NFPA Conference & Expo

Fox 5 Las Vegas reports on NFPA Conference & Expo

Fox 5 Las Vegas coverage of the NFPA C&E 2012 included an interview with Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of communications. Watch the clip to see if you or someone you know is in the crowd.

Sparky the Fire Dog debuts fire safety song and FPW video at Boys & Girls Club

Sparky made a special visit to the Boys & Girls club in North Las Vegas while in town for the NFPA Conference & Expo. Joined by a team of firefighters from the North Las Vegas Fire Department, the event featured the first public showing of his new Fire Prevention Week video, “Be Rabbit Ready: Know Two Ways Out,”which includes a lively music video. Judy Comoletti, NFPA’s division manager of public education and Sparky answered questions and emphasized important fire safety tips.  The children danced to the music video and sang along before heading outside for show and tell with a fire truck.

Special thanks to the North Las Vegas Fire Department for teaming up with NFPA for this event. 

Eileen

Deputy Chief Jay Jonas of FDNY to give NFPA Conference & Expo's Feature Presentation

"9/11: Leadership Before and After the Crisis"

Deputy Chief Jay Jonas of the New York City Fire Department will give the 2012 NFPA Conference & Expo Featured Presentation at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 12 from 8:00-9:00 AM. 

Only 20 people who were still inside the Twin Towers when they collapsed made it out alive, including Deputy Chief Jay Jonas.

You won't want to miss this inspiring story of bravery and recovery that has been indelibly etched into FDNY history. The lessons in leadership will be applicable for all who deal with life safety issues.

Have you heard Deputy Chief Jonas speak before?  Let us know what some of the highlights where!

~Courtney O'Neill

Remembering the Triangle Fire

 

Today (March 25) marks the 100^th anniversary of a fire that occurred at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City, which resulted in 146 workers losing their lives. A spotlight session (T34) at this year’s conference will feature the Fire Protection Research Foundation’s Casey Grant discussing how significant advances in fire protection can be traced back to this single tragic event. The incident prompted NFPA to create the Committee on Life Safety several years later, which established a fire safety code to address building exits. It was the precursor to today’s widely-used Life Safety Code®.

NFPA Journal® recently commemorated the anniversary of the Triangle fire with a feature story in its March/April 2011 issue. The story chronicled the 1911 fire and explored factory fire safety in the hundred years since in the cover story, The Triangle Fire, 100 Years Later. To date, the Triangle fire remains the largest accidental industrial building fire in U.S. history. 

Casey's spotlight session is sure to be interesting, will you be in attendance?

-Eileen

Landmark Chicago cathedral damaged by fire

The Holy Name Cathedral, a Chicago landmark located a few blocks west of Michigan Avenue, is expected to be closed for months following a fire early this morning.

According to this Associated Press report, the 134-year-old church suffered extensive water damage and has several gaping holes into the roof. The church is undergoing a $10 million renovation, and the AP report says a construction worker was the first to spot the fire. The report also says that the original Holy Name was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (now observed each year by NFPA during Fire Prevention Week), and that the current cathedral opened its doors four years later.

According to a 2007 NFPA report, fires in churches, temples, mosques, religious education facilities, funeral parlors and related properties accounted for 0.3% of all structure fires between 2000-2004. See NFPA's fact sheet on religious and funeral properties. (PDF, 149 KB).

Chicago’s McCormick Place is going green

McCormick Place has got a new team in place - a "green action" team, to be exact.

Home to the 2009 NFPA 2009 Conference & Expo in June, McCormick Place is aggressively seeking new ways to provide an environmentally responsible facility and services. According to general manager David Causton, several initiatives are already underway, including the purchase of new receptacles that will help visitors easily sort garbage from materials that can be recycled. In addition, the facility's "West Building" recently attained LEED Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Build Council, the organization that sets the standards for what is officially considered environmentally-friendly or “green”.  The West Building is the largest new-construction facility in the country to be certified. 

We'll be striving to make our 2009 conference in Chicago as green as possible, and we'll update you on our plans as we get closer to the event.

We'd like to hear from you: do you have any ideas on how NFPA can make its annual conference more environmentally-friendly? It's easy to respond: just click on the "comments" link below, enter your name (just your first name is fine) and your e-mail address (this will NOT show in your post), and type your comments in the white box. Then select "post".

We look forward to hearing from you.

- Linda Bailey

Firefighters injured in Los Angeles

By Bob Finn

At least five firefighters have been injured in what the New York Times is calling a "massive fire ... at NBC's Univeral Studio lot" in Los Angeles.  The fire is reported to have destroyed at several buildings and acres of film sets. Almost 400 firefighters have been working throughout the day to contain the blaze.  As yet, the cause is undetermined.

On a related topic, Curt Varone, NFPA's Director of Public Fire Protection, sat down today to interview Alan Brunacini, former NFPA Chair and retired chief of the Phoenix Fire Department. Chief Brunacini had this to say about the key safety issues firefighters will face in 2008.

Listen to Chief Brunacini.

We'll feature Curt's full interview with Chief Brunacini later this month as one of a series of podcasts as part of the 2008 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week, June 22-28.