NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 21

just existed on paper; we didn't practice
them. Now we also have a lot of companies and fire engineers and safety
engineers in Brazil who are closer to the
fire department and conduct fire drills
with us and pre-plan for emergencies.
We're trying to invest in more equipment, too.
Has São Paulo adopted any NFPA codes
or standards?
Yes. Sometimes we adopt NFPA codes
and standards, and sometimes we
use them in conjunction with Brazilian
standards. So we mix them. There are
about 60 Brazilian standards. Right now,
at least 17 of São Paulo State's 43 standards have references to NFPA codes
and standards.
What stops you from adopting more?
The process to write technical standards
in Brazil is too slow. It's very different
from NFPA. I think we need to learn from
NFPA how to write standards better, and
make the process quicker.
You've attended the NFPA conference
before. What do you take away from it?
We get to talk to peers here. In the USA,
you have many, many research centers
and so many universities that have fire
safety courses. We don't have that much
in our universities in Brazil. When we
come here, we have the opportunity
to learn a lot from other professionals,
researchers, teachers. Every day is a
new opportunity to learn more.
Have you noticed an increase in NFPA's
efforts to connect with fire service
members outside of the U.S. in recent
years?
Absolutely. And I congratulate NFPA
President Jim Pauley for that. Twenty
years ago, NFPA was more focused on
the American people, the American
standards, the American codes. Nowadays, we observe NFPA all over the
world. It's a very different approach
and a different way of thinking. Fire
is universal everywhere in the world.
So if everybody gets together to
study, to research, to learn, to discuss,
we're going to have a better world for
everybody.

GETT Y IMAGES

Portugal and South Africa
Deadly wildfires underscore NFPA
president's remarks on global fire threat
Dozens of people died in wildfires that
ripped through central Portugal and
coastal South Africa in June.
The Portugal wildfire, which was
sparked by dry weather and thunderstorms, was the deadliest the country

has ever seen. As of June 20, the death
toll stood at 64, and officials feared it
would rise. Photos from the incident
show walls of flames racing toward
neighborhoods, charring everything
in their paths. Officials told CNN that
many of the victims burned to death in
their cars as they tried to escape. They
described the blaze as "the greatest
wildfire tragedy of recent years."
Earlier in the month, wildfires fanned
by high winds in South Africa killed nine
people, burned over 25,000 acres, and
destroyed hundreds of homes. Knysna,
a scenic coastal town of about 77,000
people, was hit the hardest. BBC News
reported that 10,000 people were evacNO WAY OUT
Many died in their vehicles as they
tried to escape a massive wildfire
that tore through Portugal in June.

South Korea
NFPA, South Korean fire safety
organization sign MOU
In June, NFPA leaders and the Korea Fire
Institute (KFI) signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) to establish
an official partnership between the two
organizations.
KFI is South Korea's national safety
authority overseeing the fire service
and related businesses, such as manufacturers of fire protection equipment.
The MOU gives KFI access to NFPA's
extensive resources, with which the
organization hopes to implement new
training programs and best practices
based on NFPA codes and standards.
The agreement was signed at NFPA's
Conference & Expo in Boston, which
attracted hundreds of attendees from
more than 20 countries outside of the
United States. Several international
attendees led education sessions on
topics ranging from wildfire to fire safety
at large international airports.
Xuzhou, China

uated from Knysna alone, and thousands
more were evacuated from neighboring
towns as the fires spread. "We've never
seen fires of this nature," a government
official told CNN. "This is significant. [It's]
unprecedented."
The deadly wildfires underscore the
importance of wildfire preparedness for
communities around the world. In May,
NFPA President Jim Pauley spoke about
the growing global wildfire problem, and
how NFPA is committed to addressing
it, at the Fire Australia 17 Conference &
Tradeshow in Sydney.
"Rising temperatures have increased
the problem of [wildfires] dramatically,"
Pauley told a crowd of more than 1,500
fire and life safety professionals. "The
situation is getting worse. Every year
we're seeing a longer wildfire season,
with much bigger fires and many more
of them. ... Wildland fires could and
probably will become the greatest fire
threat to many countries during this
century. We're working to play a bigger
part in shaping wildland fire policy and
programs to meet that threat."
For more information, visit nfpa.org/
wildfire.

Chinese blast illustrates global need
to prepare for attacks
An explosion outside a kindergarten in
the eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou killed
several people and injured dozens more
on June 16. The town's mayor told reporters that no school children were hurt in
the incident. The victims were mainly
parents and guardians who were waiting
to pick up students.
Early news reports suggested the
blast was an intentional attack by a man
in his 20s whose home was found to
contain explosive materials and violent
writings. The attack recalls a 2012 incident in which a man with a meat cleaver
wounded 23 children at a school in the
central Chinese province of Henan. The
explosion also comes on the heels of
three incidents in London that involved
terrorists ramming vehicles into crowds.
NFPA is in the early stages of developing NFPA 3000, Preparedness and
Response to Active Shooter and/or
Hostile Events, designed to coordinate
communications and other elements of
emergency response to such incidents.
John Montes, the NFPA staff liaison to
the standard's technical committee, said
the intent is for the standard to have
global appeal. "I think most of where
this will go is applicable internationally,"
he said. "We have representation [on
the technical committee] from Canada
already and anticipate more international
interest as the project grows."
For more on the development of NFPA
3000, see "Threat Prep" on page 10.

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017
