National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 11

Call for Abstracts: Student Research Presentation and Poster Session at NFPA Conference & Expo 2023

Do you have a student, or know of a student, who is doing some exciting research in some aspect of fire and life safety, and would like to present results or work in progress? The National Fire Protection Association’s Research Section will be hosting a student poster session during a member reception at NFPA’s 2023 Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, NV, on Sunday, June 18, 2023, from 5-7 p.m. This event will give students an opportunity to share the findings from their fire- or life safety-related research projects with NFPA members. The event will provide an opportunity for interaction between the fire and life safety community and young researchers to discuss current or recently completed research across a diversity of fire science, engineering, and human factors topics.New at 2023 NFPA Conference & Expo! In addition to the poster presentation opportunity, NFPA will also be offering a student presentation track during the Education Program at the 2023 Conference and Expo in Las Vegas. Students will be allotted 20 minutes each within 60-minute time slots to present their research to larger conference audiences.Download the full call for abstract including instructions. (PDF) The deadline for abstract submittal is December 2, 2022.  Student poster authors and presenters will have complimentary registration for the NFPA Conference and Expo (see details). Students are responsible for all related travel costs.This will be a great event, and we ask you to please share this Call for Poster Abstracts to any students who might be interested in this opportunity and encourage them to submit a proposal. If you have any questions about this event, please let us know at research@nfpa.org. 

What are the code requirements for haunted house attractions?

A version of this blog written by Kristin Bigda, publications strategy director at NFPA, first appeared in 2016. The article has been edited to reflect more recent code editions.With Halloween quickly approaching, thoughts of candy, ghosts, and haunted houses are surely on your mind. While haunted houses may be an entertaining way to spend an October evening, there can be devastating consequences if a fire were to break out and proper protections aren’t in place.What are haunted houses and special amusement buildings?Haunted houses may be temporary in nature or permanently installed. Sometimes, they are used only near Halloween, while others may be open year-round. This was the case in the tragic Haunted Castle fire that occurred at a permanently installed, year-round haunted house located at a Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey on May 11, 1984. Eight teenagers died in that blaze. To prevent a similar tragedy to the Six Flags haunted house fire, provisions were added to NFPA 1, Fire Code, and NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, to address special amusement buildings—the category in which haunted houses typically fall.According to the 2021 edition of NFPA 1, a special amusement building is “a building or portion thereof that is temporary, permanent, or mobile and contains a ride or device that conveys patrons where the patrons can be contained or restrained, or provides a walkway along, around, or over a course in any direction as a form of amusement or entertainment, and arranged so that the egress path is not readily apparent due to visual or audio distractions, contains an intentionally confounded egress path, or is not readily available due to the mode of conveyance through the building or structure.” A special amusement building is an assembly occupancy regardless of occupant load.Special amusement buildings often use special effects, scenery, props, and audio and visual distractions that may cause egress paths to become difficult to identify. In haunted houses, in particular, the presence of combustible materials and special scenery can also contribute to the fuel load and, may result in rapid fire spread should a fire occur.  “Haunted houses use special effects, scenery, props, and audio and visual distractions that may cause egress paths to become difficult to identifyWhat does the code say?Code provisions for special amusement buildings are found in Section 20.1.4 of NFPA 1. The code requirements for haunted houses are summarized below: Haunted houses must apply the provisions for assembly occupancies in addition to the provisions of Section 20.1.4. Automatic sprinklers are required for all haunted houses unless it is less than 10 feet (3050 millimeters) in height and has less than 160 square feet (15 square meters) of aggregate horizontal projections. If the haunted house is considered moveable or portable, an approved temporary means is permitted to be used for water supply.  Smoke detection is required throughout all haunted houses.  The actuation of any smoke detection device in a mobile or temporary haunted house must sound an alarm at a constantly attended location on the premises. A fire alarm system is required in all permanently installed haunted houses.   The fire alarm system in all permanently installed haunted houses must be initiated by required smoke detection, the required automatic sprinkler system, and manual means at a constantly attended location under continuous supervision by competent persons when the haunted house is open to patrons. Actuation of sprinklers, or any suppression systems, as well as smoke detection systems (having cross-zoning capability) must provide an increase in illumination of the means of egress and termination of other confusing visuals or sounds. The one exception is for haunted houses that are in permanently installed special amusement buildings that use a ride (or similar device) that occupants are contained in and unable to evacuate themselves without the help of a ride operator and that meet specific criteria. Exit marking and floor proximity exit signs are required. Where designs are such that the egress path is not apparent, additional directional exit marking is required. Interior wall and ceiling finish materials must be Class A throughout. Per Section 10.8.1, emergency action plans are required.Other requirements, not specific just to haunted houses or special amusement buildings, may also apply, such as:  Permits (see Section 1.12) Seasonal buildings (see Section 10.12) Special outdoor events, fairs, and carnivals (see Section 10.14)As we move into the Halloween and haunted house season, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun and overlook the safety issues that may arise. Through the provisions in NFPA 1, which can assist code officials and fire departments in enforcing safe haunted houses, and NFPA’s Halloween resources for consumers, everyone can stay safe this season.

Electrical Safety Tips for Users of E-Bikes and E-Scooters

A version of this article will appear in the In Compliance section of the Winter 2022 issue of NFPA Journal. Recent discussions around electric micromobility devices, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, have left a lot of people rather charged up. Proposed changes by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), for example, would prohibit residents and guests from keeping e-bikes or e-scooters within NYCHA apartments or building common areas. Delivery workers have raised concerns that such a ban would adversely affect their livelihoods, since charging the e-bikes that they use to make deliveries would no longer be possible in their homes. Watch a related video on e-bike and e-scooter fire safetyBig cities aren’t the only places where authorities have moved to ban e-bikes or e-scooters from buildings. Mackinac Island, a small vacation island in northern Michigan, has become well-known for regulating the means of transportation that are permitted on the island. Since 1901, automotive transportation has been banned, leaving most travel to be done on foot, by bicycle, or by horse and carriage. Not long ago, island authorities banned e-bikes within certain buildings and have further prohibited the use of e-bikes that have functional throttles when traveling around the island. (For an overview of the safety hazards associated with electric micromobility devices and the regulations proposed to address those hazards, see “Full Throttle,” a feature story that appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of NFPA Journal.)SAFETY RESOURCES: Visit nfpa.org/ebikes to explore other NFPA resources related to e-bike and e-scooter fire safetyImproving e-bike and e-scooter safety is providing much of the momentum behind these changes. In 2022 alone, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) has reported investigating 130 fires related to lithium-ion batteries regularly used to power e-bikes—fires that have resulted in five deaths and dozens of injuries. In October, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled about 22,000 e-bikes whose “lithium-ion batteries can ignite, explode, or spark, posing fire, explosion, and burn hazards to consumers,” CPSC wrote in a statement.Investigators say a fire that killed an 8-year-old girl in Queens last month was likely ignited by an e-bike battery charging inside an apartment unit overnight. A fire in December 2021 killed a New York City man who was running a business charging e-bikes within his residence. Two teenagers narrowly escaped the same fire themselves by shimmying down a pipe mounted to the building’s exterior wall. Over the summer on Mackinac Island, an e-bike battery that exploded and melted left both the homeowner and firefighters with injuries related to smoke inhalation. In all of these cases, the personal decisions made by individuals to charge e-bikes in their homes left others in harm’s way.While there are no specific codes in place for the charging of e-bikes or e-scooters themselves, there are portions of codes, including NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®), that can help people be safer while doing so. There are also additional areas that can be addressed to further ensure safer charging. Avoid overloading circuits and overcharging batteriesElectricity is necessary to charge e-bike batteries, meaning the battery being charged and the device charging the battery can be potential fire hazards. An aspect that can sometimes be overlooked, though, is that the structural wiring within the building can be a risk as well.Ensuring that the electrical infrastructure in the building is properly installed and capable of delivering electricity for safe charging is where the NEC comes into play. If we consider the deadly NYC fire that killed the man who was charging e-bikes out of his residence, we can assume that overloading the circuit may have been part of the issue. When multiple e-bikes are being charged at once, the load on the circuit supplying power for charging increases. Another scenario that could have compounded the imposed load on the circuit is that it was a continuous load. The NEC defines a continuous load as one where the maximum current is expected to continue for three hours or more and requires any continuous loads to be factored in at 125 percent. As an example, a 20-amp circuit is only permitted to be loaded to 16 amps when continuous loads are involved (16-amp continuous load x 125 percent = 20 amps). With e-bikes being charged for over three hours and multiple e-bikes being charged simultaneously, the circuit could have easily been highly overloaded, which could have begun degradation of the wiring, causing it to eventually break down and become a possible ignition source.Furthermore, overcharging batteries is something that an individual can easily do without intending to, but it can have a catastrophic effect resulting in fires and death. Recently, Inside Edition released a video that shows the impact that overcharging batteries can have and how quickly micromobility devices can burst into flames because of it. It is crucial that individuals that are charging the batteries of micromobility devices follow the manufacturer’s instructions for proper charging and do not overcharge the batteries. Overcharging not only puts their own lives at risk but also the lives of many others.Look for listed devices, batteries, and charging equipmentAnother area that must be considered around e-bike charging safety is the product itself. Consumers should be sure that they are purchasing a high-quality product that has been listed by a nationally recognized testing lab and labeled accordingly. Part of the charger system evaluation is the plug-in charger itself. It is important for consumers to understand that the charger that comes with the e-bike is what gets tested as part of the listing and therefore is the only charger that should be utilized. Buying an aftermarket charger from another manufacturer could likely invalidate the listing of the e-bike and may contribute to the additional risk of a fire due to compatibility not being tested between the e-bike and the charger. There are many products out there that may be noted as compatible with an e-bike, but they may not be listed to work with a specific e-bike. The importance of using e-bikes and products that are listed was echoed in July when Heather Mason, president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association, encouraged their vendors and suppliers to certify their e-bikes to UL 2849, Standard for Electrical Systems for eBikes. “The bicycle industry needs to take immediate action,” Mason stated at the time. “After extensive consultations with experts in the field, e-bike and e-scooter lithium-ion battery safety is a large and immediate subject that we need to act on now. The advisement statement we have prepared for retailers takes the interest of e-bike continued growth within the industry and safety for all. If we do not address the core issue, we may see this propel to something beyond our control.”   With the recently proposed bans on e-bikes getting many people charged up, it is important to consider that the authorities proposing these changes are doing so with public safety in mind. When improper and unsafe charging of e-bikes takes place, tragedy can follow. People who use e-bikes should continue to learn about the intricacies involved in safe charging. Doing so will not only impact their own personal safety, but the safety of their neighbors as well.

Experts Warn of Electric Vehicle Fires After Hurricane Ian Damages Lithium-Ion Batteries

