 Chaired by Richard E. Bland, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, the group became known as the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control (NCFPC).The NCFPC and its staff published a report titled "America Burning" on May 4, 1973.Included in the report was the NCFPC’s recommendation to establish a permanent U.S. Fire Administration “to provide a national focus for the Nation’s fire problem, and to promote a comprehensive program with adequate funding to reduce life and property loss from fire.”

The report further identified several deficiencies in the area of quality fire training across the country including the absence of a systematic method to exchange information among fire educators and fire agencies.