This exchange will feature NFPA President and CEO Jim Pauley facilitating a discussion with top-tier fire service leaders about the fire incidents that occurred in Pennsylvania and New York earlier this month and steps that can be taken to strengthen fire prevention, fire protection, life safety, code enforcement, and other critical safety programs. The following leaders will join Pauley for this forward-thinking talk: Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, U.S. Fire Administrator; Adam Thiel, Fire Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia; Joseph Jardin, Assistant Chief with the New York City Fire Department, Chief of Fire Prevention. The important conversation will center around recent incidents and emphasize the critical role that policymakers and the public, in particular, play in keeping communities safe from harm. Audience members are encouraged to pose relevant questions via the chat feature.

Oftentimes, the expression “transformational leadership” is incorrectly translated as “what managers need to worry about.”  This theoretical and practical session will illustrate why transformational leadership is important for emergency responders in all roles and with all kinds of responsibilities.  Chief Freeman draws on his academic and on-the-job experiences to paint a picture of how the emergency response sector can improve service delivery by improving the fundamental understanding of how transformational leadership at all levels helps build safer communities.

Over the past decade, UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) has been conducting research with the fire service to examine fire dynamics, firefighting tactics, firefighter health, and many other topics. Hundreds of experiments have studied the changes in the fire environment over time, the impact of ventilating ventilation-limited fires, the implications of coordinating fire attack, and the effectiveness of suppression tactics. These experiments were conducted with firefighters from across the country from departments of different types and with varying levels of staffing, resources, and operating procedures. This presentation will share a historical look at how the research came to be, highlights of the research, and how research has been able to impact the firefighting system to improve the safety of firefighters and the public. We will also look at how the research inspired NFPA 1700, Guide for Structural Fire Fighting, what the document is, and what is to come in the future.

Over the last decade many emergency responders have experienced a growing sense of urgency to respond to perceived elevated and rising rates of suicide among our law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs. Because of the role they play in the community and the tight knit bonds forged in their workplaces, each suicide death of emergency responders frequently causes a wide and deep impact. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight promising and evidence-based practices focused on preventing suicide among emergency responders.

Community Risk Reduction (CRR) is an under-tapped resource for savvy leaders looking to highlight the 21st century work of the fire service. As a data-driven process, CRR can help leaders in fire service demonstrate needs for personnel and equipment, prompt efficient deployment of resources, and guide equitable decisions to ensure prevention efforts are focused on the residents most in need. CRR helps leaders implement impactful initiatives and drive fire department sustainability as community needs shift. In this session, the speakers will discuss why Community Risk Reduction is valued in modern departments and how the process supports work across the firehouse. Presenters will provide an overview of the industry standard for Community Risk Reduction, NFPA 1300, and discuss the role of data, partners, & stakeholders in the CRR process. Participants will leave the session will a fresh view of fire prevention efforts and their position in the firehouse.

Thinking like a scientist, doing field research, and espousing the notion that we are embarking on a journey of learning together are foundational activities Dr. Taylor is undertaking to collaboratively build a blueprint for driving positive change when it comes to matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the fire service (and in the larger emergency response community). In this presentation, she will discuss her approaches, what she has learned so far, and will tell you how you can get involved in developing that very blueprint for change.

Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Leadership in Fire and Life Safety (FLS) education happens at all levels with the goals of preparing a workforce with the skills needed to educate, involve, and empower community members to protect themselves, their families and their neighbors from fire and related hazards. In this dynamic workshop, participants will learn to lead by example through exploration of the evolution of fire and life safety education and building of knowledge and skills to respond to current and emerging challenges and trends in providing quality community education.

When it comes to making effective decisions, relying on experience and trusting one’s gut simply isn’t good enough. This presentation will look at how using data both to define problems and help uncover solutions can help you ultimately make more informed decisions, faster.

This presentation will highlight findings from two major reports: the "2021 Needs Assessment of the United Sates Fire Service" and “Fire Safety in the United States Since 1980: Through the Lens of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem.”  What resources, training, activities and needs do today’s fire departments have?  What’s changed in the past 20 years? What does today’s US fire problem look like?  What do today’s firefighters do? Who are the victims of today’s home fires? What’s changed over the past four decades?

This presentation will discuss several commonsense best practices in use in the FDNY and the national fire service and the linkage to NFPA standards. Additionally, the importance of combining research and experience will be discussed.