1. Alabama Fire College Chapter 1 Overview of the History and Development of the American Fire Service

2. Alabama Fire College Introduction This chapter covers: –Importance of the mission of the fire service –Purpose of a mission statement –How the history of the fire service influences the modern day firefighter –Fire service changes from 1947 to early twenty-first century 1.2

3. Alabama Fire College The Mission of the Fire Service Firefighter tasks are the same all over the world –Save lives and property from fire and other emergencies –Different fire departments have different approaches Mission synonymous with purpose for existence –Legal authority to act in a certain manner Mission statement –Written declaration describing things it intends to do to protect citizenry or customers Every individual responsible for mission 1.3

4. Alabama Fire College Roots in the Past Factors common to all agencies –Organizational structure –Inventory of facilities, apparatus, equipment, methods –Programs to protect life and property Categories of programs –Fire and emergency operations and fire prevention –Arson investigation –Training –Emergency medical services –Communications and maintenance 1.4

5. Alabama Fire College 1.5 Understanding the history of the fire service is like climbing a ladder.

6. Alabama Fire College The Fire Service of Today Acceleration of change related to duties of firefighter and agency staffing –Hazardous materials response –Search and rescue –Terrorism incidents 1947: National Conference on America’s Fire Problem (Harry Truman) Texas City Disaster: first catastrophic hazardous materials event in America 1.6

7. Alabama Fire College The Fire Service of Today (cont’d.) 1960s: Johnson Foundation “Wingspread Conference” 1970s: National Commission on Fire Protection and Control, America Burning –United States Fire Administration created –Incident command system (ICS) created 1.7

8. Alabama Fire College The Fire Service of Today (cont’d.) Twenty-first century: –30,635 fire departments and 1,140,900 firefighters –Fire department in the U.S. responds to one fire every 20 seconds –U.S. has fourth highest death rate among industrial nations: one person dies every two hours in a fire –The fire service plays a large role in EMS 1.8

9. Alabama Fire College 1.9 The fire service has expanded into many areas, including hazardous materials response.

10. Alabama Fire College 1.10 Firefighters are often called on to assist EMS crews with patient care.

11. Alabama Fire College Lessons Learned Firefighter’s career is like climbing a ladder We must give due credit to the past Future contains difficult challenges and opportunities Firefighters must develop skills that did not exist previously 1.11