Each year in the United States more than 3,000 people die, thousands are injured and over $10 Billion in property is lost as a result of fire. As a way to enhance public safety in buildings and reduce these losses from fire, a bill – the Community Building Code Administration Grant Act of 2007 has been introduced in the United States Congress.
The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) supports this bill that would improve building and fire code enforcement in jurisdictions throughout the United States.
“Improved code enforcement will lead to better design and construction practices,” said Chris Jelenewicz, Engineering Program Manager with SFPE. “As a result, our nation’s schools, hospitals, shopping centers, homes and high-rise buildings will be better protected.”
This legislation will authorize a grant program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. If enacted and funded, this law would provide locally matched federal grants to jurisdictions who seek to upgrade their local building and fire code administration and enforcement resources. These grants would provide $100 million per year over five years to help local governments employee building and fire code officials.
“Many fire protection engineers work as building and code officials to help build and maintain fire safe communities,” said Jelenewicz. “If this bill is enacted, many communities will have the opportunity to employee fire protection engineers as part of a community’s code enforcement team.”
This House version of this legislation was sponsored by Congressman Dennis Moore (Kansas) and was referred to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee (H.R. 4461). The Senate version (S. 2458) was sponsored by Senator Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) and was referred to the Senate Banking Committee.
What is a Fire Protection Engineer?
According to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, a fire protection engineer applies science and engineering principles to protect people, homes, workplaces, the economy and the environment from the devastating effects of fires.
Fire protection engineers analyze how buildings are used, how fires start and grow, and how fires affect people and property. They use the latest technologies to design systems to control fires, alert people to danger, and provide means for escape. Fire protection engineers also work closely with other professionals, including engineers of other disciplines, architects, state and local building officials, and local fire departments to build fire safe communities. Fire protection engineers are in high demand. The number of available jobs far exceeds the supply.
About Society of Fire Protection Engineers
Organized in 1950, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers is the professional society for engineers involved in the field of fire protection engineering. The purposes of SFPE are to advance the science and practice of fire protection engineering, maintain a high ethical standing among its members and foster fire protection engineering education. SFPE’s worldwide members include engineers in private practice, in industry and in local, regional and national government. Chapters are located in Canada, China, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United States.