National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 152

Do you know the difference between an NFPA code and handbook?

A lot of confusion exists around what makes an NFPA code or standard different from a handbook. While NFPA codes and standards provide the requirements, the handbooks take a deeper dive to understand the reasoning behind those requirements.   NFPA

Urban Fire Forum looks at major emergency response incidents and endorses key guidance papers

  Fire service leaders from Houston, Miami, Orlando, and the United Kingdom spoke about some of the biggest emergency response incidents of the last 15 months during the Urban Fire Forum (UFF) held at NFPA headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. The

Fire marshal Randy Miller named advocate of the year for spearheading fire sprinkler ordinance

Fire marshal named advocate of the year for spearheading fire sprinkler ordinance

InterAgency Board (IAB) releases new publication, “Training Trigger: Wildland Fire Fighting/Urban Interface

#101Wednesdays: When is an "incidental use" incidental?

  A topic that sometimes prompts a bit of animated discussion when I teach NFPA’s three-day Life Safety Code Essentials seminar is incidental uses. It is not always clear when a portion of a building should be treated as an incidental use or

A better understanding of NFPA 70E: Tasks included in work permit exemptions

  My entire career has been dedicated to preventing injuries associated with electrical equipment. The injuries I have been concerned with were not only for an individual touching the equipment but an entire workforce at risk due to an explosion or

Are there any special issues when dealing with salt water incursion versus fresh water?

Moisture from flood water or contaminates in the water may affect the reliability and functionality of electrical equipment. Electrical equipment exposed to water can be extremely hazardous and must be properly assessed before it can be put back into

Emergency action for emergency power in Florida

On Saturday, September 16, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued an Emergency Action requiring all nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have an emergency power plan. This directive follows the death of 10 residents in  a Hollywood,

NFPA 1: Requirements for combustible vegetation, #FireCodefridays

This week I had a coworker ask me about whether or not they could have hay bales on display as part of a fall holiday event they were planning.  Working at NFPA makes me very thankful that we have staff who are careful and aware enough to ask us