National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 297

NFPA hosts webinar, “High Hazard Flammable Train Transportation,” to help address oil train derailment hazards

Following multiple crude oil train accidents this year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) will host a free webinar on Thursday, June 4 at 2:00pm EDT, to help the fire service and code enforcement personnel be prepared for oil train derailment incidents. Rail cars transporting crude oil have a tendency to explode when they derail, and the number of rail cars carrying crude has increased significantly in the last six years. Nearly 500,000 carloads of crude oil were transported by rail in 2014, up from about 9,500 in 2008, according to reports from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). NFPA’s...

NVFC launches recruitment portal for fire departments to combat declining volunteerism

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) just launched the department portal component of its new Make Me a Firefighter volunteer recruitment campaign. Departments can now sign up to join the campaign and showcase their volunteer opportunities. Volunteer firefighters make up 69 percent of the nation’s fire service, yet the number of volunteers has declined by about 12 percent since 1984. At the same time, call volume has nearly tripled. In addition, the average age of the volunteer fire service is increasing as departments are finding it difficult to reach millennials – those within the 18-34 age range. To help departments...

With help from the California Fire Sprinkler Coalition, Smokey Bear's cabin gets sprinklered

NFSA's Bruce Lecair (left) and Lubrizol's Dave Kokosenski at Smokey's Cabin Best known for his role in preventing wildfires, Smokey Bear is bringing his message of fire safety closer to home. Assisting the U.S. Forest Service's beloved mascot with this effort is the California Fire Sprinkler Coalition. A favorite among attendees at the California State Fair in Sacramento (this year's event takes place July 10-26), Camp Smokey is an interactive exhibit showcasing a number of fire-safety principles. Since sprinklers are a requirement in all of California's new, one- and two-family homes and townhomes, the coalition thought fair goers would also...

NFPA Journal looks back at the Hindenburg disaster

We've all heard the line, "Oh, the humanity!" And we've all seen the iconic photos of the German dirigible Hindenburg falling from the sky in flames at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, where it was to land. The crash killed 22 officers and crew, along with 13 passengers and 1 worker on the ground. It marked the end of the airship era—and started years of rumors about the cause of the fire. Was it sabotage? Was it an accident? Read "Iconic Disaster" in the May/June issue of NFPA Journal to find out more. Receive the print edition...

NFPA Journal tells you why you need AFCIs in older homes

Let’s stop pretending that new homes are immune from electrical fires and that they will never become old homes, says Don Bliss, vice-president of Field Operations for NFPA. Studies by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other organizations have found that the frequency of electrical fires is higher in homes that are more than 40 years old than they are in newer homes for a number of reasons, including inadequate electrical systems, misuse of extension cords, and poorly done electrical repairs. “The homes of today will not be immune to these conditions as they become the older homes of...

Sessions in Spanish at NFPA Conference & Expo

The NFPA Journal Latinoamericano® will once again sponsor free Spanish education sessions to registered participants during NFPA’s Conference & Expo. Sessions will be held on Tuesday, June 23 from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, in room S401A. If you are interested in attending, click here to see the program (in Spanish). _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more updates related to NFPA Conference & Expo, please subscribe to the NFPA Conference & Expo blog. To subscribe, find 'Read other NFPA blogs' in the right-hand column and click on Conference & Expo. Once on the Conference & Expo blog, enter your email address. You're done....

Download the 2015 NFPA Conference & Expo Mobile App for free

The 2015 NFPA Conference & Expo mobile app is available to download on your smart phone or tablet. Navigate the event like a pro with the 2015 C&E mobile app, powered by core-apps.com With the 2015 C&E mobile app, you can: Stay organized with up-to-the-minute exhibitor, session, and event information Sync the app across all of your devices with Multi-Device Sync Receive important real-time communications from the NFPA Build a personalized schedule and bookmark exhibitors Take notes and download event handouts and presentations Rate the sessions you attend and comment on them, too Interactively locate sessions and exhibitors on the...

New NFPA Journal column looks at sprinkler pipe corrosion solutions

In his new column, Matt Klaus, NFPA's principal fire protection engineer and staff liaison for NFPA 13, tackles the issue of corrosion in wet-system sprinkler piping in the May/June issue of NFPA Journal. With wet pipe systems, the main focus of limiting corrosion is on limiting the amount of air in the system. A task group studied that issue and found that installing system air vents had numerous benefits, including limiting corrosion. The findings led to a revision to the standard requiring that a single air vent be installed for each wet system. However, that idea has been controversial, with...

A Guide to Community Resilience Planning

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft guide to assist communities with preparing for and recovering from human-caused and natural disasters. The goal of NIST’s Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems is to assist communities with being proactive with regards to resiliency, making them better able to adapt to changing climate conditions, withstand hazards, and recover efficiently in their aftermath. Dr. Willie May’s blog on the commerce.gov website sums up the project well. The draft will be open for comments until June 26, 2015. Please take some time to give it a...

How do we change behavior? NFPA Journal takes a look at new theories

Why do we do we make the choices we do, even if we know they are not particularly healthy or safe? For the answer to that question, fire and life safety educators are turning to behavior change theory in the hope that, by shedding light on what motivates us to do what we do, they can boost their programs’ effectiveness. Knowing why people make the life and fire safety choices they do “can be the difference between an educational initiative that falls flat and one that succeeds in creating a genuine behavioral shift,” say Karen Berard-Reed, a senior project manager...