Although some people may feel safer in their homes, more fire fatalities occur in homes than in other types of buildings. Building regulations have stricter fire safety requirements for public buildings than they do for homes. Accordingly, the efforts of fire protection engineers are generally focused on public buildings, which are consequently much safer.

Throughout history, the desire for increased building security has contributed to countless deadly building fires. The most notable fire occurred at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911, where locked exit doors contributed to 146 fatalities. Although the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire occurred almost 100 years ago, the threat can still exist today if security is not balanced with fire protection. For instance, padlocked exit doors contributed to the deaths of 175 concertgoers at a Buenos Aires nightclub fire in 2004.

I'm amazed we didn't have more fatalities. Although the number is high, we are still very lucky.

The findings are not a huge surprise to us given the threat from terrorism that we face today. But one thing people don't often think about is how security and fire protection have common goals in building design: protecting life and property.

Rural state highways are where about 50 percent of the states traffic fatalities occur.

There have been fatalities,