By FireRescue1 staff
EMMITSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Fire Administration, in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, will host the first U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control on Oct. 11, aligned with the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week.
The State of Science portion of the event, which will be livestreamed from the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, begins at 1 p.m. EDT. The event will feature presentations from fire service leaders and researchers, detailing the challenges and recommended solutions to the fire problems facing the country.
USFA Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell detailed some of these challenges: “In addition to the growing burdens of wildfire, the demands on our nation’s local fire departments continue to increase, further exacerbating daily fire impacts on all our communities. Thus far in 2022, fires have killed more than 1,600 people nationwide. Additionally, firefighters pay a high price with 73 firefighters killed on duty so far this year.”
The first two speakers for the State of Science are Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Adam Thiel and FDNY Acting Chief of Training Frank Leeb. Both cities began 2022 with structure fires that killed 17 and 12 people, respectively. Thiel and Leeb will discuss the impact of those fires on their communities and fire departments.
The summit marks the 75th anniversary of the 1947 President Truman Conference on Fire Prevention and Control that launched the America Burning report and established the USFA. Many of the outcomes from the original Truman Conference hold true today.
For more information and to register for the summit, visit www.firehero.org/USFA-Summit.
