Features

SPECIAL NFPA CONFERENCE & EXPO SUPPLEMENT
Shipping out to LVNV
Time again to plan your trip to the annual NFPA Conference & Expo — and this year it’s back in fabulous Las Vegas

NFPA Journal®, January/February 2012

By Kaitlyn Greene

Plan now to attend this year’s most important event for the fire, life safety, and electrical industries. Join NFPA experts and other industry professionals as we gather June 11–14 in Las Vegas for the 2012 NFPA Conference & Expo, widely regarded as the most comprehensive event in the industry. The event combines an unrivaled educational conference and an exhibition with more than 300 participating companies. You’ll want to take advantage of the convenient networking opportunities and gain up-to-date knowledge on the codes and standards that relate to you.

The Conference
The Conference includes an impressive list of industry experts and new sessions focusing on changes to 2012-edition codes. The education sessions are a valuable resource for new information that you can’t get anywhere else. And by attending the sessions, you earn continuing education units (CEUs) to augment your professional development training certifications. Presentations will include many case studies, code updates, and results from an assortment of research projects.

On Tuesday, June 12, the featured presentation will be given by Deputy Chief Jay Jonas of the New York City Fire Department. Jonas was captain of Ladder Co. 6, one of the first responding units to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and survived the collapse of the north tower.

This year’s entertainment during the general session is provided by Gordie Brown, a multi-talented impressionist, comedian, and musician. He has been voted Best Entertainer of the Year and Best Comedian of the Year in Las Vegas and has appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Brown has developed a show that is constantly evolving to incorporate fresh, new impressions, so guests never get the same performance twice.

The conference schedule offers more than 130 education sessions that you can mix and match for a customized schedule. Topic areas are covered in 12 targeted tracks:

Building & Life Safety
Technologies, best practices, and statistical data needed by designers, engineers, and building and fire officials responsible for plans review, inspections, and other building-related tasks.

Codes & Standards
Expert guidance on the practical application of NFPA codes and standards, as well as information on recent updates and changes.

Detection & Notification
Code requirements and design issues affecting the application of new technologies in alarm and signaling systems, and the impact of maintenance on system performance.

Electrical
Best practices in the electrical industry and how they are influenced by new electrical design issues, successful maintenance programs, effective inspection techniques, and safety programs.

Emergency Preparedness/Business Continuity
The latest methods for accurately assessing risks and consequences, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, and incident management and recovery capabilities.

Fire & Emergency Services
A look at what’s new in firefighting technology, safety and preparedness for first responders, incident command strategies, and fire prevention and inspection techniques.

Fire Protection Engineering
Ideas for meeting fire protection challenges using computer modeling, field testing, post-incident analyses, and other methods for developing performance-based building solutions. Sponsored by SFPE.

Fire Suppression
The importance of proper design, installation, inspection, testing, maintenance, and plans review of sprinkler system effectiveness.

Green
How environmentally friendly initiatives affect the design, maintenance, and testing of fire and life safety systems and components.

Loss Control/Prevention
Strategies for mitigating risk through accurate assessment of occupancy and commodity classification, enhanced reliability of fire protection systems, and other risk factors.

Public Education
New planning strategies and creative solutions for meeting the challenges of effective public fire and life safety education.

Research
The latest research on critical fire and life safety initiatives, including the reliability of emerging technologies.

The Expo
The three-day expo will showcase many of the latest technologies and services from more than 300 of the top solution providers in the fire safety, life safety, and electrical industries. Knowledgeable representatives from these companies will be available to answer your questions and offer solutions to your most pressing challenges. The exposition provides attendees the ideal location to see, touch, and try products, and to meet with a company’s technical staff. As always, the expo is free when you register in advance.

The Seminars
While the 2012 NFPA Conference & Expo officially begins on Monday, June 11, you may arrive early or stay later to attend any of the 20 comprehensive pre- and post-conference seminars. Some of these seminars will only be offered in Las Vegas.

