[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 36 (Monday, March 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2857-S2858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CENTER FOR FIRESAFETY STUDIES

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to pay 
tribute to the Center for Firesafety Studies at Worcester Polytechnic 
Institute in Massachusetts as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary.
  Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1865 to support the 
new industrial economy that was developing in Central Massachusetts in 
the 19th century. Its founders believed in merging theory and practice 
as part of the ongoing effort to deal with changing needs of our 
society. Over the years, the university has earned international 
respect for its innovations in engineering education and its 
responsiveness to a changing world.
  In the 1960s, fire safety in America was a priority in Congress. The 
Fire Research and Safety Act in 1968 called for a national study of the 
issue, which resulted in the landmark report known as America Burning. 
Among its findings, America Burning emphasized that, ``Appallingly, the 
richest and most technologically advanced nation in the world leads all 
the major industrialized countries in per capita deaths and property 
loss from fire.''

[[Page S2858]]

  In response to this wake-up call, Congress passed the Fire Prevention 
and Control Act of 1974, which created the United States Fire 
Administration and its National Fire Academy. David A. Lucht of Ohio 
was appointed by President Ford to lead the new agency in 1975.
  True to its tradition, Worcester Polytechnic Institute took the issue 
on, with Professor Robert W. Fitzgerald as the guiding intellect and 
catalyst. In 1979, WPI created the Center for Firesafety Studies as the 
first graduate degree program in fire protection engineering in the 
Nation. In the past quarter century with Professor Lucht as Director, 
the WPI fire safety program has become an international leader in fire 
protection engineering education, with graduates from 30 countries. 
Through its outstanding faculty, students and alumni, WPI has had an 
important role in making the world safer from fire.
  I commend WPI on this impressive 25th Anniversary of the Center for 
Firesafety Studies and its graduate degree program in fire protection 
engineering. We are proud of them in Massachusetts, and the Nation is 
grateful for the difference they have made in fire safety for us 
all.

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