National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 26

Not even four weeks into the new year, number of high-profile fires and firefighter deaths is concerning

Fires continue to make headline news in the month of January, underscoring the painful impact that fire continues to have on our communities and on the dedicated men and women who have answered the call to serve as first responders.
Yesterday, three firefighters in Baltimore were killed while battling a two-alarm blaze in an abandoned building in West Baltimore. Baltimore City Fire Department...



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Have a research idea? Submit it to FPRF by Jan 31!

Have you ever wondered how the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF or Foundation), the research affiliate of NFPA, becomes aware of the critical issues and concerns of the fire protection community?  For example, why guidance for early suppression, fast response (ESFR) sprinklers in the presence of obstructions were developed? Or why we conducted demonstrative testing to establish...



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Bronx and Philly Tragic Fires Remind Us that the Onus is on Us All to Make the World a Safer Place

A few weeks ago, I came back from the holiday break feeling refreshed, and even had a couple of ideas around electrical safety that I planned to write about in this blog. Then January 5th in Philly happened, followed four days later by  the Bronx fire on January 9. Suddenly, I didn’t want to write about electrical safety. My voice needs to speak to bigger, more pressing issues right now.
My heart...



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Means of Escape in Residential Fires

The tragedy in Philadelphia two weeks ago where 12 individuals lost their lives in a two-family home fire underscores the importance of exit requirements in residential buildings (examples of residential occupancies include one-and two-family dwellings, apartments, hotels, and board and care facilities). Let’s take a moment to review the concepts around the means of escape in these types of...



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Register to attend the free Research Foundation webinar on “The Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Firefighter Health”

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely changed the lives and well-being of everyone globally. As the pandemic has progressed, clinicians and scientists have become increasingly alarmed with what has been termed “Long COVID” – continued symptoms of COVID-19 that last three weeks or more after the diagnosis.
The Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA, will host a webinar...



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Recent fires shed light on home fire problem

The horrific residential fires in Philadelphia and the Bronx thrust fire and life safety in the United States into the spotlight. And while the stories out of these two cities are absolutely heartbreaking, the collective, heightened interest in the protection of people and property that we’ve seen among policymakers and the public may be somewhat encouraging – if it prompts needed changes and...



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U.S. fire administrator, Philadelphia and FDNY fire officials, and NFPA CEO will discuss recent events and US fire problem during live January 25 event

NFPA President and CEO Jim Pauley recently penned a thought leadership blog that touched on the steps that need to be taken, right now, to educate policy makers and the public about the US fire problem. As follow up to that communication, Pauley will facilitate a timely live discussion with top emergency response leaders about recent home fire tragedies in the news and ways that community leaders...



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Commodity Classifications in NFPA 13

Commodity classifications are used to categorize the contents of storage occupancies so that the appropriate sprinkler system design can be identified. Commodity classifications are determined by not only the product but also the packaging of that product, the container those packaged products are in, and even the pallet type. This can get a little complicated, so I’ll run through a quick...



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A Better Understanding of NFPA 70E: Correctly Using the Incident Energy Analysis and Arc-Flash PPE Category Methods

The 2009 Edition of NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® clearly stated that one of the two provided methods be used for the selection of personal protective equipment (PPE) when an arc-flash hazard was present. The two methods of choice are the arc-flash PPE category method and incident energy analysis method. Although not as plainly stated before 2009, it has been...



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What Role Does Medication Play in Older Adult Falls and Risks?

Two months ago, the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA, published a report titled: “Review of Impact of Medications on Older Adult Fall and Fire Risk” which identified the relationship between medication use and fall/fire risks for older adults. The research generalizes findings to inform message development for the NFPA Remembering When™ program.
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