Four three-day seminars will be held on Saturday, June 9 through Monday, June 11:

Electrical Safety in the Workplace Certificate (NFPA 70E®)
Installation of Sprinkler Systems (NFPA 13)
Life Safety Code® Essentials (NFPA 101®)
National Fire Alarm & Signaling Code (NFPA 72®)

Eight two-day seminars will be held on Saturday, June 9 through Sunday, June 10:

CFPS Primer
Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600)
Dust Explosion Hazards
Fire and Explosion Investigations (NFPA 921)
Inspection, Testing & Maintenance of Fire Alarms Certificate (NFPA 72®)
Inspection, Testing & Maintenance of Water-based Fire Protection Systems Certificate (NFPA 25)
NFPA 1, Fire Code
Código de Alarmas de Incendio (NFPA 72®)

Two one-day seminars will be held Saturday, June 9:

NEC® Article 517: Health Care & Emergency Systems
NFPA 101® Health Care Update, 2000–2012

Three one-day seminars will be held on Sunday, June 10:

Behind the Scenes Tour: Fire Protection at Mandalay Bay
Special Suppression Systems
What Fire Safety Professionals Should Know, and Do, About Stairway Usability and Safety

Five one-day seminars will be held on Friday, June 15:

Changes to the 2013 editions of NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and NFPA 20, Fire Pumps
Changes to the 2013 edition of NFPA 72®, National Fire Alarm & Signaling Code
NFPA 3, Recommended Practice on Commissioning and Integrated Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems
Public Assembly (NFPA 1)
Norma Extintores Portatiles de Incendio (NFPA 10)

NFPA Conference & Expo blog and social media outlets
Stay on top of all the important details about the NFPA Conference & Expo by visiting our blog site at npfa.typepad.com/conference. Features include new sessions, speaker highlights, Las Vegas info, video clips, and much more. Use the blog to provide feedback before, during, and after the conference about your experience. You can also follow us on Twitter at #NFPAConf and like us on Facebook. Go to nfpa.org/conference for more information.

The Association Technical Meeting
At the heart of the codes- and standards-development process is the Association Technical Meeting on Wednesday, June 13 and Thursday, June 14. More than 35 documents are up for review at the upcoming meeting, including NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems; NFPA 13D, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes; NFPA 13R, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies up to and Including Four Stories in Height; NFPA 20, Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection; NFPA 72®, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code; and NFPA 654, Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids. Documents that cover sprinkler systems, stationary pumps, hazardous materials, oxygen-fuel gas systems, fireworks and pyrotechnics, emergency services communications systems, and more will be voted on during these sessions. Technical committee members are eligible for a 20 percent discount on conference registration prices.

Join us in Las Vegas
Las Vegas offers much more than casinos and bright lights. When you travel to Las Vegas, you enter a world that will captivate you with its international flare, superb dining choices, and award-winning shows by Cirque du Soleil, Penn & Teller, Blue Man Group, and many more.

Depending on where you’re traveling from, the numerous flights to Las Vegas are relatively inexpensive. Combine that with endless dining options and reasonable hotel rates, and you have a perfect destination for any training budget. Come to the NFPA Conference & Expo for an incomparable learning experience and be sure to explore all that Las Vegas has to offer.

Hotel reservations and registration
NFPA has negotiated special rates at four Las Vegas hotels close to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Hotel rooms must be reserved by April 27, 2012, to guarantee convention rates at these participating hotels: Mandalay Bay, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur. You can make hotel reservations online at nfpa.org/conference or by contacting Team 4 at Mandalay Bay at team4@mandalaybay.comor 1-702-632-9000 between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. PST. Book early as rooms will go fast and please reference NFPA Conference & Expo. Register today to receive the early-bird discounted rates.

Kaitlyn Greene is a marketing project manager for NFPA.

In this Section:

			Operation Fire Safety A new FDA initiative teaches health care professionals the causes of operating room fires and highlights safety procedures that match provisions in NFPA 99 and NFPA 101.

			Heliport Help Proponents of safer heliports call for stronger regulations designed to ensure heliport safety, and the 2011 edition of NFPA 418, Heliports, gives them a new tool for proactive regulatory authority.

			Deficiencies + Eqivalencies Common design, maintenance, and operational deficiencies of health care occupancies and provisions in newer editions of the Life Safety Code can help you comply with CMS and TJC requirements.