NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 17

allowing authorities to mobilize more
emergency assets and quicken emergency response times.
The European Forest Fire Information
System's fire map showed wildfires
burning in nearly every European country from July 15 through August 14, with
the most speckling Ukraine and southwest Russia. A Popular Science article in
August described the map, which places
a red or orange dot on active fires, as
looking like "the end of the world." So far
this year, the article said, an area about
the size of the state of Rhode Island has
burned in wildfires in Europe.
Experts like Lucian Deaton, project
manager of international partnership
development for NFPA's Wildfire Division, say these fires demonstrate a new
reality as it relates to climate change
and the wildfire risk that comes with it
for European countries-and countries
around the globe. "Wildfires are burning
differently than we have come to expect
and plan for," he said. "Recent fires in
Chile, Ireland, South Africa, here in the
U.S. in Florida and California, and now
in Portugal all highlight the challenges
posed by a changing climate and shifting fire seasons. Areas that previously
didn't think of wildfire, like southern
England, are now recognizing the
risks of a warming and drying climate
against environments and vegetation
that are becoming more fire-prone." 
Deaton said Portugal's neighbor,
Spain, hopes to by next year become
the first country outside of the U.S. and
Canada to celebrate Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, an NPFA event
that encourages wildfire prevention
efforts like clearing brush to create
defensible space. The Barcelona-based
Pau Costa Foundation is working with
NFPA to use the event to promote wildfire safety and Firewise USA, NFPA's
cornerstone wildfire safety program, in
the country. For more information about
Firewise, visit firewise.org.

will follow up and continue the investigation with the local Spanish organizer
of UNITE."
The fire halted the remainder of the
festival in Barcelona and also prompted
the cancellation of its stop in Taiwan,
according to NPR. Festival-goers captured cell phone videos of the blaze, in
which the crowd shows little sense of
alarm, some even cheering as the flames
and smoke grew.
Once niche events catering to diehard
music fans, music festivals are now a
staple in many countries, attracting revelers young and old. With the boom in
popularity has also come an increased
focus on keeping attendees safe during
the mass gatherings, which sometimes
take place on vast, remote expanses of
land and can present unique fire and life
safety challenges. These challenges were
highlighted in the July/August 2016 cover
story in NFPA Journal, "Life of the Party."
Costa Rica
Supporting electrical safety in
Central America
In 2016, using renewable energy sources
like wind and solar power, Costa Rica
was able to produce 98 percent of its
electricity without oil-an impressive
feat, especially for a country of less than
5 million people.
While green energy provides new
opportunities for industrial growth in
the Central American country, it also
presents new hazards for the electrical,
engineering, enforcement, and fire
communities there. That's one reason
why Costa Rica is pursuing updating its

National Electrical Code® (NEC®) requirement from the 2008 edition to the 2014
edition, the most recent Spanish-language edition. In August, NFPA staff,
including NFPA President Jim Pauley,
visited the country to support this effort
and meet with government, fire, and
life safety officials during a conference
hosted by the country's College of
Electrical, Mechanical, and Industrial
Engineers.
"As safety-conscious practitioners, we
can't approach code awareness slowly
or simply stick to what we know," Pauley
said. "If we do, technology and progress
will outpace us. ... The beauty of the NEC
is that it represents the most current
collective wisdom of so many so that
people and property can be safe from
fire and electrical hazards."
Mexico is also considering replacing
the 2012 Mexico Electrical Installations
Code with the 2014 NEC, and NFPA is
working with other Latin American countries on similar efforts.
The first Spanish-language edition of
the NEC was published in 1927-30 years
after it was first published in English. As
such, Latin America has had to absorb
and adopt critical electrical safety
benchmarks at a faster pace than countries like the United States. NFPA hopes
to make the process easier in the future
by closing the gap between code cycles
to allow for new editions of the NEC to
be available simultaneously in English
and Spanish.
For more information on the NEC,
visit NFPA's new NEC website, nfpa.org/
nec, which includes a section specifically on NEC adoption and use in Latin
America.

GETT Y IMAGES

Spain
Thousands evacuated as festival stage
erupts in flames in Barcelona
More than 20,000 people escaped
unscathed when a stage turned into
a raging fireball at the Tomorrowland
UNITE electronic dance music festival in
Barcelona in July.
The fire was sparked by a "technical
malfunction," according to a Facebook
post from festival organizers. "Thanks
to the professional intervention of the
authorities, all 22,000 visitors were
evacuated safely and without reports of
injuries," the post continues. "Authorities

GREEN INITIATIVE
Costa Rica's effort to produce electricity without the
use of oil has helped spur a push to adopt a more
recent edition of the Spanish-language NEC.

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 - September/October 2017
