National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)'s Blog, page 94

#101Wednesdays: What Life Safety Lessons can be Learned from the Notre Dame Catastrophe?

Photo Credit: Associated Press/Thierry Mallet It’s been a little over a week since I watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burn on live TV. In addition to my responsibility for the Life Safety Code at NFPA, I also staff the Technical

NFPA to consolidate emergency response standards into 38 overarching documents

Keeping the responders safe is one of the primary focuses of NFPA, and to help them do their work more effectively, the Standards Council has decided to consolidate more than 100 emergency responder standards into 38 key documents.   The

Break Tanks in Highrise Buildings

  In my recent NFPA® Live session I covered the challenges of managing the high pressures needed in the standpipe and sprinkler systems in high-rise buildings. This included various techniques related to the following: moving water to the upper

Arizona explosion underscores potential hazards posed by ESS technology, and the need for more responder education

This past Friday evening, eight firefighters were injured when an energy storage system (ESS), which was connected to a solar panel array and operated by Arizona Public Service Company (APS), was involved in a fire and subsequently, an explosion.

NFPA 1: Working together to protect properties such as museums, libraries and places of worship, #FireCodefridays

  Since the historic fire at Notre Dame this past Monday, I have found myself fascinated with the flood of analyses and photos and information about the fire, the building design and construction, its history and a global desire to rebuild.

#TBT From The NFPA Archives: 1928 Explosions in Engelwood, CO

Late in the morning on Friday, April 20, 1928, three explosions shook the property at the Alexander Industries plant in Engelwood, Colorado. At least eleven people lost their lives due to this tragedy. The cause of the explosions was undetermined at the

#101Wednesdays – What is Smoke Control and Do I Need it?

As a staff engineer I often get the question through our technical question service (TQS) if a smoke control system is required. Although there are a few times where NFPA 101®  prescribes the use of a smoke control system, for the

A huge thanks to public safety call takers and dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week 2019

A national proclaimed recognition week (second week in April) was established in 1991 honor the 9-1-1 Public Safety Telecommunicators. This year, April 14 - 20 is dedicated to the men & women who serve as public safety call takers & dispatchers

Notre Dame Cathedral fire reflects challenges of protecting historic buildings from fire

  I just returned from Paris this past Saturday after a week of meetings with the ISO committee that deals with Sustainable Cities and Communities.  Part of the goal of this committee is to look at a range of critical issues such as

If a labeled fire door is installed in a location where a fire door isn’t required, is the door required to be inspected annually?

Health care facilities contain countless doors serving numerous purposes. Some doors require routine inspections, and the items to be inspected vary depending on the application of the door. In this NFPA® Live I guided viewers in determining which