National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 27

Who dies in fatal home fires?

According to the new NFPA report, Home Fire Victims by Age and Gender, the risk of home fire death and fire injury varies by age, gender, and cause of fire. During 2015–2019, an estimated average of 2,620 civilians died and 11,070 were injured in reported home fires annually, accounting for 75 percent of the total civilian fire deaths and 72 percent of civilian fire injuries (the remaining deaths...



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Fire Protection Research Foundation celebrates 40 years of reducing risk in the world by collaborating with industry experts and informing audiences

Celebrating four decades of investing in safety
Last week, the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF or Foundation), the research affiliate of NFPA, marked its 40th year of managing projects that summarize best practices, identify gaps, and further the development of technologies that reduce risk in our world.
When the Foundation was established in 1982, the objective was to protect people...



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NFPA resources speak to fire and life safety issues as the nation grapples with catastrophic residential fires in Philly and the Bronx

Sunday's fire in the Bronx, N.Y. represents the second most deadly U.S. home fire in nearly 40 years. The tragedy comes on the heels of another harrowing incident in Philadelphia just four days ago.
Approximately 100 miles away from each other, the two fires and the tragic death tolls incurred place them both in the top 10 residential fires since 1980. The incidents present a stark contrast to...



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Occupant Notification Strategies

A fire alarm system is intended to notify occupants and, often, the responding personnel to an emergency. During the initial stages of the system design, it is important to answer the following questions:  who needs to be notified; what do they need to know; when do they need to know it; where will they be; and why do they need to know? The answers to these questions will determine the most...



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Recent report highlights promising trend for volunteer firefighting recruitment

There’s nothing like a good stat or trend to make you pause and think.
So, when I looked at NFPA CEO Jim Pauley’s recent blog on Google Trends earlier this week and noticed deep in the report that “how to become a volunteer firefighter” hit breakout search engine status in the U.S. in November, my interest was piqued.
At NFPA, we generate a lot of standards, content, data, and research related...



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5 Key Considerations for Single Family Residential Electrical Services Based on the 2020 NEC

For those who regularly install single-family residential electrical services, the work can often seem repetitive. Resulting in a step-by-step process that leaves many with the impression that they can do the work in their sleep. And many likely could. Then there are those who do not have much experience with residential electrical services and are trying to navigate the basics of what goes into...



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Tragic Philly home fire kills 13, underscoring the dangers of fire and importance of working smoke alarms*

*After this was published, local authorities updated the death toll from what was reported earlier in the day by media to 12 casualties.
It’s never a good day when you get an email like this.
“Hello, we have had a tragic day in Philadelphia. Thirteen people, including seven children, died in a row home fire. Twenty-one people were living in two apartments in the building and the fire department...



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Tragic Philly home fire kills 13, underscoring the dangers of fire and importance of working smoke alarms

It’s never a good day when you get an email like this.
“Hello, we have had a tragic day in Philadelphia. Thirteen people, including seven children, died in a row home fire. Twenty-one people were living in two apartments in the building and the fire department says there were smoke alarms, but they were not working. Is anyone from NFPA interested/available to speak with us about this type of...



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Research Foundation seeks proposals for its latest RFP on “Application of immersive learning for firefighter training” project

A Request for Proposals is now open for the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) research project “Application of immersive learning for firefighter training”. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 21, 2022, at 5 PM Eastern Time.
Training is a critical part of the fire service. As new technological innovation applications emerge and are proven in other arenas, fire service...



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Safety isn’t tops with Google, but it should be our priority

Each year, I make a point to check out Google’s top trends to see what captivated the attention of society. And it seems that yet again phrases such as “fire prevention,” “building and life safety,” or “electrical hazards” did not make it to the #1 search engine’s annual “Year in Search” roundup.
To be fair, some of the terms noted in the review - sustainability, blackouts, wildfires, floods,...



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