Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

FIRE RISK MANAGEMENT – FIRE CHIEFS – CODES The NFPA, ICC and those who determine code requirements in Massachusetts have discussed, debated and, through a consensus process, established hundreds, if not thousands, of code provisions directly affecting the ﬁ re risk management capabilities of ﬁ re risk managers. Codes are designed to provide an integrated systems approach and are dependent upon one another, in our business, to assist us in meeting commonly recognized ﬁ re protection goals addressing: • Life loss and injury • Property losses • Economic losses Codes addressing ﬁ re protection can generally be placed in ﬁve major categories: 1. Ignition Control 2. Fuel Control 3. Occupant Protection 4. Detection, Alarm and Suppression 5. Planning and Training No single ﬁre protection code issue has been more researched, discussed or debated during the last twenty ﬁve years than mandated residential sprinklers. Life loss in the residential occupancy has been identiﬁed as the greatest risk and automatic suppression as the missing and needed component of a system to manage that risk. Since 2006, following decades of research, discussion and debate, the consensus processes at NFPA and ICC has placed an automatic suppression requirement for the occupancy that has and continues to present our greatest life loss potential. CODES – CHIEFS – FIRE RISK MANAGEMENT • In 2006, The NFPA Building and Life Safety Codes added a requirement to provide ﬁre sprinklers in all newly constructed homes. • In 2007, more than ﬁ fty six percent of voters at the ICC hearings in Rochester, New York voted in favor of a requirement for sprinklers in all one and two family homes. That vote did not meet a two thirds majority requirement, which was needed to overturn the recommendation of a technical subcommittee. It clearly indicated the recognized need to incorporate ﬁ re sprinklers as part of any community’s ﬁre risk management system. • In September of last year more than thirty Massachusetts ﬁre chiefs traveled on their own time to the ICC Code Hearings in Minneapolis to improve their ability to manage ﬁ re risk in Massachusetts and for the communities they serve. Those chiefs were an integral part in passing an historic IRC Code requirement that mandates the installation of sprinklers in all newly constructed townhouses and one and two family homes. Those responsible for managing ﬁre risk in the cities, villages, and towns of Massachusetts have continued to present their proactive ﬁre risk management plan to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards and the Ofﬁce of the State Fire Marshall. It is a properly researched and appropriately documented systematic plan that includes automatic suppression in all residential occupancies. It is time for those with whom we work in the Commonwealth to listen to not only their ﬁre risk managers, but also the code making organizations that have included automatic suppression as a national code requirement. ❚ Two-Way Communications Specialists Bi-Directional Ampliﬁers Emergency Vehicle Warning Equipment AUTHORIZED VENDOR FOR MASSACHUSETTS STATEWIDE CONTRACT# FIR020300 5 Whitmore Road, Revere MA 02151 (781) 289-3000 • www.allcommtechnologies.com 30 | M ASSACHUS E TTS FI RE C H I E F 2009 http://www.taitworld.com http://www.allcommtechnologies.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009 Contents A Message from the FCAM President Code of Ethics/Vision Statement Bonds of Service Legislative Report The Fire Chief for 2009 and Beyond Leading a Combination Fire Department Remember When Fighting for Code Change Leadership Matters Fire Risk Management - Fire Chiefs - Codes The Current Economy and its Effect on Fire Departments Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan Beware of the Truss Index of Advertisers

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