Firefighting in The United States

Firefighting in the United States can be traced back to the 17th century when, after a great conflagration in Boston in 1631, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law banning smoking in public places. In 2003 in the United States there were approximately 800,000 volunteer firefighters and 300,000 paid firefighters. The Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has been providing information, education and training for the volunteer fire and emergency medical services throughout New York State since 1872.

The professionalization of American firefighting was largely a result of three factors: the steam fire engines, the fire insurance companies, that demanded the municipalization of firefighting, and an ideology which suggested that payment of wages would naturally result in improved service. Paid firefighters may be union or non-union. Union American firefighters are represented and united in the International Association of Fire Fighters with the headquarters in Washington, D.C. However, many municipalities still rely on volunteer, paid on call, or part-time firefighters. These professional volunteer firefighters are rarely union, and their interests are represented by the National Volunteer Fire Council.

The United States Fire Administration provides national leadership to local fire services. The fire departments report fires and other incidents according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, which maintains records of the incidents in a uniform manner. The National Fire Protection Association sets and maintains minimum standards and requirements for firefighting duties and equipment. The suppression of wildfires is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This is done through the National Wildland Coordination Center.

The two million fire calls that American fire departments respond to each year represent the highest figures in the industrialized world. Thousands of people die each year, tens of thousands of people are injured, and property damages reach the billions of dollars. Indirect costs, such as temporary lodging expenses, lost time at work, medical expenses, and psychological damages are equally alarming (The United States Fire Administration 1996). According to American Red Cross statistics, the annual losses from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters combined in the United States average just a fraction of those from fires. House fires in particular are one of the most common tragedies facing emergency disaster workers in recent history. According to the US Fire Administration, the United States has a more severe fire problem than generally perceived. In inner city Pennsylvania neighborhoods, house fires have greatly increased, especially in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. An alarming trend in these specific house fires is that sixty percent of these houses do not have working smoke detectors. Additionally, these households are prone to using supplemental heating devices and substandard extension cords that are not Underwriters Laboratories (UL) compliant. UL compliant extension cords are labeled with valuable information as to the use, size, and rating of the cord (Dunston, 2008, p. 2).