Did you know Oklahoma State University (OSU) is home to the nation’s first ABET accredited Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology (FPSET) program? The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities knows. Recognizing the program as a "national treasure whose work is of great national importance", the Honorable Adair Wakefield Margo (Chairman, 2000-2008) praised OSU for preparing graduates who safeguard art, history and the public.

 

OSU graduates protect people and property throughout the world from fires, chemical releases, floods, and other disasters. They have also protected historic structures such as the Statue of Liberty and priceless artifacts inside the Smithsonian Institution.

 

The FPSET and FSEP programs are widely recognized as a world leader in preparing students for careers in fire protection, safety, industrial hygiene/exposure science, and the fire service. FPSET and FSEP alumni are employed across the globe in consulting, academia, government, industry, healthcare and other sectors.

 

Established in 1937, the FPSET program is the oldest fire/safety related program in North America. In 1943, Horatio Bond, Chief Engineer for NFPA, spent the summer with FPSET program faculty to study the effects of fire bombings during World War II for his writings on the use of fire in warfare. It was at the end of that summer that he named Oklahoma State University the "West Point of the Fire Service," equating the FPSET program to the fire service as West Point Military Academy is to the military. 

In 2010, James Shannon, President of the National Fire Protection Association(NFPA) declared that OSU Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology is the "Standard of Quality in the Profession."

 

In 2017, The FPSET collaborated with Stellenbosch University and the Western Cape Government Disaster Management to focus on ways to improve fire safety in a number of informal settlements in the Stellenbosch and Cape Town areas.

In addition, in 2017 program established a collaborative matriculation agreement between OSU and Southwest Jiaotong University in China.