As millions of Americans recover from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall near Fort Myers, Florida, on September 28, officials are warning of a new hazard: electric vehicles (EVs) that were damaged in the storm and now pose a fire risk. “Our first responders are being put in harm’s way,” Florida State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said in a video posted on social media earlier this month. “Homes that may have survived the storm are now being burned down.”According to the Florida Phoenix, firefighters in Naples have responded to at least six fires involving EVs that had been damaged in the storm. Experts say vehicles that may have been submerged in saltwater for extended periods of time are of particular concern—and with storm surge from the powerful Category 4 hurricane having reached as high as 15 feet in parts of coastal Florida, thousands of vehicles could now fall into this category.“Electric vehicles that have been submerged in water, especially saltwater, have a potential risk of experiencing a high-voltage electrical battery fire,” said Victoria Hutchison, a project manager at the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA. “First responders should be prepared to respond to a potential fire and should handle EVs that may have been submerged with greater caution.” What is thermal runaway and stranded energy? Most electric vehicles in use today are powered by lithium-ion batteries. When damaged by something like saltwater, heat, or force, a chemical reaction known as thermal runaway can start inside the cells of these energy-dense batteries. In this state, the batteries heat up uncontrollably and can be prone to fires and off-gassing, which can also result in explosions in confined spaces. “First responders should be prepared to respond to a potential fire and should handle EVs with greater caution.When EVs batteries are submerged in saltwater, specifically, “salt bridges can form within the battery pack and provide a path for short-circuit and self-heating,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a statement sent to Patronis. Hutchison echoed that point. “Saltwater can accelerate corrosion,” she said. “So, in a saltwater storm surge scenario, the salt deposits that can remain on the EV batteries after the water recedes can cause rapid corrosion and increase the risk of thermal runaway. Furthermore, there’s no set period in which this potential thermal reaction will occur—it can be hours, days, or even weeks later.”Last week I witnessed an EV fire during Hurricane Ian operations. Firefighters put out the fire, then it would reignite. The teams said it was a result of salt water affecting compromised batteries, so we asked for additional information from @NHTSAgov. They responded. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/YDi7H26ykd— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) October 14, 2022Compounding the risk of thermal runaway is the fact that there’s no easy way of draining the energy out of damaged batteries—a separate concept known as stranded energy. This is true even after a fire has occurred and been initially extinguished. In 2018, for instance, after a fatal crash and fire involving an electric vehicle in California, the car’s batteries reignited at a junkyard six days later. RELATED: Read more about stranded energy and thermal runaway in an NFPA Journal feature story published in 2020Because of these risks, Hutchison and other experts have recommended that Florida first responders and the public “remain on high alert” for fires involving damaged EVs in the wake of Ian.If you own an EV that may have been damaged during Hurricane Ian, “please get it towed away from your home but … make sure the towing operator knows how to safely and properly tow EV vehicles,” the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District Administration wrote in a Facebook post. In statements released publicly last week and also sent directly to EV manufacturers and federal officials, Florida Senator Rick Scott urged action from manufacturers to provide more fire safety guidance for both consumers and the fire service. “The current guidelines from EV manufacturers on the impacts of saltwater submersion on the operability of the vehicles do not adequately address the issue,” Scott wrote. “As a result, most consumers are under the potentially life-threatening misimpression that their EVs will continue functioning properly after saltwater submersion.” NFPA already offers guidance for the fire service on how to best respond to incidents involving electric vehicles. As EVs have grown in popularity over the past several years, NFPA has helped educate more than 300,000 first responders on this emerging hazard. Visit nfpa.org/ev to learn more about the EV responder training opportunities from NFPA.Top photograph: Ivan Radic via Flickr

