Fire safety officials in North Carolina are considering incorporating requirements from the latest edition of NFPA 241, Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations, into the state fire code after a massive, deadly blaze earlier this month. “We do hope that the latest updates [to NFPA 241] will be considered,” Chief State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor told The Charlotte Observer. Currently, NFPA 241 is briefly referenced in the 2018 North Carolina Fire Prevention Code, which is the latest version of the code, but experts say a fuller incorporation of the 2022 edition of NFPA 241 could help reduce the risk of more fires like the one that razed a multistory apartment complex under construction in Charlotte on May 18. The fire left two construction workers dead, while more than a dozen others had to be rescued. A city seldom sees the magnitude and tragedy last week's fire. Over 90 Charlotte firefighters spent hours controlling a 5-alarm fire at a construction site. The radio communication you’ll hear in this video only partially relays the dramatic intensity of Thursday, May 18, 2023. pic.twitter.com/XP3zHcjsOP — Charlotte Fire Dept. (@charlottefire) May 22, 2023 Included in the changes from the 2019 edition of NFPA 241 to the 2022 edition were a new section to help authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) with enforcement of the standard, enhanced requirements for creating a fire prevention program (FPP) for construction sites, and a new chapter on large wood-frame construction, among others. The structure that burned in Charlotte was reported to be of large wood-frame construction. “I’m really proud of the latest edition of the standard,” Bruce Campbell, a fire protection engineer and vice president at Jensen Hughes, who serves as the chair of the NFPA 241 technical committee, told NFPA Journal for a 2021 article that explored the changes to the latest edition of NFPA 241. Although the next edition of the North Carolina fire code isn’t set to take effect until January 2025, North Carolina Chief Fire Code Consultant Charlie Johnson told The Observer that changes could be introduced sooner. The NC Fire Code Revision Committee is scheduled to meet next week, the newspaper reported. Rising numbers & enhanced solutions North Carolina is far from the only place in the United States—and around the globe—where firefighters, building officials, construction workers, and other professionals face fire safety challenges at construction sites. According to the most recent data from NFPA®, the number of fires in buildings under construction in the U.S. has been steadily rising since 2014. On average, U.S. fire departments respond to 4,300 fires in buildings under construction per year—that’s nearly a dozen such blazes every day. These fires also inflict an annual average of $375 million in direct property damages, according to the data. RELATED: Read the latest research report from NFPA on fires in buildings under construction; watch a recent NFPA webinar about protecting buildings under construction from fire Some policymakers and fire service professionals have speculated that the rising numbers of construction fires over the past several years could be due to a boom in wood-frame construction for large, multifamily dwellings. “We’re on heightened awareness of these, and especially when they’re in the most populated areas,” Taylor told The Observer about this type of construction. “You’ll see them in downtown Raleigh, downtown Charlotte.” But there have been many examples of non-wood-frame buildings under construction burning, too, and experts say building materials alone don’t change the risk of a fire starting.  “Construction is a vulnerable point in any building’s life cycle,” Jon Hart, a technical lead at NFPA, said in a recent NFPA Journal article. “There can be a lot going on, such as welding and other hot work activities or the use of cooking equipment by workers. In addition to that, you can have piles of combustible debris and fire protection systems that aren’t fully operable yet. All of this creates an environment where fires can start, so it’s critical for building owners, construction companies, and authorities having jurisdiction to ensure proper safety plans and procedures are in place for any project.”  EXPLORE ONLINE TRAINING COURSES FROM NFPA RELATED TO FIRES IN BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION • