National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 313

Today in fire history: Collision of two planes at Los Angeles airport in 1991 kills 34 people.

On the evening of February 1, 1991 a US Air, Boeing 737-300 collided with a Skywest, Fairchild Metroliner at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The B-737 that was involved was configured to carry 128 people including both passengers and crew; however, only 89 people were aboard at the time of the accident. Twenty-two people on the B-737 died, and all 12 people aboard the Fairchild Metroliner were killed by the collision and subsequent fire. The NFPA dispatched a staff member to participate in the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation of the accident. The NFPA’s focus was on the...

NFPA appoints Patricia Gleason and Gary Keith to Standards Council

The NFPA Board of Directors appointed two new members to serve on NFPA’s Standards Council for a three-year term effective January 1, 2015: Patricia A. Gleason of McLean, VA and Gary S. Keith, of Norwood, MA. Patricia A. Gleason is currently the President and COO of the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), which operates certification programs for over 50 types of safety and protective products used by millions of workers in the fire & emergency services industry. In this position, she serves on the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), as Chair of the ANSI Conformity Assessment...

Research Foundation's March 4 SupDet Workshop to Focus on Critical ITM Issues

In addition to a full SupDet suppression and detection program this year, the Foundation will feature a workshop on inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire protection systems and emerging challenges. The workshop, (free to SupDet participants) will address recent questions raised about what constitutes proper ITM activities. Some of the questions that will be considered are: How much do current ITM requirements improve the effectiveness of fire protection systems? Are there gaps? How are ITM programs being implemented currently? What is needed by enforcers? Are additional activities, such as design evaluations or re-commissioning, warranted? On the other side, what is...

Maryland house fire claiming grandparents and four children brings sprinklers to the forefront

An electrical failure exacerbated by a dried-out Christmas tree was the likely culprit for a house fire on January 19 that reached untenable conditions, killing two grandparents and four children ranging in age from six to eight years old. The Washington Post reports that a faulty electrical outlet supplying power to lights on the 15-foot tree likely sparked the blaze in the home. “This fire was the result of a tragic accident that occurred at the absolutely worst possible time: while [Don and Sandra Pyle] and their grandchildren were sleeping,” Bill McMullan, who heads the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,...

Research Foundation's March 4 SupDet Workshop to Focus on Critical ITM Issues

In addition to a full SupDet suppression and detection program this year, the Foundation will feature a workshop on inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire protection systems and emerging challenges.  The workshop, (free to SupDet participants)

New Hampshire home saved from fire after neighbor digs out hydrant

Yesterday, we posted to Facebook asking people to remember to shovel out their hydrants to help the fire service in case of emergency, and many of you sent in photos of your cleared hydrants. This timely story came up in our news feed and perfectly demonstrates the benefit of shoveling (so thanks to everyone who has!). Members of the Salem, NH fire department are digging out the town’s hydrants, but it could take several weeks to finish them all. A snow-covered hydrant costs firefighters precious minutes during an emergency. When they pulled up to a home fire Wednesday night, a...

In the new NFPA Journal, PPE expert discusses the new realities after Ebola

Personal protective equipment (PPE) has always been critical for the safety of first responders, a fact that came into sharp focus during the recent Ebola scare. The small outbreak in the U.S. and larger situation in West Africa has led to many tough questions about the nation’s ability to deal with a future biological disease outbreak in the U.S. William Haskell, a PPE expert and project officer in the Policy and Standards Development branch at the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, is at the forefront of efforts to protect first responders. The January/February issue of NFPA Journal includes an...

NFPA Journal looks back at the Flixbourough explosion

The best that can be said about the 1974 explosion at the Nypro plant in Flixborough, England, is that the casualty count could have been much higher had it not occurred on a Saturday. The plant manufactured caprolactam, a chemical used to fabricate nylon, using cyclohexane, a colorless, flammable liquid that occurs naturally in crude oil, volcanic gases, and cigarette smoke. On May 29, plant employees discovered a cyclohexane leak, and the plant was shut down for repairs. Production started and stopped twice more before the plant finally went online again at 7 a.m. on June 1. Everything seemed to...

NFPA Journal wants kids to take the challenge

According to Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice-president of Outreach and Advocacy, one of the best way to reach people with important fire-safety messages is to get to the kids. “Over the years, children have been a key audience for NFPA and fire-safety educators,” she says. “They are great receivers of the fire-safety message, and they’re also great deliverers of that message.” Now, kids can play an even bigger role in fire safety by participating in The Paradigm Challenge, a new competition developed by Project Paradigm, the American Red Cross, the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, and a coalition of fire safety...

New and improved Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter makes its debut

Check out the new look of NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative newsletter. The publication now gives you more of the news stories you crave while better linking you to online resources (all of which are free) that will help you champion for home fire sprinklers. In the latest issue, find information on: new materials by NFPA and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition underscoring what homebuilders need to know about home fire sprinklers a sprinkler law that recently took effect in Minnesota an elected official who initiated a sprinkler ordinance after hearing a perfect pitch As always, the newsletter is free. Sign...