CRAIG 1300™ State Trailblazer Helps Improve Community Risk Reduction Programs

If you want to make your state a safer place through community risk reduction (CRR) but struggle with the time and resources to take a new community risk assessment (CRA) project, CRAIG 1300 is the cutting-edge tool to help you do it. And with NFPA kicking off its limited-time CRAIG 1300™ State Trailblazer discount*, now is the best time add CRAIG 1300 to your team’s community data toolkit. Powered by mySidewalk—an innovative community intelligence platform—CRAIG 1300 is your state-of-the-art CRR sidekick that can help make better sense of data through the application of NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development. Generate and Share Data Insights Visually To make your state safer, you need to make decisions grounded in data. With CRAIG 1300—which stands for Community Risk Assessment Insight Generator—you can easily aggregate and analyze publicly available data, find impactful community insights faster, and share your research and proposals with other stakeholders using eye-popping graphs, charts, and heatmaps. “The great thing was the visual,” said Jeremy Holmes, Fire Chief for Covington Fire Department. “Once you’re able to pull the program up and show your counsel and leadership the data—and you’re able to map it out—it’s huge… It wasn’t just me saying it. It was them seeing it. And because of that, they jumped on board immediately.” Alice Morrison, data analyst for the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office (WVSFMO) said, “The data makes sense when you see it on these maps and charts, and I think that’ll be a great encouragement to the fire departments—as well as the public—to be able to see it.” For a limited time, your state can obtain this powerful CRR asset at a discount using the CRAIG 1300 State Trailblazer discount from NFPA®. CRAIG 1300 State Trailblazer As your department’s digital data assistant, CRAIG 1300 can be customized to your team’s unique needs; the State Trailblazer offer covers two of the CRAIG 1300 user-friendly dashboards that save you time and resources so you can focus on what matters most—improving community safety in your state. CRAIG 1300 State Pro: This turnkey dashboard uses geospatial analytics to identify your community’s unique characteristics without inputting any of your own data. CRAIG 1300 State Plus: This expanded dashboard option includes five additional custom indicators and NFIRS data to support your state’s public safety programs with data-driven CRR.WVSFMO’s State Fire Marshal, Ken Tyree, shared his biggest CRAIG 1300 success: “Based on our data from this program, we had the opportunity to participate in a smoke alarm installation program with the Marshall University football team.” Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Through Community Risk Assessment (CRA) An effective CRR plan is informed by a comprehensive CRA that defines, identifies, and prioritizes risks in a community through the nine NFPA 1300 community risk profiles: Building Stock Community Service Organizations Demographics Economics Geography Hazards Pass Loss and Event History Public Safety Response Agencies Critical Infrastructure Systems Using several reputable data sources, CRAIG 1300 crunches the numbers and combines them into the profiles with speed and precision so you don’t have to. Find the CRR Solution for You With CRAIG 1300 State Pro, CRAIG 1300 State Plus, and CRAIG 1300 State Flex options, you probably want to know what CRR solution is right for you—here’s how to find out: Speak with a representative from mySidewalk—our CRAIG 1300 partner will walk you through the process of selecting the right CRR solution.Visit nfpa.org/CRAIG1300 to learn more about CRAIG 1300 State Trailblazer.*Offer valid for state agencies who sign prior to Dec. 31. Flexible payment/invoicing terms are available. No more than a 5% pricing increase will be applied upon renewal. However, this may limit availability of new features added to CRAIG State products. 

