National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 316

New NFPA Journal looks at NFPA 72 and low-frequency alarms for sleeping areas

In his new column in the January/February issue of NFPA Journal, Wayne Moore of Hughes Associates provides a key example of why it is important for all stakeholders in a fire alarm system to learn how to navigate NFPA 72Ò, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. The 2010 edition of NFPA 72 included a requirement that snuck up on some contractors, according to Moore. The code states, “effective January 1, 2014, where audible appliances are provided to produce signals for sleeping areas, they shall produce ta low-frequency alarm signal that complies with the following: (1) The alarm signal shall be...

"Homes are burning so darn fast:" Fire chiefs make convincing argument for home fire sprinklers

Mirroring the position of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, Cynthia Ross Tustin says the time for mandatory installation of home fire sprinklers is now. "You need a home escape plan, you need working smoke alarms, and you need home sprinklers," says the fire chief for the Essa Township Fire Department in Ontario, Canada, who was interviewed by a Canadian news publication. "It's not one or the other." Delaying the issue of requiring sprinklers, she says, makes no sense, especially since cities like Vancouver have seen life-saving successes in implementing a sprinkler ordinance. The story also cites Scottsdale, Arizona, which...

The NEC Challenge Championship comes back February 6th

Ask and you shall receive. Back by popular demand, the NEC Challenge Championship has returned for its second year, and we are less than one month away from the live Championship event where our three finalists will put their code skills to the test and duke it out for our $5,000 grand prize! This year, the NEC Challenge was bigger and better than before – with more prizes and more ways you could play along at home. We hit the road to bring the game to even more trade shows and launched NECChallenge.org, bringing the game directly to you so...

How to retrofit a nursing home full of patients, according to NFPA Journal

In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring nursing homes without sprinkler systems, or with inadequate systems, to retrofit them. The new rule, which reflected changes made in the 2006 edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, called for upgrades to be completed by August 13, 2013. Facilities that failed to meet the deadline risked penalties, ranging from violation notices to withholding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In an article in the latest issue of NFPA Journal, Ashley Smith details how one such nursing home, Marquis Mt. Tabor in Portland, Oregon, rose to the challenge and completed...

Today in fire history: a fire occured in a 85-year-old warehouse undergoing demolition

On Tuesday, January 15, 1985, a fire occurred in a 102,900-sq ft, 85-year-old warehouse built of mill construction undergoing demolition in the light manufacturing section of Hoboken, New Jersey. At the time of the fire, the roof and top floor of the four-story warehouse had been dismantled. The automatic sprinkler system that once protected the warehouse complex had been taken out of service two weeks prior to the fire. In an effort to keep warm while working inside the building, demolition crews lit small fires in metal containers. It is believed that the fire was caused when burning materials from...

NFPA Journal looks at trend of huge residential construction fires

Fire tore through a $35 million residential building under construction in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers on early Tuesday morning, January 13. The fire at the unfinished complex, which includes 306 apartments, spread quickly because of the open construction, according to fire crews at the scene who fought freezing temperatures to extinguish the blaze. This latest fire continues last year’s trend of large and destructive fires at residential complexes under construction, which included huge fires in San Francisco, Los Angeles (in the photo above) and Houston—collectively accounting for about $100 million in property losses. The new January/February issue of NFPA...

In the new NFPA Journal: Health care, post-Ebola PPE, changing tactics for the fire service, and much more

The January/February 2015 NFPA Journal is out, with a cover story that takes an in-depth look at important new research that is changing how fire departments fight residential fires. The issue also includes health care-related features on a sprinkler retrofit in an Oregon critical-care facility, and the need for streamlining the sometimes complex layers of health care regulations. We also feature an in-depth conversation with a personal protective equipment (PPE) expert on some of the key PPE takeaways following the recent—and, in West Africa, the ongoing—Ebola outbreak. In our “Perspectives” department, a Connecticut fire marshal shares her experience of a...

Fire history: Kobe earthquake and fire

On Tuesday January 17th, 1995 a 20 second earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale occurred near the Japanese port of Kobe, about 500 km (311 mi) southwest of Tokyo. The quake killed more than 6,000 people, injured at least 30,000 and left more than 300,000 people homeless. More than 100,000 buildings were severely damaged or destroyed by the quake and the fires it caused. 148 separate fires destroyed 6,513 buildings. Several factors influenced the spread of fire immediately after the earthquake and in the days that followed. For example, many of the structures involved were built of lightweight wood...

Today in fire history: high-rise apartment fire causes four civilian deaths, nine civilian injuries and 13 firefighter injuries

On January 11, 1988 at 8:19 p.m., the New York City Fire Department was notified of a building fire at East 50th Street, Manhattan. Arriving fire fighters found a fire involving several first floor rooms with trapped occupants on the floors above. Before the fire was under control, the fire department had sounded five alarms bringing over 200 fire fighters to the scene; four civilians died, 13 fire fighters were injured, and another nine civilians were also injured. Approximately 70 people were rescued by fire fighters. The mixed-use building was a fire-resistive, 115 ft x 100 ft, 10-story high-rise structure....

Today in fire history: a natural gas explosion destroys hotel and six adjacent buildings killing 20 people

At 9:32 a.m. on Saturday, January 10, a natural gas explosion killed 20 people in Fremont, Nebraska, and destroyed the Pathfinder Hotel and six adjacent buildings. The exact cause of the explosion is unknown, but the natural gas leak that preceded the explosion was caused by an underground pipe separation. The odor of the natural gas was first detected about four hours before the explosion. However, hotel employees were unable to reach gas company personnel to request assistance for nearly two hours, even though they used emergency telephone numbers. The fire that resulted from the explosion spread vertically through inadequately...