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Comments sought on proposed TIA to NFPA 70, National Electrical Code®
Errata issued on NFPA 70 Report on Comments and NFPA 1962
TIAs issued on NFPA 58, 59A, NFPA 1917, NFPA 1971, and NFPA 2112
Comments sought on proposed new standard for the application of hybrid, gas, and fine water droplet systems
NFPA 32 seeking additional expertise in the Textile and Garment Care Processes Industry
Standards Forum and Committee Leadership Conference at 2013 NFPA Conference & Expo
Standards Council minutes available from March 2013 meeting
Free access to NFPA codes and standards
Committees soliciting Public Input (formerly Proposals)
Committees seeking members
Committee meetings calendar
NFPA News is a free newsletter, and includes special announcements, notification of public input and comment closing dates, requests for comments, notices on the availability of Standards Council minutes, and other important news about NFPA’s code and standards making process.
Free subscription Sign-in on NFPA’s web site and then select “NFPA News” from your e-mail options.
At its March 2013 meeting, the NFPA Standards Council considered the issuance of several proposed Tentative Interim Amendments (TIA). The following TIAs on NFPA 58, NFPA 59A, NFPA 99, NFPA 1001, NFPA 1124, NFPA 1917, NFPA 1971, and NFPA 2112 were issued by the Council on March 7, 2013:
NFPA 58, TIA 11-4, referencing 11.1.1, A.11.1.1, and 11.15.2
NFPA 59A, TIA 13-1, referencing Table 15.6.1 and Table 15.8.4.1
NFPA 99, TIA 12-4, referencing 5.1.1.6, 5.2.1.2, and 5.3.1.1.2
NFPA 2112, TIA 12-1, referencing 7.1.5.1 and 7.1.5.2
Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) are amendments to an NFPA document processed in accordance with Section 5 of the Regulations Governing Committee Projects.They have not gone through the entire standards development process of being published in an ROP and ROC for review and comment. TIAs are effective only between editions of the document. A TIA automatically becomes a proposal for the next edition of the document, as such is then subject to all of the procedures of the standards development process. TIAs are published in NFPA News, NFCSS, and any further distribution of the document after being issued by the Standards Council.
The NFPA Standards Council will be meeting on March 6-7, 2013 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At this meeting, some of the topics the Council will address include:
The NFPA Standards Council is a 13-person committee appointed by the NFPA Board of Directors that oversees the Association's codes and standards development activities, administers the rules and regulations, and acts as an appeals body. The Council administers about 250 NFPA Technical Committees and their work on nearly 300 documents addressing topics of importance to the built environment.
The Annual 2013 Report on Comments (ROC) for 20 NFPA documents are now available. Some of the proposed NFPA documents addressed in the Report on Comments include:
NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
NFPA 56(PS), Standard for Fire and Explosion Prevention During Cleaning and Purging of Flammable Gas Piping Systems
Fires in assembly occupancies, like nightclubs, have shown to be some of the most deadly when the proper features, systems and construction materials were not present. Every so often, the unexpected happens. Anyone who enters public assembly buildings needs to be prepared.
Learn more about how you and your loved ones can be best prepared for an emergency at a nightclub or other assembly occupancy. Download our free safety tip sheet.
A security camera captures a Chicago police officer as he tries to drag people to safety during a crowd-crush incident at the E2 nightclub in Chicago in 2003. Photo: AP/Wide World
Ask a life safety expert if conditions at nightclubs and other places of assembly have improved since the Station fire a decade ago, and the answer will most likely be a mixed bag.
“The awareness level of the need for preparedness — whether it’s crowd manager training or emergency action plans — has risen fairly substantially,” says Harold Hansen, director of Life Safety and Security for the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) and member of the NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, Assembly Occupancies Committee. “The venues are much more in tune with the issues and are aware of the possibility [of an incident]. I still think there remains a fair amount of complacency from them that says, ‘We know how to evacuate.’ The answer is they do. But is the staff training adequate enough to do it effectively?”
To address this issue, IAVM has joined a handful of U.S. states that have created versions of crowd manager training programs tied to NFPA code provisions. The programs, developed in response to the Station fire, require a “trained crowd manager” for every 250 people in assembly occupancies. Since its inception in 2010, nearly 7,600 people have taken IAVM’s course which includes an online component and a two-hour, venue-specific training session. IAVM plans to roll out a region-specific, classroom-based course for venues looking to train large numbers of people later this year.
Despite these efforts, safety oversights in nightclubs continue, and have been responsible for a number of deadly fires and non-fire events worldwide over the past decade. A few of those include:
Lame Horse Nightclub Perm, Russia December 4, 2009 A pyrotechnics display during an overcrowded party at the Russian nightclub ignited the building’s plastic ceiling and combustible decorations. Patrons stormed the only known exit, an act that crushed and choked some of them to death, according to Reuters. Others perished in the fire. In all, nearly 160 people died and dozens were injured.
Santika Pub Bangkok, Thailand January 1, 2009 Minutes after Thailand rang in the New Year, pyrotechnics coinciding with a band’s performance were set off inside the Santika Pub. The sparks ignited the ceiling, causing chunks of combustible material and metal to hit the ground. As the fire spread through the overcrowded venue, which lacked sprinklers and a fire alarm system, club goers attempted escape but were hampered by a fire-induced power outage that took out the lighting. More than 400 patrons stormed the main exit that, along with the building’s other fire exits, couldn’t sufficiently accommodate a proper evacuation during the fire. Nearly 70 people were killed and more than 220 injured, making the incident the worst nightclub fire in the nation’s history.
