b'STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE TWO Fire departments should be agents of change and a part of the national critical infrastructure that will help solve Americas fire problem at the community level.Despite many advances since Wingspread I in 1966, unfriendly fire remains a scourge within our society. Approximately 100 firefighters are killed in the line of duty annually. The ravages of structural fires claimed over 3,700 civilian lives and injured over 16,000 people along with an estimated $14.8 billion loss in property damage in 2019 1 . The United States fire and emergency services must focus on this appalling problem. Technology is available that can eliminate these horrible losses using automatic fire protection systems, such as residential fire sprinklers, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide detectors. To accomplish the core mission of preventing harm, fire and emergency service organizations must be the transformational change agents to ensure that the available technology are implemented to resolve this solvable societal problem. All levels of government must consider their fire and emergency services departments as critical infrastructure, thereby providing all of the necessary resources to reach the mission of preventing harm in the community.BackgroundIn 2019, local fire departments responded nationally to a fire every 24 seconds and responded to residential fires every 93 seconds 2 . Preventing harm in the community will support many other important social goals, (i.e., economic development, affordable housing, and neighborhood business continuity.) The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the NFA, and fire insurance companies point to the need to increase community risk reduction services and efforts. Our nation possesses the technology to prevent or limit the destruction of unwanted fires. The next logical step is for government to require and provide the resources to implement these life safety protections.1 Ahrens, M., & Evarts, B. (2020). Fire Loss in the United States During 2019. Quincy: National Fire Protection Association. 2Ibid.8'