A level of Safety – NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend The 1st University of Maryland/NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem Symposium, in College Park, Maryland, U.S.A, where fire and life safety experts from across the globe gathered to discuss the principals of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™ and its application to address today’s fire safety issues. For those of you who are not familiar with the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™, it is “a framework that identifies the components that must work together to minimize risk and help prevent loss, injuries and death from fire, electrical and other hazards.” In other words, it identifies the items NFPA feels contribute to achieving the expected level of safety when it comes to fire and electrical hazards. Each component is depicted as a cog, each of which connect to form a circle.Over the two day symposium attendees reviewed case studies on the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire in Oakland, CA (2016); the Grenfell Tower Fire in London, UK (2017); and the Camp Fire, Butt County, CA (2018); and also discussed emerging issues involving residential fires; the safe use of alternative energy; and how to think about fire safety when using new building materials. Each topic was evaluated through the lens of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™.  In many of the case studies multiple components of the ecosystem failed or lacked effectiveness. When discussing the emerging issues, no single component would solve the challenge presented. This seemed to lend to the idea that all the cogs must be working together to ensure the expected level of safety, so what happens if just one isn’t operating at peak performance? Does the ecosystem still provide a level of safety because the cogs remain connected?One example that came up several times was the need to mandate automatic fire sprinkler systems in all new and existing high-rise buildings. According to research done by NFPA, fire Sprinklers have been shown to be an extremely effective of increasing life safety with an 89% reduction in fire deaths in properties with automatic fire sprinklers as compared to those without. So, sprinklers would certainly make an impact on reducing deaths in fires. NFPA 1 Fire Code requires automatic fire sprinklers systems in all new high-rise building and all existing high-rise buildings within 12 years of the code becoming law. Mandating compliance with the most recent edition of this code through legislation falls under government responsibility cog.If the government responsibility cog was effective, this incorporation of NFPA 101 Life Safety Code would be one way they could create laws which prioritizes public safety needs.  However, as is sometimes the case a local government also could incorporate into law a modified NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, one which doesn’t mandate sprinklers in all high-rise buildings, specifically existing buildings. In the second case, one could argue that this cog would not be functioning at its optimal potential. How does this impact the level of safety in existing high-rise buildings?There are many examples of major fires in non-sprinklered or partially sprinklered high-rise buildings including the One Meridian Plaza fire (1991), the Cook County Administration Building fire in Chicago (2003), the Marco Polo Apartment Building Fire in Hawaii (2017) and the Twin Parks Northwest fire in New York City (2022). In all these cases a review of the fire concluded fire sprinklers could have made an impact, however all had multiple challenges; One Meridian Plaza had issues with water supply in the standpipe system; the Cook County Administration Building had locked doors preventing reentry on the floors above the fire; and both the Marco Polo and Twin Parks Northwest fires both had issues with self-closing doors. These challenges touch the Skilled Workforce, Code Compliance, and Investment in Safety cogs, resulting in the entire system failing.As I reflect on the discussion during the first NFPA Fire and Life Safety Ecosystem Summit, I can’t help but wonder if another part of the ecosystem concept is the resiliency of the anticipated level of safety in buildings. Each cog is interlaced with the next, adding elements of safety which can work together in an emergency to prevent a major tragedy. When one cog is not