National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 240

New report gathers information on real world explosion incidents in which an oven, furnace or dryer was involved for NFPA 86

NFPA 86, Standard for Ovens and Furnaces, provides standardized methods to minimize fire and explosion hazards of ovens and furnaces used for commercial and industrial processing of materials. Within NFPA 86 are requirements for proper explosion ventilation methods that should be applied to new ovens and furnaces. In order to thoroughly review the NFPA 86 explosion ventilation requirements for the next revision cycle, the Technical Committee on Ovens and Furnaces sought information on real world incidents where NFPA 86 ventilation requirements would be involved. The purpose of this project, which is documented in this report, was to gather information regarding...

New report gathers information on real world explosion incidents in which an oven, furnace or dryer was involved for NFPA 86

NFPA 86, Standard for Ovens and Furnaces, provides standardized methods to minimize fire and explosion hazards of ovens and furnaces used for commercial and industrial processing of materials. Within NFPA 86 are requirements for proper explosion

Sparky checks off bucket list item #16: Visit St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans

Sparky visited New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the country. While the current cathedral was built in 1783, residents of New Orleans have worshiped at that site since 1718. Since that time, the cathedral has become one of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter District’s most significant landmarks. Sparky turned 65 on March 18, 2016, and we have been pulling out all the stops to help him celebrate! He’s created a bucket list of 65 activities and events he’d like to accomplish from now through October. As he checks them off his list, we’ll...

“Don’t Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years” is theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, 2016

NFPA has officially announced “Don’t Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, 2016. The focus on smoke alarm replacement comes as the result of a recent survey conducted by NFPA, which showed that many people don't know how old their smoke alarms are or how often they need to be replaced. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, requires smoke alarms be replaced at least every 10 years, but because the public is generally unaware of this requirement, many homes likely have smoke alarms past their expiration...

NFPA Conference & Expo early-bird registration ends on Friday - register today!

Friday, May 6 is your last chance for early-bird conference pricing. The full conference pass gives you access to the General Session, all conference education sessions (130+ sessions), the NFPA Technical Meeting, the Expo, the Discovery District, 2017 NEC Experience and more! Register now.

Sparky checks off bucket list items 14 and 15: Visit the Rocky steps and the Liberty Bell

Sparky got to spend a day in Philadelphia, where he checked off two of his bucket list items by running the famous “Rocky steps” and visiting the Liberty Bell. The 1976 film Rocky made the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art almost as much of a cultural landmark as the art inside the museum. The Liberty Bell was cast in 1752 and has since become a Philadelphia landmark and an iconic symbol of American independence. Through the window behind the bell, you can see Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were both signed....

Today in fire history: fire in library destroys estimated 200,000 books

On April 29, 1986, a fire occurred in the Central Library of Los Angeles, California. The 400 occupants evacuated the library in about eight minutes without a mishap, but the ensuing fire resulted in a commitment of over 70 pieces of fire apparatus and nearly 350 firefighters, and took 7.5 hours to extinguish. Fifty-five firefighters suffered minor injuries during fire suppression. The fire destroyed an estimated 200,000 books, the largest collection of patents in the western United States, and 2/3 of the library’s magazine collection. In addition, about half of the library’s 1.2 million volumes were damaged by water and...

Presentations Available from the Research Foundation Symposium on Fire Protection for a Changing World

On 18 April 2016, the Foundation hosted the Symposium on Fire Protection for a Changing World. A engaged group of insurers, fire protection equipment manufacturers, engineers, academics, and fire service representatives gathered in Munich, Germany to hear presentations about emerging applications, concepts, and methods; fire protection challenges of new hazards; and big data for fire protection applications. The speakers represented a cross-section of industry, academia, insurance, and the fire service. The specific topics discussed at the symposium included trends impacting fire protection, economic and environmental impacts of fire events, intelligent buildings, tall wood buildings, photovoltaic systems, lithium-ion batteries, and many...

"The cost is so insignificant:" NFPA chats with homebuilder who supports home fire sprinklers

A recent summit hosted by the Missouri Fire Sprinkler Coalition introduced attendees to something of an anomaly--a builder who fully supports home fire sprinklers. Admitting that some of his peers and local homebuilding associations take a different stance, Randy Propst, owner of Loran Construction, has seen the realities of fire sprinkler installation in new homes. He recently spoke with NFPA about his experience with this safety feature and why he's perplexed by the opposition's anti-sprinkler stance. NFPA: Why have you started sprinklering your new homes? I started building homes through a program by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...

A new certification for health care facility managers

Over the past 2 years at NFPA we have all been waiting for the Centers for Medicare + Medicaid Services (CMS) to announce that they are switching their requirements from the 2000 edition of NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code, to the 2012 version. It’s a HUGE deal as we all know. One question that everyone keeps asking is “when will the final rule be announced?” We still don’t know for sure but there are rumblings that the announcement is imminent. The other question that seems to be coming up is “when a surveyor from CMS or the accrediting organization...