Lithium batteries ubiquitous and a necessity in modern life, they are thought to present a fire hazard for airlines. This topic of discussion raised headlines when American Airlines flight attendants confiscated 58 cellphones, lithium-ion batteries, and charging devices from a passenger on a June 23 flight. Read more
ICC is expanding the reach of its codes into Abu Dhabi. The new building code regulations are to be launched at the beginning of the year 2011. In order to facilitate a successful introduction and to speed up the adoption process, experts from the International Code Council (ICC) set up workshops in August of this year in Abu Dhabi to review and teach ICC fire and building codes with local construction industries and stakeholders. Read more
Legalization of fireworks is a hotly debated subject: Arizonans will be able to buy and use fireworks starting December of this year. Safety concerns over the law have divided residents. Arizona is following several other states that have already legalized fireworks. If this measure is successful, would this open the door for legalized fireworks in its neighboring states, such as California? Read more
The International Code Council is offering seminars on the 2009 International Fire Code (IFC) on September 7th 2010 and October 21st 2010 with respect to the hazards associated with high-piled combustible storage. Scott Stookey, ICC, will introduce provisions in Chapter 23 of the 2009 edition of the International Fire Code and discuss them in context with design criteria in NFPA 13 for storage. Read more
The International Code Council is offering free online access to some of their I-codes. These free eCodes have limitations such that there are no search or print capabilities, though all the sections of the codes are available. For specific jurisdictions multiple editions of codes are presented. Read more
The National Association of State Fire Marshalls has formed an initiative to bridge the safety gap between conventional fire prevention practices, building codes, and fire suppression techniques including the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar power. They have released a report titled Fire Fighter Safety and Emergency Response for Solar Power Systems and which is available from their website. Read more
March 2010. Klausbruckner & Associates is announcing a three-part series of “High-Piled Storage” seminars. Presented are methods of protecting rack storage, palletized storage, solid pile storage, and shelf storage of commodities. Included are recommendations on high-piled plan review procedures. Issues such as solid shelfing on racks and specific application including retail and wholesale protection options are discussed. In addition flow charts are provided to aid in the understanding of NFPA 13 applications. see section Upcoming Seminars
K&A High-piled storage presentation geared towards commercial real estate brokers. Presenting general commodity classification and requirements in the California Fire Code pertaining to high-piled storage, rack storage, and warehousing. Presenting, based on experience, practical solutions to issues real estate agents face in advertisement and leasing off commercial shell buildings and warehouse buildings. see section Upcoming Seminars
Tutorial on how to access for free NFPA codes and Standards, a great resource provided by the National Fire Protection Association for all the NFPA codes or standards.
Update: see our more recent article Free Online Access To NFPA Codes And Standards
NFPA Conference & Expo attendees got a tour of Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, Illinois. During the tour, UL conducted a live fire test in its large-scale fire test and research facility. This particular test involved three rows of rack storage loaded with palettes and cardboard boxes full of Group A plastic cups. A large HVLS Fan was in operation during this fire test. Read more
NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) initiated a two-phase study on the effects of obstructions on the ESFR sprinkler system’s ability to suppress fires. Phase one, which was primarily a literature review on the topic, was completed in 2014 and the fire test results from [...]
How much do you know about fire sprinkler systems? If you are a business or a building owner, an architect, or a member of the construction industry, you may be interested in some of these commonly asked questions on sprinkler protection. Explore with us sprinkler [...]
There is a better in good chance that the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) will impact your business. Current fire and building codes are based on NFPA standards, which – in some cases – differ from GHS regulations. With the start of key implementation deadlines already [...]
Polyurethane foam fires are known to produce very high heat release rates and extremely toxic fumes. As a result, these types of fires provide some unique life, firefighter, property safety and fire suppression challenges. In this study polyurethane foam fires and their combustion processes are [...]
In-rack sprinklers are used when ceiling sprinkler only protection is no longer adequate to protect the rack stored commodities. Well known disadvantages of current in-rack sprinkler designs are (1) additional costs and (2) additional risks of damage of the sprinkler heads during loading and unloading [...]
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) made their codes and standards accessible online to members of the fire service. This complimentary service is outlined in step-by-step instructions in the video shown in the following. (more…)
NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) initiated a project to determine the impact of sloped ceilings on the protection of storage with ceiling slopes steeper than 2-in-12 (equivalent to 9.5 degrees). As part of this effort, FM Global was tasked to conduct fire simulations to [...]
New layout of NFPA 13 may be beneficial for new users of the standard, but it can also create confusion and dismay for experienced users.