functioning at its optimal potential does the circular concept of the ecosystem allow the others to “turn” or function which will provide some level of safety, reducing the likelihood of a significant incident?As we wrap up fire prevention week, let’s think about all the cogs and how they’ll advance the level of safety for the public. Government Responsibility, Development and Use of Current Codes, Reference Standards, Investment in Safety, Skilled Workforce, Code Compliance, Preparedness and Emergency Response, and Informed Public all work together. Buildings which are designed, constructed, and operated with all these in mind really do have a level of safety which works to protect their occupants. Check out the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™page for more on the concept, an assessment tool as well as the 2020 & 2021 Year in Review reports on the state of the ecosystem.

Fire Protection Research Foundation Hosts Annual Suppression & Detection Conference Highlighting Research in Energy Storage Systems, Special Suppression Applications, Storage Applications, & Foam

Think about where you are. Close your eyes and take a minute to count all the devices which have batteries in the room you are currently occupying. Three instantly pop up in my mind: my laptop, my phone, and our robot vacuum I can hear, making its way down the hall. These are all devices that store energy in one way or another. How many devices did you count? If you are in your office while reading this, chances are, you thought of the same devices I did. What about our basements or garages? Do you have an electric vehicle? If the room you are occupying caught fire, how would these devices impact that fire? If you are in a commercial office, would the fire protection system be designed to protect against such hazards? These issues are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the questions researchers are asking in the fire protection and life safety world. To collaborate with researchers and other industry stakeholders, The Fire Protection Research Foundation hosts a technical conference held annually called “SupDet”, which focuses on specific research applications in the Suppression (hence “Sup”), and Detection (“Det”) industries.The Fire Protection Research Foundation hosted the 18th SupDet conference this week in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Garner Palenske of WJE, kicked off the suppression portion of the conference by providing the keynote, which focused on the impact suppression research has made in the fire protection industry. Afterall, there is a reason that the first edition of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, published in 1896 was only 25 pages, and the most recent 2022 edition of NFPA 13 has over 500 pages. As our environment changes, so do the hazards and how standards address these emerging technologies. While Mr. Palenske reviewed several examples of “game changers” in the industry from the studies of obstructions to the protection energy storage systems, he also emphasized the research needed as we look forward into the future, highlighting topics of forensic and wildfire as well as flue spaces and lithium-ion work in areas beyond automotive.The suppression education sessions focused on 5 key areas: energy storage systems, special suppression applications, storage applications, foam, and other emerging issues. Dr. Noah Ryder of Fire & Risk Alliance, LLC, spoke on a few topics, but the presentation on the challenges, solutions and best practices in energy storage was exceptionally intriguing as he asked the audience the same questions, I asked each of you at the beginning of this blog. Dr. Ryder took a deeper look into the challenges being faced by the industry including the evolving application of storing energy in a multitude of devices and therefore locations that never hosted such potential hazards and how to best protect these spaces. More specifically he reviewed computational fluid dynamics (CFD), thermal runaway, cooling, separation, and thermal barriers as well as testing and suppression approaches. Dr. Ryder explained the reactive and lagging codes as well as the inconsistent adoption of such codes as well as how further research is needed to recognize the role batteries play in our environment to close these gaps.If you missed SupDet, be on the lookout for the proceedings as they will be posted shortly on the 2022 SupDet website!

