National Fire Protection Association Blog

NFPA's Electric Vehicle team will be heading to the Big Easy

EMS World Expo provides the perfect opportunity to update your clinical skills, learn about new operational developments, test-drive the latest EMS products, and network with thousands of fellow EMS providers from around the world. This year, it will also give emergency responders an opportunity to learn about electric and hybrid vehicles! The 2012 EMS World Expo, scheduled for October 29–November 2, 2012, in New Orleans has over 300 exhibitors and NFPA is one of them. 

Register 3-5 people right now for the 3-Day Conference and you’ll receive a discount off each registration. Register 6 or more people and receive an even greater discount off each registration prices, so act now! Swing by booth #1626 to learn more about all our EV training products and how they can help prepare you for emergency situations.

NFPA training and tanning

As a new employee at NFPA, I am still learning about our customers – who they are, what they do and what they need to do their jobs. In my enthusiastic pursuit of everything NFPA, I set out to research our training seminars. Since August I’ve pored over hundreds of pages of statistics that detail what locations our attendees fly to and drive to.  

A multitude of valuable NFPA knowledge now resides in the right side of my brain. However, the left side of my brain won’t let all of that data live exclusively on one side. One aspect of the research screamed for more attention. Our fly-to destinations were a way for our attendees and the instructors to weave in some personal time. Larry Wenzell, one of instructors from Connecticut who teaches NFPA 72 and NFPA 13 told me he is seeing more attendees combine their training with a vacation.

As an evolved, modernistic society where multi-tasking is now the norm rather than the oddity, our down time has steadily eroded. And the lagging economy has certainly changed the way we plan our vacations.  What creative ways are you combining travel with NFPA training? I’d love to hear from those of you that took an NFPA seminar and then swung by Aunt Milly’s for a few days of R&R. Send me your story and pictures if you have them. I’ll pick a few stories and report back at a later date.  

For those of you that are interested in heading to Florida, NFPA is partnering with LEGOLAND, FL for HERO days. Police Officers, firefighters and EMS personnel receive discounted admission to their parks. Go to www.nfpa.org/legoland for more details. Also, see below for a few NFPA training opportunities in FL over the next few months.

• 2013 NFPA 72®: National Fire Alarm andSignaling Code 3-day Seminar 
• 2012 NFPA 70E®: Electrical Safety in the Workplace® with Certificate of Educational Achievement 3-day Seminar 
• 2012 NFPA 101®: Life Safety Code® Essentials Focus on Occupancies Seminar with Certificate of Educational Achievement 5-day Seminar 
• Select from 27 Seminars in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – November 26-30
• Select from 6 Seminars in Orlando, Florida – December 10-14

How NFPA 72 and NFPA 101 work together to protect school children

In mid-October, the 2013 edition of NFPA 72^®, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, will be available. In it, you will find the definition of the tone signal or system of standard audible notification appliances that are required in fire alarm systems in our children’s schools by both the model building codes and the 2012 edition of NFPA 101^®, Life Safety Code^®.

A fire alarm system by itself does not suppress a fire, says Wayne Moore in his column “In Concert” in the latest issue of NFPA Journal. But it does sound an evacuation alarm throughout the building to notify the students and faculty of a fire and transmits an alarm to the fire department. In addition, it can automatically close smoke dampers in the HVAC system and release smoke and fire doors, preventing the fire from spreading and reducing smoke in exit pathways.

For more information on how NFPA 72 and NFPA 101 can work together to protect children in school, read the entire column online or in the September/October issue of NFPA Journal.

NFPA Journal tells you how to approach a basement fire

Basement fires are notoriously difficult and dangerous to fight, say Russ Saunders and Ben Klaene in their column “Cellar Threat” in the latest issue of NFPA Journal. They cite, in particular, figures from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which investigated 18 incidents resulting in on-duty fatalities at basement fires since 1997.

However, this doesn’t mean firefighters should never enter a building with a known basement fire. Rather, firefighters should familiarize themselves with the types of construction used in their response areas and use the information to develop training programs and guidelines for adequate size-up that will help to determine the location of a fire and access to the fire area. It is important to have as much information as possible before committing to an offensive operation and to use the available information to evaluate firefighters’ risks.

For more information, read the column on line or in the September/November issue of NFPA Journal.

NFPA Journal columnist discusses the aftermath of Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire

Molly Mowery, NFPA's program manager for Fire Adapted Communities and International Outreach, was co-hosting a study tour in Colorado with a group of Russian delegates when the Waldo Canyon Fire--the costliest fire in the state's history--spread into Colorado Springs' neighborhoods. The fire left an unfortunate mark on the city; two people died and nearly 400 homes were destroyed or damaged.

During the fire, the Russians posed a tough question to Mowery: "Why does the U.S. continue to lose so many homes in spite of all the good mitigation efforts?" Mowery addresses this question in the latest edition of NFPA Journal. "What I ended up telling them was, despite increasing risk factors, there are many positive success stories from local, state, and federal agencies around the country that showcase when mitigation works," she states in her column.

Mowery also discusses how mitigation efforts helped save nearly 82 percent of homes in Colorado Springs that were threatened by the Waldo Canyon Fire. Check out her column in NFPA Journal, as well as a feature story that takes you inside the aftermath of the wildfire. Also, watch the video of Mowery giving an overview of the new Fire Adapted Communities initiative:

 

NFPA 25 ROC Meeting Recap

The NFPA 25 Technical Committee on Inspection, Testing and Maintenance (ITM) of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems has spent the last three days tackling public and committee comments as part of the A2013 code revision cycle. Not unlike previous revision cycles, the NFPA 25 technical committee was faced with many challenges to further refine the industry-standard on ITM activity for water-based systems.

