NFPA Conference & Expo

Willis (Sears) Tower from a unique fire protection perspective

When most people visit the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), they're likely to head up to the SkyDeck on the 103^rd floor, to take in the magnificent view! Let's read what one of our instructors says about this iconic building in his hometown.

Jerry Schultz, PE indulges in his perspective of the Willis Tower as only he can. "The other place that I, as a fire protection engineer find fascinating is Willis Tower.  The only problem that I have with this is that the fire protection features are not part of the visit.  I always remember in the 70's when disaster movies were the rage watching the movie "The Towering Inferno". (A fire protection engineer who has not seen this movie should not call themselves a fire protection engineer—what great acting and special effects!)  When they decide to blow the water tank to put out the fire and have to strap themselves to columns so they don't float off the floor, one can imagine the water tanks on the upper floors at the Tower.  Keep in mind that I saw this movie once in the 70's and these are the items I remember—maybe I should watch it again to see if I can learn anything else.   The protection provided in the Willis Tower consisting of intermediate water tanks on certain levels of the building show a forward thinking and makes me wonder what came first—the movie or the protection scheme in Willis Tower.  Someone should do an article on the protection in Willis Tower and compare it to what is being done in high rise buildings today.  For good measure, throw in references to The Towering Inferno."

Thanks Jerry, for that unique perspective!  It should be noted that the Glass Tower used in the movie referenced above was a fictional composite of two buildings in San Francisco along with a model sculpture—no relation to the "Sears Tower".

Brush up on your knowledge of sprinklers and NFPA 13 with our 3-day pre-conference seminar taught by Schultz. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to write an article on the protection scheme in Willis Tower...?

For more information on how Willis Tower management and the Chicago Fire Department joined forces to protect the country's tallest building, read the feature article "Drill Team" in the May/June 2013 edition of NFPA Journal. 

Then make sure to attend the related session W30 Working Together for One Response — The Chicago Fire Department and Iconic Willis Tower, on Wednesday, June 12, 9:30-10:00 a.m., presented by Michael Schroeder, US Equities Asset Management and Anthony VanBuskirk, Chicago Fire Department. Register today!

For a SkyDeck fast pass and discounts to other top tourist attractions around Chicago, visit our discounts page.

Hotel fire safety for travelers

This article from SmartBrief for The Business Traveler has some good tips on hotel fire safety for frequent travelers.  Whether you’re a frequent traveler, or travel only once a year to the NFPA Conference & Expo, keep these safety tips in mind.  You can also download NFPA’s fire safety tips for hotels/motels here. Be safe!

 

NFPA takes part in the development of a nationwide mass evacuation plan

"You can't go anywhere without hearing the word 'evacuation,'" said education session speaker Ed Plaugher with the International Association Fire Chiefs (IAFC). "Want to know a little secret? There is no such thing as a mandatory evacuation. Laws..can't force you to leave your home."

A range of natural disasters have the ability to devastate communities and prompt such evacuations, but what's apparently lacking are standardized procedures guiding the relocation of people.

Enter NFPA, IAFC, and the National Governors Association, which are working to create an all-hazards, nationwide evacuation model for both emergency workers and residents. During this morning's education session, "Mass Evacuation Planning: Working Toward a Common Framework," NFPA's Ken Willette discussed how this topic impacts aspects of NFPA's mission, including emergency preparedness; emergency responder training and safety; and the built environment. Certain NFPA codes, including NFPA 1600: Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs, already address these areas.

Going forward, NFPA will serve as the lead standards development organization in creating a mass evacuation standard. A request was submitted to NFPA's Standards Council last year on developing such a standard. Willette says the request is still receiving public comment. 

-Fred Durso, Jr.

Top ten reasons to attend the NFPA Conference & Expo

Here's why YOU belong at the premier event in fire and life safety...

1. Get information you can use on the job immediately
   Sessions are geared toward practical knowledge that makes even complex safety issues easy to understand and apply in the workplace.
2. Learn directly from the leading authorities
   Conference speakers include the industry's top experts, providing their expertise and insight.
3. Gain up-to-date knowledge on current industry topics
   NFPA helps develop the codes and standards, so you can be sure you’re getting the most current technical information available.   
   
4. Select sessions for your specific needs.
   With 12 tracks and more than 130 sessions to choose from, you can schedule your time to maximum advantage.   

5-10 Reasons

~ Courtney O'Neill

Hotel fire safety for travelers

I came across an article in the SmartBrief for The Business Traveler which has some good tips on hotel fire safety for frequent travelers.  Whether you’re a frequent traveler, or travel only once a year to the NFPA Conference & Expo, keep these safety tips in mind.  You can also download NFPA’s fire safety tips for hotels/motels here. Be safe!

-Linda Bailey

Results of Johns Hopkins study on effective fire and life safety messaging for children

Dina Borzekowski presents findings of the Johns Hopkins study on educational messaging for young children. 

