Education Sessions

Browse education sessions
Use NFPA's online program planner to search the full list of Education Sessions and build a personal itinerary. Look for specific content, or browse categories sorted by day, educational track, and/or sponsoring Member Section. Note: use of NFPA's online program planner does not represent a paid registration; paid registrants will receive an e-mail confirming their attendance. Register today.

Featured Presentation
Wednesday, June 10
10:00 am -12:00 pm
Dr. Shyam Sunder, Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Building and Fire Research Laboratory, was NIST's lead investigator of the World Trade Center disaster. He will discuss the NIST report on the collapse of Tower 7, including the investigation process, and the analysis necessary to determine the sequence of events that resulted in the collapse.

The extensive three-year scientific and technical building and fire safety investigation found that the fires on multiple floors in WTC 7, which were uncontrolled but otherwise similar to fires experienced in other tall buildings, caused an extraordinary event. Heating of floor beams and girders caused a critical support column to fail, initiating a fire-induced progressive collapse that brought the building down. This presentation will describe the investigation process, analysis and study that resulted in various recommendations for the codes and standards community as well as the design community at large.

Spotlight Sessions
Wednesday, June 10
8:00-9:30 am
Close the conference on a high note with these compelling sessions:

• Revisions to NFPA 13 - 2010 Edition
  James D. Lake, NFPA
  This presentation will detail the revisions to NFPA 13 for the 2010 edition.
• How the Great Chicago Fires Impacted Code Development
  Martin J. Pabich, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
  This presentation is intended to provide a historical review of significant fires in Chicago and how those fires had significant impact on code development in America.
• The New 2010 NFPA 72® - More Than Just a Fire Alarm Code
  Robert Schifiliti, PE, NFPA Committtee Chair
  The 2010 NFPA 72 is an all encompassing signaling systems standard that has been reorganized and expanded in scope and breadth. Attendees will learn of the new structure and content in NFPA 72 including: emergency communications systems, mass notification systems, hierarchical survivability requirements, simplified circuit performance designations, voice intelligibility requirements and testing protocols, low frequency alerting signals and many other technology changes incorporated into the 2010 edition.
• U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) Response to Dust Explosions and Other Investigations
  John Bresland, U.S. Chemical Safety Board
  This presentation will focus on recommendations issued by the CSB relating to fire prevention and protection. It will also address the gaps in the enforcement of recommendations and first response issues.