Shouldn't fire and building officials have similar 'public' interests: life safety? Why should they have separate agendas? A house is not built by one profession: it takes carpenters, plumbers, HVAC contractors, electricians, design professionals, materials suppliers, inspectors, bankers, etc., and those are only the main players. How about the loggers, truckers, materials engineers, and other segments of manufacturing? If we pare down the agenda to life safety, then why can't we pare down the codes to life safety? Of special interest are the things that kill us: carbon monoxide, fire, electrical shorts, sewer gases, mold, off-gassing of toxic chemicals, and the list could go on; but I digress. Where have all the reasonable people gone?