Of all natural disasters, the event over which man has the most control is fire. While little can be done to prevent hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and similar naturally occurring phenomenon, many fires are started and are spread by human error,
particularly in the built environment.
The United States continues to have one of the worst fire records in the industrialized world in both commercial and residential
structures. The price of fire loss reaches the billions, not including the cost of injuries, losses from businesses that must close, and
from jobs that are interrupted or lost. This is in spite of the fact that researchers, scientists and design professionals have addressed
fire protection principles for nearly three centuries in this country.