NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 16
' THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN'
WHY THE DEADLY LONDON FIRE AND OTHER EVENTS
AT HOME AND ABROAD REQUIRE A WORLDWIDE CALL
TO ACTION. By Jim Pauley, NFPA President
n June, the media was
consumed with the
aftermath of the Grenfell
Tower fire in London,
where 79 people died
or were presumed dead. News stories
covered the flammability of exterior
cladding, the lack of fire sprinklers in
the building, the notion of "shelter in
place," and other subjects. On its own,
it was a horrendous tragedy. In combination with other recent events, it
I
suggests disturbing trends that could
represent a serious setback for fire
safety worldwide.
In less than a year, we saw 36 people
perish in the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, where a former warehouse was
being used as living and entertainment
space. The fire raised questions about
appropriate permitting for its use, code
enforcement, lack of fire alarms, and
the role of occupants in understanding the impact of their surroundings
FACTORY FIRE
Twenty-three people died in a fire in a packaging
factory in Bangladesh in September, further tarnishing
the country's poor industrial safety record.
16 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 7
on their own personal safety. We
saw a fire at a packaging factory in
Bangladesh that killed 23 people in
a building with woefully inadequate
fire protection. We saw a wildfire in
Tennessee burn over 17,000 acres and
kill 14 people, prompting questions
about pre-planning, building in the
wildland/urban interface to withstand
wildfire, fire service ability to respond
to an event of that magnitude, and
public awareness around the growing
wildfire threat. Another raging wildfire in Portugal claimed the lives of 62
people in June, many burned in their
cars as they attempted to flee, raising
similar questions about planning and
preparedness. We saw a six-year-old
girl die in Connecticut when fire
ripped through her family's recently
constructed house; had the home been
built to meet the national codes, which
call for the inclusion of home fire
sprinklers, the event would likely have
had a much different outcome.
Collectively, these incidents illustrate
how, either intentionally or accidentally,
the global fire prevention and protection system has been broken. This is a
system that the public believes exists
and that it counts on for its safety. But
it is also a system that, through complacency, bad policy,
and a focus on
the economics
of construction
over the safety
of building occupants, has let the
public down. It
is a worldwide
problem that warrants action.
How did this
happen? In each
of these scenarios, and in many
other recent
incidents, we can
point to one or
more factors: the
use of outdated
codes and standards; acceptance
of reduced safety
requirements
to save money;
NEWSCOM
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017
Contents
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 1
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - Contents
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 3
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 4
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 5
NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 6
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NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 8
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NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 16
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