NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 26

International by Donald P. Bliss

THE NFPA VIEW ON
GLOBAL FIRE AND LIFE
SAFETY ISSUES

Safety, Defined
CREATING A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR LIFE SAFETY PROFESSIONALS
AROUND THE WORLD

he quote was blunt: "This

To help provide a comprehensive
incident should not have
answer, NFPA has developed a framehappened in our country
work that describes the components of
in the 21st century."
the ideal fire and life safety ecosystem
It came from the preand their interdependencies. We have
liminary report, released in December,
found that there must be effective public
which reviewed the United Kingdom's
policy and a strong regulatory infrastrucbuilding regulations and fire safety practure that includes the most up-to-date
tices after last summer's Grenfell Tower
codes and standards. Skilled professionfire in London. The blaze killed 71 people.
als must be able to apply the code during
The report, commissioned by the govthe design, construction, and operation of
ernment, identified failings in the UK's
the building. The public and policymakprocesses for establishing and mainers must be educated about the dangers
taining safety in buildings, specifically
posed by fire and other hazards to make
In my travels, I've
in high-rise and complex occupancies.
informed decisions about acceptable
encountered many
Among other findings, the report's
risk. The absence of any component can
examples of problems
authors determined that current regresult in the types of cascading failures
that mirror or amplify
ulations and guidance in the UK are
that occurred at Grenfell Tower.
the UK experience.
complex and unclear; the clarity of roles
This framework is being developed into
and responsibilities of those involved
a training program that we will soon offer
in building construction and renovato life safety professionals around the
tion is poor; means of assessing and
world, and NFPA initiatives are already
ensuring the competency of key people
underway to help set jurisdictions on the
throughout the system is inadequate; and the processes for right course. Bangladesh, with the assistance of NFPA, the Unicompliance, enforcement, and sanctions are weak.
versity of Maryland, and others, is working to overcome the lack
Unfortunately, the report's findings could apply to any of trained design professionals and fire safety system installers
number of catastrophic fires that occur throughout the world. by establishing university-sponsored education and training proIn my travels for NFPA, I've encountered many examples of grams. Ethiopia, with the help of NFPA and the World Bank, has
problems that mirror or amplify the UK experience, issues rang- identified gaps in its building and fire code enforcement system.
ing from government corruption to societies where a safety São Paulo, Brazil, has updated its fire code with extracts and
culture is utterly absent. In some places, the fire service may not references to NFPA standards. In the United Arab Emirates, Civil
have the authority to conduct inspections or review construc- Defense officials depend upon NFPA to provide training for their
tion plans, or they may not be staffed adequately to perform code enforcement personnel and for private-sector designers,
these functions. Adopted codes and standards, if they exist, builders, and building managers.
may be out of date or are ignored. Engineers and architects
The findings and recommendations of the ongoing Grenfell
may lack expertise in fire protection principles, and there may reviews are a wake-up call to public policymakers around the
not be a pool of skilled technicians to install and maintain fire world to take stock of their own regulations and safety ecosysprotection systems. I'm often asked by authorities having juris- tems. Cutting corners solely to save money or to satisfy special
diction, government officials, and design professionals in these interests simply increases the frequency and severity of catacountries how they can establish a more effective system of fire strophic fires. We can do better.
safety oversight and compliance. They want to know what steps
they can take to replicate the experience in the United States. Donald P. Bliss is vice president of field operations for NFPA.

26 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 8

MICHAEL HOEWELER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2018