Author Archive for Christopher J. Naum, SFPE
Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2001
USFA LODD Report Subject(s): Data and Statistics, Firefighter Casualties, Health and Safety Media: Manuals and Reports Read Online/Download: Adobe Acrobat (PDF)/ Other Help PDF (977 Kb) , Word (7.4 Mb) Description: The specific objective of this study was to identify all of the on-duty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the United States in 2001.
Fire in the United States
This report provides a statistical overview of fires in the United States and is designed to equip the fire service and others with information that motivates corrective action, sets priorities, targets specific fire programs, serves as a model for State and local analyses of fire data, and provides a baseline for evaluating programs. Fire in […]
USFA Releases 2009 Fire Estimate Summary Series
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) issued the 2009 Fire Estimate Summary Series today which presents basic information on the size and status of the fire problem in the United States as depicted through data collected in USFA’s National Fire Incident Reporting System. The data summary series was developed by […]
FireFighter Fatalities in 2009
The USFA recently issued the Report on Firefighter Fatalities in the Undited States for the year 2009. Ninety (90) on-duty firefighters from 33 states lost their lives as the result of incidents that occurred in 2009. Pennsylvania experienced the highest number of fatalities (8). In addition to Pennsylvania, only New York (7), North Carolina (6), […]
NIST Residential Fire Study Education Kit Now Available
Size of Fire at Time of Suppression Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the International Association of Fire Fighters have prepared an educational resource for fire chiefs, firefighters, and public officials to summarize and explain the key results of a landmark study on the effect of the size of firefighting […]
NIST Study on Charleston Furniture Store Fire Calls for National Safety Improvements
Major factors contributing to a rapid spread of fire at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, S.C., on June 18, 2007, included large open spaces with furniture providing high fuel loads, the inward rush of air following the breaking of windows and a lack of sprinklers, according to a draft report released for public comment […]
Prevention of Disproportionate Structural Collapse
NIST Modeling Many U.S. buildings are vulnerable to extreme loads that may cause partial or total collapse. Modern structures have a limited reserve capacity to accommodate abnormal loads. There is no accepted science-base or design practice to maintain overall structural robustness within a multi-hazard context that considers both design loads and abnormal loads. The National […]
FIREFIGHTER EXPOSURE TO SMOKE PARTICULATES
Firefighter Exposure to Smoke Particulates Under a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant, Underwriters Laboratories in collaboration with the Chicago Fire Department and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, recently completed a sixteen month study on the smoke and gas exposure firefighters confront during firefighting operations and subsequent contact exposure […]
Vacant Residential Building Fires Report
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) issued a special report examining the characteristics of fires in vacant residential buildings. The report, Vacant Residential Building Fires, was developed by USFA’s National Fire Data Center and is further evidence of FEMA’s commitment to sharing information with fire departments and first responders around […]
Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems
Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems is a very useful manual that was developed and published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor for the purpose to increase the safety […]
Double Chicago Firefighters LODD, 17 hurt during 3-11 alarm blaze and Building Collapse
From emerging published reports, Two Chicago firefighters died after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 alarm fire at an abandoned South Side commercial building this morning, authorities said. Fourteen other firefighters were injured, including two who were trapped with the ones who died. Police squad cars escorted two ambulances north on Lake Shore Drive to […]
Fire Modeling Information at NIST
Fire Modeling Information at NIST (the links below are a compilation of programs and projects, news/events, and other pages tagged with this term) Building Occupant Evacuation (12/21/2010) Characterization of Internal Flow of Firefighter Respirator Project (10/05/2010) Cigarette Ignition Metrology Project (10/05/2010) Computer Based Fire Fighter Trainer Project (10/05/2010) Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface – Development […]
NIST Predictive Model Development Project
(Top) Smokeview rendering of a fire in a cable spreading room of a nuclear power plant. (Bottom) Cable burning experiment conducted in the NIST Large Fire Laboratory and sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Predictive Model Development Project Summary: Practicing engineers need tools to predict the fire performance of engineered buildings, their fire […]
Career lieutenant dies following floor collapse into basement fire and a career fire fighter dies attempting to rescue the career lieutenant – New York
F2009-23 Aug 24, 2009 Career lieutenant dies following floor collapse into basement fire and a career fire fighter dies attempting to rescue the career lieutenant – New York
Operational Considerations for Highrise Firefighting: Special Report
Operational Considerations for Highrise Firefighting: Special Report USFA Special Report Subject(s): Fire Prevention & Planning/Code Enforcement, Incident Management, Operations & Tactics Media: Technical Report Series Read Online/Download: Adobe Acrobat (PDF)/ Other Help PDF (1.3 Mb) , Text (86 Kb) Description: This report provides an overview of several major highrise fires and suggestions for how problems […]