When NFPA received a fire prevention grant from the Department of Homeland Security to examine the impact of positively framed fire and life safety messages on children ages 4 through 9, we looked at the difference between positively and negatively framed messages on children’s attention, comprehension, and behavioral intention. A total of 640 children and their parents participated in the project. The study was conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. 

This morning, the study was presented and attendees were provided with guidance on creating educational materials in accordance with the results. Results are available in a guide for the fire service that was created to help fire prevention educators make good decisions when selecting educational materials. 

Read an NFPA Journal feature on the educational study.

- Karen Wallingford

NFPA conference session looks at low-anxiety evaluation techniques for public safety programs

Gary Basset and Mary Marchone of the USFA & National Fire Academy present on effective tools for evaluating your public safety program

In the education session called, "Do You Have Evaluation Phobia? We Have the Cure", Gary Basset and Mary Marchone discussed practical and productive ways in which program coordinators can best evaluate their public safety programs to meet established goals. The presentation provided basic techniques and tools to evaluate public education programs and inspection services, while providing examples of evaluation measures, instruments, and methods to gauge change during planning and implementation. Short-and long-term effects were also discussed. 

The pair presented on the four stages of program evaluation from early formative planning, to outcome evaluation. The framework around program planning and evaluation follows a "S.M.A.R.T" objectives approach (an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Realistic) and when applied in concert with the four stages of development, help to foster the evaluation process as an efficient and productive tool for program planning. The four stages are:

Stage I - Formative evaluation planning

Stage II - Process evaluation and implementation

Stage III - Impact evaluation and immediate effects

Stage IV - Outcome evaluation and long term effects

By breaking the evaluation process into a series of stages, Mr. Basset and Ms. Marchone diffused anxiety surrounding the evaluation process; something that can be a source of stress for many program coordinators who need to guage the efficacy of their outreach efforts.

- 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

Chemical Safety Board chair discusses inherent dangers of gas-release practices

 
The Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency tasked with investigating industrial accidents, unveiled common yet potentially dangerous natural gas release practices while investing two fairly recent explosions killing 10 workers and injuring more than 100 others. During NFPA’s Featured Presentation, “Lessons Learned Regarding Industrial Gas Safety Practices,” CSB chair Rafael Moure-Eraso discussed the practices responsible for the tragedies and the codes and standards implications that followed.

During the presentation, Mr. Moure-Eraso unveiled the CSB’s new video “Deadly Practices,” which provided an overview of “gas blowing” and “gas purging” procedures that led to the disasters at the ConAgra Slim Jim facility in Garner, NC, in 2009 and Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, CT, last year.

Watch the "Deadly Practices" video:

“The deadly accidents at Kleen Energy and ConAgra were entirely preventable,” Mr. Moure-Eraso told the audience.

Safer alternatives to natural gas practices were also addressed, including the use of air and nonflammable nitrogen. The CSB recommended the codes-and-standards community to implement safety recommendations centered on these practices. NFPA reacted promptly to the recommendations related to ConAgra, creating and approving tentative interim amendments to NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, which are anticipated for inclusion in the 2012 edition. Earlier this year, NFPA formed a technical committee to develop the new NFPA 56, Provisional Standard for the Commissioning and Maintenance of Fuel Gas Piping Systems, which would address gas blows at Kleen Energy. 

“We are very excited about what we’ve heard and discussed with NFPA 56 committee members,” said Mr. Moure-Eraso.

For more information on gas-release practices, read the Q&A with Mr. Moure-Eraso and CSB Board Investigator Donald Holmstrom in the recent issue of NFPA Journal. 

-- Fred Durso, Jr.

NFPA session looks at safely harnessing the sun’s power

Reports indicate that the solar energy market is as bright as its power source, which is why the fire service is vigorously pinpointing the hazards that may develop from this burgeoning technology. Tactics and strategies in dealing with photovoltaic (PV) panels were the focus of the education session “Firefighter Safety Considerations for Rooftop Photovoltaic System Installations.”

Speaker Tonya Hoover, California’s acting fire marshal, discussed the state’s task group that developed PV installation guidelines in 2008. Hoover says the guidelines could be developed into local ordinances and incorporated into the code-development process, especially since Gov. Edmund Brown has signed a bill requiring a third of the state’s electricity to be derived from renewable sources.

Aimed at getting a handle on firefighter safety considerations nationwide, an upcoming research report will further analyze shock hazards, emergency disconnect, severing conductors, and damaged PV modules and systems, said speaker Bob Backstrom, a fire protection engineer from Underwriters Laboratories. Punctuating the report’s need, fellow speaker Matthew Paiss provided attendees with examples of fires involving PVs, including a 2009 fire in Bakersfield, CA, where firefighters responded to a row of smoldering PV modules pulsating with 500 volts.

Fire Marshal Hoover, incidentally, was featured as one of NFPA’s Faces of Fire, a project that features people telling personal stories to demonstrate the need for home fire sprinklers.

-- Fred Durso, Jr.