Cromagnon Republic Club Buenos Aires, Argentina December 30, 2004 A rock concert at the Cromagnon Republic Club turned deadly when a patron at the unsprinklered venue shot a flare at the ceiling during a concert. The flare caused the ceiling’s foam and other combustible materials to ignite, forcing patrons at the overcrowded club—three times the venue’s capacity, according to news reports — to scramble to exits that were locked by management to prevent patrons from entering without paying an entrance fee. The blaze was the deadliest in Argentine history — nearly 200 patrons, most of them teenagers, died, and another 1,400 were injured, according to The Guardian.
E2 Nightclub Chicago, Illinois February 17, 2003 More than 1,100 patrons — roughly five times its capacity — were packed into the E2 nightclub when a fight erupted on the crowded dance floor, prompting security to break up the dispute using pepper spray, according to the Associated Press. As the overhead fans dispersed the irritant, the crowd rushed the exits looking for fresh air, many of them heading down a narrow staircase toward the front entrance. Pushing and shoving ensued, resulting in a human pileup as high as six feet [2 meters], according to news reports. The crowd crush led to 21 deaths and nearly 60 injuries. Following that incident, and the fire at The Station nightclub three days later, NFPA enhanced and further strengthened a series of already stringent code provisions addressing crowd control, egress, and sprinkler installation for both new and existing assembly occupancies.
The Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston was the deadliest nightclub fire in world. Over 400 peoplel died in 1942.
News accounts are reporting that more than 200 people have died
in an early morning fire in a nightclub in southern Brazil. According to CNN, at least 245 people were
killed in the Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria.
News reports are
comparing the Kiss nightclub fire to the 2003 fire
at The Station nightclub in W. Warwick, RI, on February 20, 2003 that claimed
100 lives. Prior to the Kiss nightclub, the Station Nightclub was the fourth-deadliest public assembly and nightclub fire in U.S.
history. Five of these fires were in nightclubs. Since that
fire, NFPA has enacted tough new code provisions for fire sprinklers and
crowd management in nightclub-type venues. Those provisions mark sweeping
changes to the codes and standards governing safety in assembly occupancies.
NFPA also offers safety tips for the public when in an
assembly occupancy.
Before
you enter
Take a good look. Does the building appear to be in
a condition that makes you feel comfortable? Is the main entrance wide and
does it open outward to allow easy exit? Is the outside area clear of
materials stored against the building or blocking exits?
Have a communication plan Identify a
relative or friend to contact in case of emergency and you are separated
from family or friends.
Plan a meeting place Pick a meeting
place outside to meet family or friends with whom you are attending the
function. If there is an emergency, be sure to meet them there.
When you enter
Locate exits immediately When you enter a
building you should look for all available exits. Some exits may be in
front and some in back of you. Be prepared to use your closest exit. You
may not be able to use the main exit.
Check for clear exit paths Make sure aisles
are wide enough and not obstructed by chairs or furniture. Check to make
sure your exit door is not blocked or chained. If there are not at least
two exits or exit paths are blocked, report the violation to management
and leave the building if it is not immediately addressed. Call the local
fire marshal to register a complaint.
Do you feel safe? Does the
building appear to be overcrowded? Are there fire sources such as candles
burning, cigarettes or cigars burning, pyrotechnics, or other heat sources
that may make you feel unsafe? Are there safety systems in place such as
alternative exits, sprinklers, and smoke alarms? Ask the management for
clarification on your concerns. If you do not feel safe in the building,
leave immediately.
During an emergency
React immediately If an alarm
sounds, you see smoke or fire, or other unusual disturbance immediately
exit the building in an orderly fashion.
Get out, stay out! Once you have
escaped, stay out. Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a
burning building. Let trained firefighters conduct rescue operations.
Multiple news sources are reporting that a fire at a popular nightclub in Southern Brazil has killed at least 220 people.
According to a report on CNN, the death toll is expected to climb as firefighters continue to pull bodies from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. The regional coordinator of civil defense is quoted as saying that most of those killed appeared to have died of smoke inhalation. Local officials report that the fire started at about 2 a.m. after the acoustic insulation in the nightclub caught fire. They also say that there was a pyrotechnics show going on inside the club when the fire started, but stopped short of blaming it for the blaze, saying the cause was still under investigation.
As the 10th anniversary of The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, the current issue of NFPA Journal talks to Robert Feeney, a survivor of that tragedy. That fire was caused when pyrotechnics ignited accousitc foam around a concert stage. Mr. Feeney returns to the site of the blaze to remember the friends he lost that night and his efforts to recover.
The NFPA Standards Council is a 13-person committee appointed by the NFPA Board of Directors that oversees the Association's codes and standards development activities, administers the rules and regulations, and acts as an appeals body. The Council administers about 250 NFPA Technical Committees and their work on nearly 300 documents addressing topics of importance to the built environment.
Motions Committee Report available for Fall 2012 documents
Public involvement in NFPA's standards development process
TIA issued on NFPA 1124
Errata issued on NFPA 731
Committees seeking members
Committees soliciting public input
Committee meetings calendar
NFPA News is a free newsletter, and includes special announcements, notification of public input closing dates, requests for comments, notices on the availability of Standards Council minutes, and other important news about NFPA’s standards development process.
Free subscription Sign-in on NFPA’s web site and then select “NFPA News” from your e-mail options.
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