U.S. Fire Administration

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.

On November 1, 1974, President Gerald Ford established the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, known today as the United States Fire Administration, by signing the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Public Law 43-198 into law. The Act was created in response to the 1973 National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control report, America Burning. The report's authors estimated fires caused 12,000 deaths and 300,000 serious injuries annually in the United States, combined with annual property losses of $11.4 billion. Among its 90 recommendations, the report proposed that a federal agency be established to help combat the growing problem of fatal fires happening throughout the country. On April 11, 1975, President Gerald Ford announced his nomination of Ohio State Fire Marshal David A. Lucht to the new position of Deputy Administrator of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration. On July 24, 1975, President Gerald Ford nominated Howard D. Tipton, who had served as Executive Director of the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, to head the new agency as Administrator.