At the last city council meeting, the fire chief updated the council on the previous month's fire statistics and initiatives. One of the major talking points was the number of resources (financial and physical) that the fire department put into fire prevention efforts across the division, including inspection and code enforcement, education, investigation, and engineering. The council asked the fire chief whether the money and effort was effective and whether the resources should be used in other areas of the department that have more impact on the safety of the community.

You are the fire marshal in your jurisdiction. The fire chief asks you to put together a report highlighting the impact and return on investment the fire prevention division has on the safety of the community. The chief has asked that you submit your report in writing so that it can be reviewed and discussed at the next staff meeting. With the current budget constraints, several members of the city council feel like there are more important areas and programs that need funding. If your report is approved, it will be presented at the next city council meeting.

Your plan should begin with a summary of the fire prevention division activities in your organization. If you do not work at a fire department, provide a summary of fire prevention activities as discussed in this course.

You should include the following elements in your paper.

• Explain the rationale and benefit of inspection and code enforcement policies and general fire safety provisions as methods of fire protection.
• Examine the interrelationship of regulatory practices in fire prevention by identifying how inspection and code enforcement activities tie into the success of public education programs, plans review, and fire investigations on community resilience.
• Discuss the importance of general fire safety provisions for occupied buildings, including fire suppression systems, and characteristics of unsafe structures in your community.
• Identify the short-term and long-term benefits to your community through investments, including the practice of fire-resistant materials.
• Provide an overview of the fire prevention division and activities, including professional development process for code enforcement practitioners.
• Provide some background demographics of your community related to the project (i.e., common occupancies, high call volume areas, types of calls, fire activity, etc.), including the building code development and modification process.
• Identify benefits of inspection and code enforcement for the community and the organization versus the cost of performance.