Fire Research and Safety Act of 1968 was a declaration for a panoptic fire research and safety program advocated by President Lyndon Johnson on February 16, 1967. The Act of Congress established a National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control while encompassing more effective measures for fire hazards protection with the potentiality of death, injury, and damage to property. The U.S. statute

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

ed a nationwide collection of comprehensive fire data with emphasis on a United States fire research program, fire safety education and training programs, demonstrations of new approaches and improvements in

fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...

and prevention resulting in the reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage. The S. 1124 legislation was passed by the 90th Congressional session and enacted by the 36th President of the United States

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on March 1, 1968.

Provisions

Public Law 90-259 was penned as two titles: ''Fire Research and Safety Program'' and ''National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control''.

Title I - Fire Research and Safety Program

:(A) The purpose of Title I is to authorize directly or through contracts or grants ::(1)

fire investigation Fire investigation, sometimes referred to as origin and cause investigation, is the analysis of fire-related incidents. After firefighters extinguish a fire, an investigation is launched to determine the origin and cause of the fire or explosion ...

s to determine their causes,

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

of occurrence, severity, and other pertinent factors ::(2) research into the causes and nature of fires, and the development of improved methods and techniques for

fire prevention Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do o ...

, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage ::(3) educational programs to — :::(A) inform the public of fire hazards and fire safety techniques :::(B) encourage avoidance of such hazards and use of such techniques ::(4) fire information reference services, including the collection, analysis, and

dissemination To disseminate (from lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional view ...

of data, research results, and other information, derived from this program or from other sources and related to

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage ::(5) educational and training programs to improve, among other things — :::(A) the efficiency, operation, and organization of fire services :::(B) the capability of controlling unusual fire-related hazards and fire disasters ::(6) projects demonstrating — :::(A) improved or experimental programs of fire prevention, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage :::(B) application of fire safety principles in construction :::(C) improvement of the efficiency, operation, or organization of the fire services :(B) The purpose of Title I is to support by contracts or grants the development, for use by educational and other nonprofit institutions ::(1) fire safety and

fire protection engineering Fire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people, property, and their environments from the harmful and destructive effects of fire and smoke. It encompasses engineering which focuses on fire ...

or science curriculums ::(2) fire safety courses, seminars, or other instructional materials and aids for the above curriculums or other appropriate curriculums or courses of instruction :Grants may be made only to States and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

s other non-Federal public agencies, and nonprofit institutions. Such a grant may be up to 100 percentum of the total cost of the project for which such grant is made.

Title II - National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control

:The U.S. Congress found the United States to have an increasing proportation of the population dispersed in suburban and urban vicinities. The population geographics created a complex and frequently obscured approach for controlling and preventing destructive fires beyond local

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. :The purpose of Title II is to establish a commission to perform a thorough investigation and study of the

demography Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

and population dynamics in the United States. The commission is to develop a formulation for recommendations whereby the United States can reduce the destruction of life and property caused by fire in U.S. cities, communities, suburbs, and elsewhere.

Establishment of Commission

:*The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control is to be composed of twenty members. :* Secretary of Commerce,

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...

, and eighteen members are to be appointed by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. :*The individuals appointed as members shall be eminently well qualified by training or experience to carry out the functions of the Commission, and shall be selected so as to provide representation of the views of individuals and organizations of all areas of the United States concerned with fire research, safety, control, or prevention, including representatives drawn from Federal, State, and local governments, industry, labor, universities, laboratories, trade associations, and other interested institutions or organizations. Not more than six members of the Commission shall be appointed from the Federal Government. :*The President shall designate the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commission.

References

External links