Fire Behind BarsOne of the most often-asked questions I get at personal appearances is, "Is this your first book?" So here it is. I co-authored Fire Behind Bars in 1979 with Al Golden. We were originally commissioned to write a training guide on fire prevention and control for administrators of prisons and jails. As we started to do our research, however, we learned that the story was much more complicated then we first anticipated and our "guide" grew to over 130 pages long and became the first text in the U.S. to deal comprehensively with the problem of deadly fires in secure institutions. In the process, we uncovered the primary sources of the fires that were sweeping the country and identified specific steps administrators could take to eliminate the greatest risk factors. We were then asked to turn the manual into a book which was later published through the National Institute of Justice and the rest, as they say, is history.
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About the Book |
In the late 1970s a rash of deadly prison and jail fires spread across the U.S. and at its peak, killed 69 inmates and staff in the span of several weeks. I was working at the time as a consultant to the New England Correctional Coordinating Council (NECCC) and was approached to research the cause of the fires and develop a training guide for administrators on their prevention and control. I agreed on the condition that I work along with a fire expert and I subsequently partnered with Alton P. Golden, the fire marshal for the Minimum Security Prison in Enfield Connecticut. Al and I conducted our research from February to April 1978 and here is what we found:
During the 1960s and 70s, prisons and jails throughout the country underwent profound programmatic and physical changes as we moved from a mission of punishment to one of rehabilitation. Among the physical changes, institutional walls of concrete and steel were covered with studs and plywood paneling. and drop ceilings were installed to provide a more home-like feel. Wooden and metal chairs and benches were replaced by plush sofas and cushioned chairs and lumpy cotton batting mattresses were replaced by ones made with foam rubber. All of these changes and more set the stage for disaster. Compounding the problem at that time, was that the National Fire Codes contained no chapter dedicated to secure institutions, so prison and jail construction fell under the woefully inadequate hospital standards. Finally, correctional procedures and training to deal with these new threats were either lacking or non-existent. Al and I developed a lengthy guide containing our findings and specific recommendations. After we conducted a series of seminars on the topic, NECCC and the New England Municiple Center asked if we would expand our findings into a book and in Ausust, 1979 Fire Behind Bars was published through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, U.S. Department of Justice. |
Out of Print |
Since Fire Behind Bars contained detailed analysis of secure institution procedures and construction it was never made public. While new standards, processes and procedures made the information contained in the book less of a security breach, they also rendered it irrelevant and the book went out of print. It did, however, have several lasting effects. It was credited with launching revisions in prison and jail construction, development of new standards and training, and saving lives through the adoption of the recommendations in the book. It also propelled me onto the national stage and across the country as a speaker and consultant. I never lost the bug for writing and after a thirty year career in government, took an early retirement and began writing my novels, poems, short-stories and plays.
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