NFPA Journal - September/October 2012 - (Page 87)

This has implications for public officials and ordinary citizens. Public officials should make sure that the latest editions of NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 are in place and that the codes they use are supported by effective code enforcement provisions, including plan review and inspection processes, both for new construction and for continued supervision of code compliance in existing buildings. Citizens can take responsibility for their own safety by insisting that their public officials take these steps. As in so many areas of fire safety, we know what to do, but we still need to do it. The trend had been toward a smaller share of fires reported each year as occurring in buildings with fireresistive construction, both for highrise and other buildings, with the most dramatic decline in facilities that care for the sick. This statistical decline could reflect any or all of the following: a shift in construction between the two types permitted by codes, from Type I (442 or 332) construction, which is coded as fire-resistive, to Type II (222) construction, which is coded as protected non-combustible; a shift to acceptable alternative designs using more sprinklers and less fire-resistive construction; or enough success in containing fires that a rising fraction are never reported to fire departments because they are caught and controlled so early by occupants. Most high-rise building fires begin on floors no higher than the sixth story. The fraction of 2005–2009 high-rise fires that began on the seventh floor or higher was 32 percent for apartments, 22 percent for hotels and motels, 21 percent for facilities that care for the sick, and 39 percent for office buildings. The risk of fire is greater on the lower floors for apartments, hotels and motels, and facilities that care for the sick, but greater on the upper floors for office buildings. High-rise apartments have a slightly larger share of their fires originating in means of egress than do their shorter counterparts. The same is true of hotels and facilities that care for the sick. In offices, the differences in percentages are in the opposite direction, which means that high-rise buildings in those properties have a smaller share of fires originating in means of egress. In all four property classes, however, the differences are so small that one can say there is no evidence that high-rise buildings have a bigger problem with fires starting in their means of egress. W. Keith Brower, Jr. chief, loudon county va rescue and emergency management “Sprinklers can keep the room of origin from going to flashover, giving firefighters critical time to safely conduct interior firefighting operations. They should be installed in all new one and two family homes and townhouses.” TAKE ACTION TO REQUIRE HOME FIRE SPRINKLERS IN YOUR STATE. www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 NFPA JOURNAL 87 http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces http://www.hochiki.com http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces http://www.hochiki.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2012

NFPA Journal - September/October 2012
Contents
First Word
Mail Call
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Lessons of Comayagua
After Waldo Canyon
Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires in 2011
Fire Loss in the United States in 2011
Section Spotlight
Research + Analysis
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - September/October 2012