NFPA Journal - May/June 2012 - (Page 26)

>>perspectives responder. You have to look at it from a distance. We’ve made changes at the FDNY. We have a control center, where staff chiefs have all kinds of visuals and can make an assessment [on an incident] from a distance. It provides us better intelligence than actually being on the scene. You would think the person on the ground would have the most information. With a situation like 9/11, though, that wasn’t really true. If you could view it from a distance, that would actually be better. What changes are occurring to the fire service on a national scale? Are there other changes to building safety you’ve seen since 9/11? Training for terrorist events and more terrorism awareness are the biggest things. We’ve improved our communications with other agencies. The incident command system has become more widely accepted. The fire service has always accepted it, but more agencies are now accepting it. That’s key—being able to interact with other agencies such as police, ambulance, and utilities. Departments are talking to each other a lot more, which is helpful. Nobody is living in a cocoon anymore. How has NFPA helped spur these changes? As far as egress, the towers only had three stairwells, and they weren’t that wide. You barely had room enough for two people to stand abreast. So stairways will be wider and the means of egress will be improved. For the most part, people in the World Trade Center never saw the stairwells. They took the elevators. Fire drills in high-rise buildings are becoming very important, not just for fires but for terrorist events. People have to know what to do in the event of an emergency. It’s my experience that the more [professionally] successful people are, the more they think fire won’t happen to them. Some of the wealthiest people in New York City worked in those buildings, and the worst event happened to them. NFPA’s Third Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service mentions specific shortfalls—lack of training and inadequate staffing levels at some fire departments, for example—that can be attributed to a decline in federal funding. In your opinion, what can be done to address these issues? Anytime NFPA can improve the building, life safety, and fire codes is monumental for us. The World Trade Center towers involved a form of tube frame construction, an innovative design for the times: lightweight metal bridging trusses connected to the outer walls. There was sprayed-on fireproofing that was completely knocked off when the planes hit, so you had unprotected steel. You not only have to prepare for a contents fire, but you now have to prepare for something a little more catastrophic. NFPA’s codes can help. Look at 1 World Trade Center—this is not a lightweight building. [A direct outcome of 9/11 was the development of new provisions for NFPA’s codes and standards—particularly NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, and NFPA 5000®, Building Construction and Safety Code®, that have enhanced building and life safety. For an NFPA Journal feature that examines a variety of these changes on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, visit “Legacy of a Disaster” at nfpa.org/september11. —Ed.] Right after the attacks on 9/11, one of my colleagues said, ‘I hope people don’t forget how bad this day was.’ We just have to keep reminding our elected officials about the lessons of 9/11. People ask me, ‘Why do you keep talking about 9/11?’ The United States of America, not just New York City, was under attack. Now the fire service is under attack. Certain people think the fire service is causing the financial crisis in cities across the country—like all the books would be balanced if you cut a few fire companies. It’s almost as if we have to not only preach our fire protection message but our fire prevention message. Do you ever get tired of preaching? After all you’ve experienced, have you ever considered leaving the fire service? Never. I’m very happy I stayed. I have no plans to leave. This is something I’ve done my whole adult life, and I can’t think of a more rewarding profession. We make a difference in peoples’ lives on their most extreme days, and I couldn’t picture a more harrowing day than 9/11. —Interview conducted by NFPA Journal staff writer Fred Durso, Jr. 26 NFPA JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2012 http://www.nfpa.org/september11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2012

Nfpa Journal - May/june 2012
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzz Words
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Treasurer's Report
Signal Concern
Giant Steps
13^3
Sprinklered Menagerie?
Free Samples
Eye on Health Care
Membership: The Sections
Expo Preview: Exhibitors' Showcase
Looking Back

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