During the ROP stage, there were several important items addressed that resulted major departures from the 2011 edition of the standard. Through the hard work of the technical committee members,  who have  put in a tremendous amount of time both during the meeting and working in task groups in the evenings (and in some cases till the early morning!!!), these contentious issues have been reshaped and consensus has been achieved (for now) across the broad spectrum of committee member interests.

Specific topics that were addressed included operating test frequencies for fire pumps, internal assessment of piping and the impairment/critical deficiency/noncritical deficiency table that appeared in Annex of the 2011 edition.

While none of the activity from this weeks meeting is final as it has not been balloted, the committee has established the committee action that will appear on the committee ballot. Pending the results of the ballot, the committee position at the ROC meeting was to reintroduce a requirement for internal assessments of piping either on a five-year periodic frequency or on a frequency established by a project specific risk assessment. This concept had been removed during the ROP meeting, however the committee found some middle ground between a mandatory 5 year internal inspection for all systems and the abolishment of a periodic frequency altogether. The 2011 edition Annex E will potentially be moved into Annex A and be "linked" to the chapter 3 definition for "deficiency".

Internal Pipe Corrosion (Courtesy of Terry Victor, SimplexGrinnell)

As for the ongoing fire pump operating test frequency debate, the position of the technical committee coming out of the ROC meeting is that the operating test frequency for fire pumps will vary depending on the type of fire pump (electric or diesel driven), the risk factors associated with the water supply and building where the fire pump is located, and the presence of a project specific frequency defined in a risk assessment.

While these positions have not been balloted and finalized by the technical committee they represent the consensus position established by the more than 30 committee members in attendance at the meeting. While the ROC meeting was not without it's fair share of discussion and debate, the work done by the committees and task group's will no doubt lead to even more exceptional guidance on how to maintain water-based fire protection systems to assure that they are functional when a fire event occurs. Thank you to the technical committee for their hard work and dedication over the last year to put us in position to produce another great edition of this important standard.

 

 

 

NFPA & Marsh Risk Consulting invite you to 2012 EuroCon in Amsterdam

 

NFPA and Marsh Risk Consulting present 2012 EuroCon in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The three day conference will take place at the Passengers Cruise Terminal, November 12 -14, 2012. This conference offers more than 25 educational sessions focused on safeguarding lives and reducing property loss taught by experts in their fields including NFPA technical staff, technical code committee members, instructors; and experts from across Europe. Three tracks are offered to help participants enhance their understanding of the latest codes that relate directly to attendees specific area of work. They are: Fire & Life Safety, Property Protection, and Property Risk Management.

Visit www.nfpa.eu for more information on NFPA 2012 EuroCon or to preview the conference agenda and register today.

NFPA, The Home Depot and Kidde team up for fire safety

NFPA is teaming up with The Home Depot and Kidde to help raise awareness of fire safety throughout October with nationwide in-store fire safety workshops for kids and adults. In addition, The Home Depot will donate 50,000 Kidde 10-year sealed lithium battery smoke alarms to local fire departments across the United States. What's more,  a donation will be made to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s “Be a Hero, Save a Hero” initiative!

“Nearly 20 percent of homes in the U.S. have smoke alarms that don’t work. This program will benefit thousands of families by providing long-life smoke alarms that offer maintenance-free protection for ten years. The recipients never need to remember to replace the battery because it’s sealed inside the unit, and will last the life of the alarm,” said Chris Rovenstine, marketing and sales manager for Kidde.

The majority of fire deaths occur in homes where there are no smoke alarms or no working smoking alarms, mainly due to dead (aged) or missing batteries or age of alarm. We recommend replacing smoke alarms every 10 years and testing your batteries twice a year. 

Fire departments can get involved and learn more by contacting their local Home Depot store manager or visiting www.nfpa.org/homedepot.

Scores of schoolchildren to hone fire safety messages during NFPA's Fire Prevention Week

Since 2006, NFPA has partnered with Scholastic, Inc., the popular producer of educational literature and programs for children, to develop and distribute lesson plans and activities tied to NFPA's Fire Prevention Week (FPW) themes. The two organizations plan to address this year's theme, "Have Two Ways Out," and reach an estimated 10.6 million children via take-home packages, activity sheets, and other materials produced in both English and Spanish that highlight escape planning.

Judy Comoletti, NFPA's division director of Public Education, underscores the successes of such a partnership in the September/October issue of NFPA Journal. "Typically, our program receives high praise, with more than 90 percent of the teachers rating the program very to extremely useful," she says. "Teachers like the interactive aspects of the program."

Learn about these tools and other aspects of FPW in NFPA Journal. And watch the following video of Comoletti giving an overview of all the free content:

Space heater blamed for infant's death

As summer fades into fall, the cooler weather has already initiated the use of home heating equipment in some parts of the U.S. And as exemplified by a recent tragedy in Chicago, residents using these heat sources should exercise caution.

A two-month-old girl died last week from a fire initiated by a space heater that was apparently placed too close to a bed. According to the Chicago Tribune, the intense flames prevented firefighters from rescuing the infant from the apartment, which had nonworking smoke alarms. The girl's mother was burned in a rescue attempt, and the fire displaced 30 people, including 12 children, states the Tribune.

NFPA recommends keeping space heaters and other types of heating equipment at least three feet from anything that can burn. Download the heating safety tip sheet for other ideas on keeping your residence safe from fire.