Review Questions	p. 54
Enforcing Fire Safety Compliance	p. 57
Publicity for Fire Codes	p. 57
Plan-Review Program for Fire Code Enforcement	p. 58
Control of Sales and Use as a Means of Fire Code Enforcement	p. 61
Structural Control as a Means of Fire and Building Code Enforcement	p. 65
Control of Occupancy as a Means of Fire Code Enforcement	p. 67
Legal Aspects of Fire Code Enforcement	p. 68
Condemnation of Unsafe Structures	p. 69
Fire Safety Considerations in Special Occupancies	p. 70
Summary	p. 74
Review Questions	p. 74
Fire Safety Inspection Procedures	p. 76
Preparation for Inspection	p. 76
Identification and Permission to Inspect	p. 78
The Inspection Tour	p. 79
Correcting Violations during Inspection	p. 83
Discussing Findings with Escorts	p. 83
The Exit Interview	p. 83
Report of Inspection	p. 84
Reinspection and Procedures to Enforce Compliance	p. 85
Classification of Hazards	p. 85
Hazards in Various Types of Occupancies	p. 86
Legal and Moral Responsibilities of the Inspector	p. 90
Conflicts with Other Agency Inspections	p. 91
Summary	p. 93
Review Questions	p. 95
Preparing Fire Service Personnel for Fire Prevention Duties	p. 97
Lack of Emphasis on Fire Prevention	p. 97
Fire Prevention Training for All Fire Service Personnel	p. 98
Master Plans for Fire Protection	p. 100
Recruit Training Programs	p. 101
Prefire Planning	p. 101
Fire Prevention Training Assignments	p. 102
Training in Fire Prevention Inspection	p. 103
National Professional Qualifications System	p. 105
Summary	p. 107
Review Questions	p. 108
Organization and Administration of Municipal Fire Prevention Units	p. 110
The Place of Fire Prevention in Municipal Government	p. 110
Fire Service Administration in Municipal Government	p. 111
Fire Prevention Functions	p. 112
The Fire Prevention Bureau	p. 112
Sources of Conflict within the Fire Department	p. 117
Fire Prevention Advisory Committee	p. 118
Intensive Inspection Program	p. 119
Fees for Services	p. 121
Personnel Trends	p. 122
State Responsibilities	p. 122
The Relation of Fire Prevention to Other Municipal Agencies	p. 122
Summary	p. 126
Review Questions	p. 127
Instilling Positive Fire Reaction	p. 129
Individual Decisions When Fire Occurs	p. 129
Fire Reporting Procedures	p. 130
Home Fire Drills	p. 130
School Fire Drills	p. 131
Institutional Fire Drills	p. 132
Industrial Fire Drills	p. 133
Proper Use of Fire Extinguishers	p. 133
Large Residential Occupancies	p. 134
Prevention and Control of Panic Reactions	p. 134
Conditions That Contribute to Panic	p. 135
Guard or Watch Duty Responsibilities	p. 138
Private Fire Brigades	p. 138
Fire Safety Manuals	p. 140
Public Elevator Fire Safety	p. 140
Fire Reaction Safeguards in Housing for Older Adults	p. 140
Fire Reaction for Special Occupancies	p. 142
Fire Reaction in High-Rise Structures	p. 142
Summary	p. 144
Review Questions	p. 145
Fire Prevention Efforts of the Private Sector	p. 147
Organizations with Primary Fire Prevention Functions	p. 147
Organizations with Allied Interests in Fire Prevention	p. 150
Private Organization Efforts in Fire Prevention	p. 155
Summary	p. 158
Review Questions	p. 159
Fire Prevention Responsibilities of the Public Sector	p. 160
U.S. Department of State	p. 161
U.S. Department of the Treasury	p. 161
U.S. Department of Defense	p. 161
U.S. Department of Justice	p. 162
U.S. Department of the Interior	p. 163
U.S. Department of Agriculture	p. 163
U.S. Department of Commerce	p. 164
U.S. Department of Labor	p. 165
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services	p. 165
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development	p. 166
U.S. Department of Transportation	p. 166
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs	p. 167
U.S. Department of Homeland Security	p. 167
Independent U.S. Government Agencies	p. 169
State Agencies	p. 171
County Agencies	p. 178
Municipal Government	p. 179
Support Agencies	p. 179
Summary	p. 179
Review Questions	p. 180
Fire Prevention through Arson Suppression	p. 182
The Crime of Arson	p. 182
Model Arson Laws	p. 184
Motives for Arson	p. 186
Investigation of Suspected Arson	p. 187
Arson and Civil Unrest	p. 193
Arson Arrests	p. 195
Arson-Related Research Projects	p. 196
Arson Control Needs	p. 198
Summary	p. 199
Review Questions	p. 200
International Practices in Fire Prevention	p. 202
Fire Death Statistics for Various Countries	p. 203
Causes of Fires	p. 206
Rural Fires	p. 206
Variables That Affect Statistics	p. 207
Comparisons of Fire Prevention Education and Enforcement	p. 209
Canadian Fire Safety Procedures	p. 212
Summary	p. 216
Review Questions	p. 217
Fire Prevention Research	p. 219
U.S. Forest Service Fire Prevention Research	p. 220
High-Risk Area Research	p. 226
National Institute of Standards and Technology Research	p. 227
University Research	p. 228
Canadian Research Activities	p. 228
Code Enforcement Research	p. 229
National Fire Academy Research	p. 230
Other Research Activities	p. 232
Summary	p. 233
Review Questions	p. 233
Proving Fire Prevention Works	p. 236
Measurement of Fire Prevention Effectiveness	p. 237
Annual Report	p. 240
Recording Fire Safety Activities	p. 241
Recording Fire Deaths and Injuries	p. 242
Recording Loss Statistics	p. 242
National Fire Incident Reporting System	p. 243
Use of Computers	p. 243
Approaches to the Fire Problem	p. 246
Summary	p. 248
Review Questions	p. 248
Index	p. 251
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The prevention of unwanted fires is considered a primary responsibility of the modern fire department, whether career, volunteer, or combination career and volunteer. However, the fire service and others having an 'interest in fire prevention increasingly recognize that other agencies and organizations, such as health departments, schools, private industries, and civic associations, can be of tremendous help in educating the public about this important field of personal safety. It has long been realized that the termfire preventionshould be broadly interpreted to encompass arson suppression, fire safety education including personal reaction in the event of fire, plan review, inspection, and other elements of code enforcement. All of these areas are examined in this text. In addition, methods to measure the effectiveness of local fire prevention programs are addressed in the sixth edition ofIntroduction to Fire Prevention. This edition has been updated to reflect current concepts in each of the above-mentioned areas. The major change in building code organizational structure is addressed as is the advent of performance-based codes. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, are noted with comments on lessons learned for code enforcers. Other recent fire tragedies are mentioned as well. Several new evaluation systems for public fire safety education programs are also reviewed. Longstanding research that has ongoing application is retained in the new edition. Chapters have been reorganized to follow a logical sequence and major editorial changes have been made.