Advocacy must be strengthened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers.
The term “fire prevention,” as used here, means preventing accidental fires from starting and, when they do start, minimizing their growth or extinguish them prior to human intervention. A successful effort in fire prevention will mean fewer fire responses by firefighters because of a reduction in fires, and less dangerous working conditions on the fire ground as a result of smaller, contained fires. With fewer fire responses and smaller, contained fires, and a better protected public, it is clear that there will be fewer firefighter injuries and fatalities – which is the goal of our overall efforts. The 15th Initiative asks us to advocate for stronger codes and laws which will decrease the number and severity of structural and residential fires to keep our firefighters out of harm’s way.
Initiative 15 Resources
Initiative 15 Research
- Leading and Living Life Safety Lessons Learned
- Lessons Learned From Unsatisfactory Sprinkler Performance: An Update on Trends and a Root Cause Discussion from the Investigating Engineer’s Perspective
- Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems: What do you know?
- Fire Sprinklers Save Lives–And Firefighters
- Fire Sprinklers
Latest Initiative 15 News
- “The Buck Stops Here” – Improving Firefighter and Community Safety – More than 70 years later, Truman’s legacy lives on in the form of the Truman Fire Service Working Group. The group’s members are dedicated to preventing fires, advocating for safe communities, and preventing firefighter line-of-duty (LODD) deaths. The report from the Truman Working Group and its partner the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation focuses on promoting firefighter and community safety.
- Help Shape the Future of the Fire Service – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will host the National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium virtually in February and March to prioritize research that promotes firefighter safety, wellness, and efficiency.
- Promoting a Better Safety Climate for the Fire Service During Global Pandemic, Civil Unrest, and Wildland Fires – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the First Responder Center for Excellence (FRCE), once again, collaborated with Firehouse® and published the 2020 Fire Service Health & Safety Report. The 32 page report, which appears in September’s issue of Firehouse®, includes 13 articles written by respected leaders, authors and experts, covering a diversity of topics, including women in the fire service, the power of podcasts in promoting safety and health and changing the very culture of safety among the nation’s fire departments.
- This Fire Prevention Month, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Reminds People How Little Time They Have to Escape in a Fire, Shares Life-Saving Fire Safety Tips – UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) released a video ahead of National Fire Prevention Month demonstrating the remarkable speed at which fires spread and engulf rooms in toxic levels of smoke – three minutes or less. In partnership with UL FSRI, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is encouraging everyone to take three life-saving steps to protect themselves and their families.
- Fire Hero Learning Network Registered Users Surpasses 100,000 – Since Fire Hero Learning Network went live, registered users have earned over 130,000 online learning certificates of completion. The knowledge gained from the modules better positions firefighters and officers as leaders in health and safety training in their respective departments.
- Truman Fire Forum Report Released – The Truman Fire Forum Report reflects the work that was done from the 17th Annual Truman Legacy Symposium and Fire Forum held in Key West, Florida, in May 2019.
- Improve the Decision-Making Skills and Safety of Your Firefighters – Earlier this fall, the September issue of Firehouse Magazine featured the 2019 Fire Service Health &and Safety Report. This 32-page supplement contains 15 articles by some the fire service’s most respected authors and some of its rising stars.
- Historic Event added to the Congressional Record – The 17th Annual Harry S. Truman Legacy Symposium and Fire Forum, which revisited Truman’s 1947 National Conference on Fire Prevention, was entered into the Congressional Record on May 23, 2019.
- Share Your Fire Code Experiences for an Exciting, New Documentary – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is looking to tell the stories of how fire and life safety codes have impacted your community, department and personnel.
- The Truman Fire Forum – At the Truman Fire Forum on May 7. 2019, three days of events concluded with an agreement on five priorities for the fire service to attack in an effort to make our nation a safer place to live.
