THE LEVEL OF FIRESAFETY IN A PENAL INSTITUTION DEPENDS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE OVERALL FIRESAFETY SYSTEM. THERE ARE FIVE MAJOR COMPONENTS: IGNITION CONTROL, FUEL CONTROL, OCCUPANT PROTECTION, DETECTION-SUPPRESSION, AND TRAINING OPERATIONS. IGNITION CONTROL (ELIMINATING UNCONTROLLED HEAT SOURCES SO THAT A FIRE CANNOT BE IGNITED) IS THE LEAST EFFECTIVE AS IT IS DIFFICULT TO PREVENT IGNITION FROM OCCURRING. THE GOAL OF FUEL CONTROL IS TO KEEP FUEL QUANTITY AT A MINIMUM, PROVIDE SPECIAL SEPARATION BETWEEN COMBUSTIBLES AND POTENTIAL IGNITION SOURCES, AND PROVIDE MATERIALS THAT WILL BURN SLOWLY. FAST FIRES HAVE BEEN THE TRADITIONAL KILLER IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS. PROVIDING PROTECTION FOR OCCUPANTS INCLUDES COMPARTMENTATION WHICH LIMITS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND THE BUILDING VOLUME EXPOSED TO A FIRE) AND PROPER MEANS OF EXITING. EXITS MUST BE SECURE AND DETERRENTS, SUCH AS LOCKED DOORS, MUST BE EASILY AND QUICKLY UNLOCKED. EXITS PROVIDE ACCESS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND PATHS FOR INMATES TO MOVE TO A SECURE REFUGE AREA. DETECTION AND SUPPRESSION OF FIRE ARE BEST ACCOMPLISHED AUTOMATICALLY. SMOKE DETECTORS AND AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS ARE THE TWO MORE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL DETECTION DEVICES. THE LAST MAJOR AREA OF FIRE DEFENSE IN A PENAL FACILITY--TRAINING, OPERATIONS, AND PLANNING CAN MAKE A MARGINAL FIRESAFETY SYSTEM EFFECTIVE AND HELP REDUCE THE IMPACT OF A POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS FIRE. THUS IT TAKES THE COMBINED IMPACT OF SEVERAL MEASURES TO PRODUCE A HIGH LEVEL OF FIRESAFETY AND A HIGH DEGREE OF SECURITY. THE ANNOTATED ARTICLE IS ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS. (MJW)