A Better Understanding of NFPA 70E: Setting Up an Electrical Safety Program (Part 7 – Equipment Condition)

NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® does not detail the policies and procedures that must be in an electrical safety program (ESP). However, it is not possible to comply with NFPA 70E without filling in the details. Section 110.5(C) requires that the condition of maintenance of equipment to be part of the ESP. Condition of maintenance is the state of the electrical equipment considering the manufacturers’ instructions, manufacturers’ recommendations, and applicable industry codes, standards, and recommended practices. Normal operation is permitted when the equipment is properly installed, properly maintained, used in accordance with instructions, equipment doors are closed and secured, all equipment covers are in place and secured, and there is no evidence of impending failure. Operating condition and condition of maintenance are two different things. Maintenance is only part of the operating condition. The ESP will detail what the acceptable condition of maintenance is any piece of equipment.Equipment that is under normal operating conditions is considered to be free from exposed hazards whereas equipment that is not is rightfully considered a risk for electrical injuries. All employees should be able to determine that the equipment they are interacting with is under normal operating conditions. The condition of maintenance is often not within an equipment operator’s knowledge base. With all the variables, NFPA 70E does not specify what is acceptable or how to assess condition of maintenance. There are thousands of pieces of equipment from hundreds of manufacturers with their own maintenance requirements, used in different environments, under different loads, and subject to different types of damage throughout a facility. Determining an appropriate equipment condition is more detailed than many think. It might not be realistic to require that equipment be kept clean. Such a requirement would dictate constant, unnecessary cleaning of a motor designed to safely operate in a dust atmosphere. Equipment might have a different acceptable condition. A grease smudge on a switch might not warrant the same response as a transformer covered in debris.Equipment that has an operator or is used every day could be evaluated by the employee using it. That employee must be trained to determine the equipment condition and know what to do if the condition is unacceptable. There are many pieces of equipment that are not often viewed by someone. An employee might be assigned to inspect that equipment. The interval might vary. For example, equipment in a loading dock might need more frequent inspection and maintenance than equipment in an electrical closet. Maintenance personnel might be solely responsible for assigning the condition of maintenance of all equipment that any employee interacts with or relies on for electrical safety. This takes an understanding of the definition of condition of maintenance and the ESPs definition of an acceptable maintenance condition. NFPA 70E is a safe work practice standard that does not provide the details necessary for assessing the condition of maintenance of equipment. In the United States of America, equipment that is under normal operating conditions is not considered a risk for exposure to electrical hazards. The condition of equipment and an employee’s ability to recognize when it is no longer acceptable are important aspects of the ESP. The ESP policies and procedures must detail the equipment condition assessment method as well as what is an acceptable condition to advance safety in the workplace.

