The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 was created in response to the 1973 National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control report, America Burning. The report's authors estimated fires caused 12,000 deaths, 300,000 serious injuries and $11.4 billion in property damage annually in the United States, asserting that "the richest and most technologically advanced nation in the world leads all the major industrialized countries in per capita deaths and property loss from fire." The report proposed that a federal agency be established to help combat the growing problem of fatal fires happening throughout the country. The S. 1769 legislation was passed by the 93rd Congressional session and enacted by the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford on October 29, 1974.
Provisions of the FPCA
The Act of Congress created a national superintendence for the administrative and organizational parameters of local and State government firefighting entities. The Act established the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control, and a National Fire Data Center.
Congressional Findings
Congress finds that —
(1) The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control has made an exhaustive and comprehensive examination of the Nation's fire problem, has made detailed findings as to the extent of this problem in terms of human suffering and loss of life and property, and has made ninety recommendations. (2) The United States has the highest per capita rate of death and property loss from fire of all the major industrialized nations in the world. (3) Fire is an undue burden affecting all Americans, and fire also constitutes a public health and safety problem of great dimensions. Fire kills 12,000 and scars and injures 300,000 Americans each year, including 50,000 individuals who require extended hospitalization. Almost $3 billion worth of property is destroyed annually by fire, and the total economic cost of destructive fire in the United States is estimated conservatively to be $11,000,000,000 per year. Firefighting is the Nation's most hazardous profession. (4) Such losses of life and property from fire are unacceptable to the Congress. (5) While fire prevention and control is and should remain a State and local responsibility, the Federal Government must help if a significant reduction in fire losses is to be achieved. (6) The fire service and the civil defense program in each locality would both benefit from closer cooperation. (7) The Nation's fire problem is exacerbated by — (A) Indifference with which some Americans confront the subject (B) Nation's failure to undertake enough research and development into fire and fire-related problems (C) Scarcity of reliable data and information (D) Fact that designers and purchasers of buildings and products generally give insufficient attention to fire safety (E) Fact that many communities lack adequate building and fire prevention codes (F) Fact that local fire departments spend about 95 cents of every dollar appropriated to the fire services on efforts to extinguish fires and only about 5 cents on fire prevention (8) There is a need for improved professional training and education oriented toward improving the effectiveness of the fire services, including an increased emphasis on preventing fires and on reducing injuries to firefighters. (9) A national system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of fire data is needed to help local fire services establish research and action priorities. (10) The number of specialized medical centers which are properly equipped and staffed for the treatment of burns and there habilitation of victims of fires is inadequate. (11) The unacceptably high rates of death, injury, and property loss from fire can be reduced if the Federal Government establishes a coordinated program to support and reinforce the fire prevention and control activities of State and local governments.
Establishment of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration
The National Fire Prevention and Control Administration is authorized to educate the public and to overcome public indifference as to fire and fire prevention. Such steps may include, but are not limited to, publications, audio visual presentations, and demonstrations. Such public education efforts shall include programs to provide specialized information for those groups of individuals who are particularly vulnerable to fire hazards, such as the young and the elderly. The NFPCA shall sponsor and encourage research, testing, and experimentation to determine the most effective means of such public education.