Features

WSC&E® 2007
Boston, Massachusetts will host the 2007 NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition®.

NFPA Journal®, January/February 2007

By Erik Holden

More than 4,000 fire and life safety, electrical, and security professionals will convene in Boston the first week of June for the 2007 NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition ® (WSC&E®). This incomparable educational event offers vital code updates, solutions to the challenges you face on the job, and a chance to network with other professionals who care about doing things right.

WORLD SAFETY CONFERENCE
How to register for the conference
The education sessions
Pre-conference seminars
Technical committee report sessions
Full WSC schedule at a glance
Exhibiting information
Special presentation
Housing and travel
WSC event sponsors

NFPA Assistant Vice President of Conferences and Meetings Linda Bailey talks about the upcoming WSC&E®:

AUDIO CLIPS
Why the WSC&E® is important to the NFPA and to our members
Highlights of this year's show
Response to recent show locations
The benefits of having it in Boston
A reminder to register early
More audio clips

RELATED NFPA STORIES/REPORTS

Fire and Life Safety Challenges at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center (May/June 2004)

Take a virtual tour of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center

Pre-conference seminars
The 2007 WSC&E officially begins on June 3, but for many people the lure of NFPA’s pre-conference seminars is hard to ignore. This year, NFPA is offering 23 pre-conference seminars on Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2. These seminars are priced separately from the main conference and are offered at a substantial discount from NFPA’s regular seminar pricing. On Friday, five one-day seminars are being offered:

Changes to the 2007 edition of NFPA 72®, National Fire Alarm Code®
Emergency and Standby Power Sources and Requirements
NEC® Changes
NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities
Smoke Control: Fundamentals and Pressurization Systems
On Friday and Saturday, eight two-day seminars are being offered:
CFPS Primer
Life Safety Code® Advanced Problem-Solving
Life Safety Code Plans Review
NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code^TM
NFPA 70E^TM, Electrical Safety in the Workplace^TM
NFPA 921, Fire and Explosion Investigations
NFPA 1600, Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
Sprinkler Hydraulics
And on Saturday, 10 one-day seminars are being offered:
Changes to the 2007 edition of NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems
Electrical Inspection for the Safety Practitioner
Explosion Prevention and Protection
Fire Protection in Food Service Facilities
Hydrogen Technologies Safety
Introduction to the 2008 edition of NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code
Life Safety Code for Health Care Occupancies
NEC Changes
NFPA 70B, Electrical Maintenance
Smoke Control: Design Fires, Atrium Control, and Tenability Systems

FM Global will offer a special tour of their research and testing center in Rhode Island on Friday, as well. Attendees who register for this tour will visit one of the most innovative research and testing centers in the world and see fire technology, natural hazards, electrical hazards, and hydraulics laboratories in action. The visit will include a full-scale fire demonstration.

Keynote address
The WSC&E will begin on Sunday, June 3, with David McCullough’s keynote address, entitled "Leadership and the History You Don’t Know." Mr. McCullough, historian and renowned author of bestsellers John Adams and 1776, is widely acclaimed as a “master of the art of narrative history.” His books are praised for their scholarship, their understanding of American life, their vibrant prose, and their insight into individual character.

The Education Conference
This year’s conference will feature more than 150 education sessions within 11 conference tracks. New for 2007 will be a special track on Fire Protection Engineering sponsored by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). And, as the 2008 edition of NFPA 70, National Electrical Code®, will be voted on during this meeting, the necforum^TM track will be expanded to offer more than 15 sessions. The necforum considers new electrical design issues, successful maintenance programs, best practices in electrical contracting, effective inspection techniques, and practical electrical safety programs. Rounding out the conference tracks are:

Building and Life Safety , which concentrates on practical information such as plans review, inspection techniques, updates on code requirements, new technologies, and best practices.

Codes and Standards , which includes information on the reasons behind important code changes and how they will be implemented.

Detection and Suppression , which focuses on code requirements and design issues, the application of new technologies in alarm and suppression systems, and the impact of maintenance on systems performance.

Disaster Preparedness/Business Continuity , which includes information on assessing risks and consequences, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, incident management, and recovery plans.

Fire and Emergency Response , which includes current information on firefighting apparatus and technologies, safety and preparedness for first responders, incident command strategies, and fire prevention and inspection techniques.

Industrial Fire Safety and Security , which emphasizes new technology in industrial fire protection and emergency response, fuel storage issues, and security of industrial processes.

Premises Security , which examines issues related to creating and implementing security plans, as well as designing, installing, and maintaining security systems.

Public Education , which includes fire and life safety planning and strategies and offers the latest in safety education, including challenges and creative solutions.

Research, which considers the latest information available on many timely issues, such as video smoke and flame detection systems and the reliability of water mist fire protection systems.

Several sessions at this year’s conference will focus on high-profile fires with a regional connection to Boston . The featured presentation, a panel discussion of the 2003 Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, will present the findings of the fire investigations conducted by NFPA and the National Institute of Science and Technology. One of this year’s spotlight sessions will also focus on Boston ’s Cocoanut Grove fire, which killed 492 people in 1942 and changed fire code enforcement, burn treatment methods, and manslaughter case law around the nation. Experts will examine the fire from many angles, including its lasting impact on Boston .

Technical committee report sessions
At the heart of the codes- and standards-development process are the technical committee report sessions. More than 25 documents are up for membership approval this June, including the National Electrical Code, the most widely adopted code in the nation. Documents that cover aircraft and airport facilities, rescue and firefighting, fire tests, forest and rural fire protection, hazardous materials response personnel, pyrotechnics, and more will also be voted on during these sessions or considered as consent documents prior to the meeting.

The exposition
Last but hardly least, the three-day product exposition will showcase many of the latest technologies and services from more than 300 of the top solution providers in the fire and life safety, electrical, and security industries. Knowledgeable representatives from these companies will be available to answer your questions and offer solutions to your most pressing challenges. This year’s exposition begins with the Grand Opening Kick-Off Reception sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories. Join thousands of your peers in the exposition hall for refreshments and meaningful conversations. As always, the exposition is free if you register in advance.

Erik Holden is a marketing manager with NFPA’s Professional Development. He can be reached at eholden@nfpa.org.

In this Section:

			Engineering a Future at NFPA Christian Dubay brings a sense of tradition to his new Vice President, Codes and Standards and Chief Engineer position at NFPA.

			Liquefied Natural Gas LNG safety and protecting a facility: Striving to be the safest in industry

			Vehicle Fire Problem In 2005, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of one highway vehicles fire every two minutes.

			U.S. Standards Strategy: A Clear and Consistent Message NFPA Board of Directors vote unanimously to endorse the United States Standards Strategy

			WSC&E Comes To Boston More than 4,000 fire and life safety, electrical, and security professionals will convene in Boston for the 2007 NFPA World Safety Conference & Exposition®.