About

Richard Patton F.P.E. was one of the world's first Fire Protection Engineers and Chairman of the world's first fire code/standard (NFPA74) for fire protection in the home.

He passed away on 29 November 2023 aged 98. He devoted his life to saving the lives of others.

He has campaigned against fire industry corruption, misinformation and Wilfull Blindness by countless 'professionals' who have put profit before saving lives. He has testified on fire safety issues before a U.S. Senate Committee, the House of Representatives and in numerous ionization smoke alarm lawsuits all of which settled out of court with Confidentiality Orders to keep the truth from the public and our firefighters.

Patton's life's work, including thousands of reports, newspaper articles and other information is available here.

He will be featured in the twentieth-anniversary edition of the World Fire Safety Foundation's film, 'STOP The Children Burning' which will be released in October 2024 along with 'The Alarming Truth' book.

Sixty Minutes exposé of ionization smoke alarms, 'The Alarming Truth' aired across Australia and New Zealand in October 2014. October 2024 will also mark the 10th anniversary of the 60 Minutes film.