05/19/2026
From the fire chiefs desk:
I was fotunate to sit in a meeting with the Director of Fire and EMS for the U.S. Fire Administration during the IAFC Fire and Life Safety Section board meeting. The two stats below have the attention of the entire fire service, or atleast it should.
In 1970 families had 17 minutes to get out of a home if it caught fire. Research from the best in the fire service UL-FSRI shows that time has now been reduced to less than 3 minutes. If you own an E-bike or E-scooter and charge it in your home, that escape time is now down to 1 minute as the risk of thermal runaway on E-bikes is a very common fire threat.
In my 39 years of service, I grow increasingly concerned we have finally met our match in the fire service. In NFPA 1700 recently updated, we are seeing a shift in property preservation to having a single focus of saving lives. Suppression, ventilation, and fire grounds actions must be soley dedicated to life safety. Honestly, arriving on a room and content fire is increasingly unlikely any more. It's a tough message to say your fire is growing faster than we can be there to save you.
We can blame preengineered wood, plastics, large open room design, lithium ion batteries, foam products from hydrocarbons, and lack of national fire department funding, and attempts by some organizations to water down the fire codes of this nation. I blame the one thing as old as time. In 1973 during the Congressional Report America Burning, public apathy was the #1 contributing factor on fire disasters. Now 53 years later, America is not only still burning, but Americans are still dying from fire. Practicing home evacuation drills seem rare in our survey of the public. There is a common belief fires happen to someone else.
Honestly, as fires decline in number but deaths skyrocket, our conclusion is simple. You must start the process of saving yourself when fire strikes. Fire alarms in apartment buildings must be immediately heeded. Builders must recognize the public demands safer housing along with affordable housing. I can define a safer home but no one can define the term affordable housing. We must acknowledge sprinklers in homes save lives. Recent research shows adding a sprinkler system to homes during construction costs less than granite countertops adding $1.71 a square foot to your home cost.
On the 40th anniversary of the Scottsdale, Az sprinkler mandate for all buildings, they remain the lowest fire losses in the U.S. Prince Georges, Maryland has not had a fire fatality in a sprinkled building. It is time consumers demand safety in their next home purchase. If you are considering building a new home, reach out and let us help you stack the deck in your favor. Your home should not be disposable. Email [email protected]
