NFPA Conference & Expo

Fire Protection Research Foundation bestows Bigglestone Award at Boston conference

Kathleen Almand, Robert Jansson and Jack Watts

The Fire Protection Research Foundation, (FPRF) an affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), awarded the 2011 Bigglestone Award for Excellence in Communication of Fire Protection Concepts to Robert Jansson and Lars Borstrom for their paper, “The Influence of Pressure in the Pore System on Fire Spalling of Concrete” at a reception of the Research Section during NFPA's Annual Conference and Expo.

The Harry C. Bigglestone award is presented annually, along with a $5,000 cash prize, to the authors of the most outstanding paper submitted to Fire Technology during the previous calendar year, as voted by the International Editorial Board.

This year, Fire Technology marks the 25th Anniversary of the award. FPRF’s Kathleen Almand and Jack Watts of the Fire Safety Institute presented the award.

The award is named after the late Harry C. Bigglestone, a trustee of the Fire Protection Research Foundation and a fellow and president of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation plans, manages, and communicates consortium-funded research on a broad range of fire safety issues in collaboration with scientists and laboratories around the world. The Foundation is an affiliate of NFPA.

Lorraine Carli

 

Dr. Tom Hales of NIOSH looks at sudden cardiac death among firefighters

Sudden cardiac death represents the most common cause of firefighter fatalities. Dr. Tom Hales from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was interviewed at NFPA’s Conference & Expo in Boston about the scope of the cardiac health problem for the nation's fire service.

Online resources:

• Download a copy of the NIOSH report on cardiovascular issues and the fire service.
• Learn more about NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments.

NFPA report on firefighter fatalities in U.S. shows lowest number of on-duty deaths in 34 years

NFPA's Rita Fahy presents findings of the 2010 Firefighter Fatality report.

Attendees of the presentation on the U.S. firefighter fatality problem learned about the results of NFPA's annual firefighter fatality study. According to NFPA's Dr. Rita Fahy, one of the authors of the report, it is "not a line of duty study, becuase that implies it was emergency related". Instead, the study was specific to on duty fatalities. This includes fatalities that happen at the scene, en route to/from the scene, or while performing training, maintenance, or public education. 

The NFPA report shows that a total of 72 on-duty firefighter deaths occurred in the United States in 2010, a sharp drop from the 105 on-duty deaths in 2008 and 82 in 2009 and it is the lowest annual total since the NFPA began conducting this annual study in 1977.

Other key findings in the report include: 

• There were nine deaths in crashes of road vehicles in 2010, as well as in 2009, which is the lowest since 1983.
• There were 44 volunteer firefighters deaths in 2010, which continues a downward trend.
• The ages of all U.S. firefighters who died ranged from 20 to 86 with a median age of 52.5 years.

Video: Watch Dr. Fahy and Ken Willette of NFPA"s Public Fire Protection Division, talk about the findings of the firefighter fatality report:

- Karen Wallingford

Smoke alarms, sprinklers are focus of presentation on providing life safety in residential occupancies

James Milke discusses the roles sprinklers and smoke alarms play in life safety

Citing chronological progress of the installation requirement for smoke alarms in all one- and two- family dwellings, and referencing the current battle for fire sprinklers, James Milke of the University of Maryland presented the relative role of smoke alarms and sprinklers in providing life safety in residential occupancies.  

The first serious consideration for residential smoke alarms came in 1962 when Canada conducted a study that showed a 41% death reduction when smoke alarms were present, compared to an 8% reduction when heat detectors were present. At the time, requiring the installation of smoke alarms was as controversial as requiring seat belts in cars would later become. By 1971, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided 17,000 homes with smoke alarms, where over the course of three years, there were no fire-related deaths reported. 

- Karen Wallingford

Research on raising a fire-safe generation proves public education works

Michael Cassidy presents the evaluation tool used to assess safety education success

Public education is vital to the lives of children and their familes, but it is difficult to know whether children actually understand and absorb the messaging. This morning, Michael Cassidy of the Holliston (MA) Fire Department, Jennifer Mieth from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, and Cynthis Ouellette from Rhode Island College discussed a variety of ways in which they have been successful in documenting what students have learned from fire safety education programs and how they've gathered that information. The team highlighted user-friendly tools they developed for firefighter/educators to evaluate student learning.

The team presented the findings from a newly developed third-grade evaluation that was used to demonstrate the statewide education success. The tool was used in part to find what third graders know about fire safety and whether educators have done been successfull with their teaching methods.  

According to Ms. Mieth, "now we know what kids are learning and what they're not". The data can further be used not only for educational planning, but reporting, goal setting, public education program training, technical assistance, to get funding and to measure changes in behaviors. 

- Karen Wallingford

Antifreeze solutions project wins Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal at NFPA Conference in Boston

On behalf of his project team, Steven Wolin accepts the Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal from NFPA Chair Thomas Jaeger and the Foundation's Kathleen Almand.

The winning project of the 2011 Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal was "Antifreeze Solutions in Home Fire Sprinkler Systems". The award was accepted on behalf of the project team by Project Contractor Steven Wolin, P.E., principal, Code Consultants, Inc.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal recognizes a Foundation project completed in 2010 that best exemplifies the Foundation’s fire safety mission and the collaborative approach to execution that is the hallmark of all Foundation projects.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation plans, manages, and communicates research on a broad range of fire safety issues in collaboration with scientists and laboratories around the world. The Foundation is an affiliate of NFPA.