NFPA Journal - Spring 2022 - 44

Research by Birgitte Messerschmidt
THE GLOBAL
VIEW ON FIRE
RESEARCH
Big Plans
NFPA HELPS SHAPE AN AMBITIOUS GLOBAL INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO
IMPROVE FIRE SAFETY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT OVER THE NEXT DECADE
I
n October, an exciting
new plan was announced
that could have a major
impact on fire safety in the
built environment around
the world-exactly the kind of ambitious
global initiative embraced by NFPA.
The effort is called " Global Plan for
a Decade of Action for Fire Safety " and
was created by the International Fire
Safety Standards Coalition (IFSS), a
group of about 80 fire safety organizations
worldwide, including NFPA. The
goal of the plan is to " stabilize and then
reduce the forecast level of fire fatalities,
injuries, economic cost, and environmental
impact around the world by 2032 as
the global population increases. " This
can be done through an internationally
consistent approach to the safety and
management of buildings and infrastructure-no
small task, considering the
forecasted increases in population and
urbanization. The plan outlines 15 objectives
and a list of more than 60 action
items, presented in five general areas: people, products, structures,
infrastructure, and community. It can be implemented at
the individual, community, city, national, regional, and global
levels, and can be used by any nation regardless of its income.
I participated in the development of this new IFSS initiative,
and what is particularly exciting to me is that the plan
is aligned with the United Nations' goals around sustainable
development as well as the World Bank's Building Regulation
for Resilience Program. Using the NFPA Fire & Life Safety
Ecosystem™ as the starting point, we have created a tool that
can support the development of local, regional, and national
plans of action while simultaneously providing a framework
to allow coordinated activities at the global level.
The plan arrives at a critical moment for global fire safety.
For too long,
the fire safety
community has
played second
fiddle to other
societal needs.
But no longer.
urbanization will lead to rapid construction
of new buildings to keep up with
demand, a process that is challenged by
different and at times divergent needs.
Historically, the focus of new construction
has been to ensure that buildings
are structurally safe and that they protect
occupants from the weather. In recent
decades, however, an awareness of the
role that buildings play in creating
sustainable spaces, including curbing
our use of fossil fuels, has caused us to
rethink the built environment. Buildings
still need to protect us, and the challenges
spurred by climate change have
led to a focus on building resilience.
But now we also want the building to
be energy efficient through an increased
use of insulation, and we may even want
it to produce energy by adding photovoltaic
panels to the building envelope.
The products we use for construction as
well as the construction methods are also
changing-think 3D-printed houses.
But an issue often overlooked in these
discussions is fire safety. As I've pointed out before, fire safety
is too often an afterthought, whether it concerns the development
of new products, the design of a new building, or the
creation of new building regulations or codes. For too long, the
fire safety community has played second fiddle to other societal
needs. But we can no longer accept this limited vision among
governments, codes and standards developers, designers, or
installers. Fire safety needs to be incorporated from the start
when shaping the built environment of our future.
The " Global Plan for a Decade of Action for Fire Safety " offers
The UN estimates that 2.5 billion people will be added to the
world's urban population by 2050, with almost 90 per cent
of this growth occurring in Asia and Africa. This intense
44 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2022
a unique opportunity to break down the silos that exist in the
fire-safety space and share our expertise in creating tomorrow's
built environment. This won't happen unless we are willing to
push this plan forward, and I'm ready to do it. Read more about
it at ifsscoalition.wordpress.com.
Birgitte Messerschmidt is director of the Applied Research Group at NFPA.
MICHAEL HOEWELER
http://ifsscoalition.wordpress.com
NFPA Journal - Spring 2022

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