CPSC and NFPA Join Together To Fight Residential Fires

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Anne Graham, Acting Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and Robert Grant, President of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding between their two organizations. Acting Chairman Graham indicated her support by stating, "I look forward to increased cooperation with NFPA to address the severe fire hazards posed to consumers in this country. I am particularly concerned for the safety or our youngest consumers. Fire is the leading cause of accidental death in the home for children less than fifteen years-old".

During the signing ceremony Mr. Grant expressed NFPA's long-standing commitment to fire protection, emphasizing the need for more partnerships like this: "Only with the assistance of all those who are in a position to protect humankind will we be able to effectively reduce the terrible toll of fire in this nation. Public/Private partnerships between organizations like the Commission and NFPA can go a long way in turning the tide of fire deaths, injuries and property loss."

NFPA and the Commission have cooperated for many years on activities designed to improve fire and life safety for citizens of the United States. The purposes of this Memorandum Understanding are to:

• set forth a commitment of continued cooperation,
  
  
• establish a procedure for continue technical cooperation and information exchange,
  
  
• outline the general conditions to formulate and conduct cooperative efforts,
  
  
• set forth those services to be provided by each organization.

NFPA, organized in 1896, is a non-profit technical and education educational organization incorporated in 1930 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its mission is to promote the science and improve the methods of fire protection and prevention, to obtain and circulate information on these subjects, and to secure the cooperation of its members and the property by fire. The Association is known for the development and distribution of the National Fire Codes.

The CPSC was established by the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2051-2083, enacted on October 27, 1972. The purpose of the Act is to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products.

"We look forward to working with CPSC on many projects in the future and are particularly pleased at Acting Chairman Graham's interest in the protection of children," said Mr. Grant. "I'm sure the Commission will be an important partner in promoting this year's National Fire Prevention Week - the theme: "Big Fires Start Small: Keep Matches and Lighters in the Right Hands." NFPA has sponsored Fire Prevention Week for nearly 70 years.

There is a long history of past cooperative efforts between the two organizations. CPSC staff participated in the National Fire Research Strategy Conference, jointly sponsored by NFPA and the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute for Standards and Technology). Staff from both organizations jointly developed, along with the U.S. Fire Administration, a protocol for calculating national estimates of fire loss associated with specific products. NFPA staff contributed significantly to activities undertaken by CPSC to support the Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety in accordance with provisions of the Cigarette Safety Act. Also, with the assistance of CPSC, NFPA has made changes in fires codes covering heating equipment; as a result, fires, deaths, and property losses from solid fuel heating equipment are decreasing.