Register to attend the free Research Foundation webinar on “Female Firefighter Personal Protective Clothing: Investigation of Design, Comfort, and Mobility Issues”

The Fire Protection Research Foundation will be hosting its next webinar of its 2022 Webinar Series on Monday, October 17 on “Female Firefighter Personal Protective Clothing: Investigation of Design, Comfort, and Mobility Issues”.Structural and wildland firefighting personal protective clothing (PPC) is primarily developed for the male firefighter, despite the growing number of female firefighters in the fire protection community. Female firefighters wear the same turnout suits and wildland gear as their male counterparts and are at a higher risk of injury and fatality due to ill-fitting PPC.  Research has found that female firefighters are wearing PPC that is not sized for the female form and therefore has an unsatisfactory fit.  Sizing data from other organizations have demonstrated that PPC needs to be designed specifically for women and that simply downsizing the garment is not an appropriate solution.  This webinar will disseminate the findings of the study, including end-user feedback, the first female firefighter anthropometric database, and a discussion around the challenges and barriers of designing and producing gear for the female firefighter population.This research was led by Dr. Meredith McQuerry, Florida State University, and Dr. Cassandra Kwon, North Carolina State University, who will lead this webinar discussion. Registration is free and required to attend; register by clicking the direct link here or by visiting www.nfpa.org/webinars for more upcoming FPRF webinars and watch on-demand archived research webinars. This webinar is supported by the Research Foundation 2022 Webinar Series Sponsors: American Wood Council, AXA XL Risk Consulting, FM Global, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc., Telgian Engineering and Consulting, The Zurich Services Corporation.The Research Foundation is celebrating its 40th year in existence in 2022, learn more.

Rising Fire Death Rates Underscore Need for Fire Prevention Week Focus

Anniversaries are an important part of life. Whether personal, professional, or of historical importance, celebrating a milestone in our lives reminds us of the things that matter most to us. For NFPA, the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week™ (FPW™) this year is particularly significant and gives us pause for reflection on the work we have done over the last century to help educate people about the leading risks to home fires and ways they can better protect themselves and those they love.Since 1922, FPW has been observed annually during the week of October 9 in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire. Every U.S. president since 1925 has signed a proclamation for Fire Prevention Week, making it the longest running public health observance on record. At the heart of this annual week-long campaign are the thousands of fire departments, fire and life safety educators, teachers, and other safety advocates who lead the effort to help prevent loss from fire. NFPA statistics show a significant decline in the number of fires occurring in U.S. homes over the past few decades and there is no doubt the work done in support of FPW and throughout the year has played a large part in this progress. But while the numbers tell us we have made great strides in teaching people how to prevent home fires from happening, we must also view this 100-year milestone as a key opportunity to be forthcoming and pragmatic about what more we can and must do to help save lives in the current fire environment. The Fire Prevention Week 2022 theme, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.™”, was chosen with this philosophy in mind. It is a true reflection of where we are today and the challenges we still face. Yes, we are seeing fewer fires in the U.S., but a troubling fact has emerged. According to the newly released NFPA “Fire Loss in the U.S.” report, we are witnessing the highest number of home fire deaths in the U.S. since 2005. The statistics tell us that if a fire is reported in your home, you are more likely to die today than you were 40 years ago. The way homes are built, and the make-up of the contents inside our residences contribute to hotter, fast-moving fires. Occupants today have as little as two minutes to escape once the smoke alarm sounds, compared to seven to 10 minutes decades earlier. Home is where we all feel safest, yet 74 percent of all U.S. fire deaths occur in households. Imagine if one day soon we could turn this statement on its head and say, “Home is where we are the safest.” I know this is what we all aspire to achieve. But to do so requires expanded collaboration and more actionable education if we want to close the gap on the fire problem. So, in honor of the centennial of FPW let us rededicate ourselves to impactful fire safety education, combat complacency, and help make the world a safer place. We encourage you to share critical home fire safety messages with your communities the week of October 9 – 15 and take advantage of the many materials and resources available on our FPW website. It’s a Big World. Let’s Protect it Together.®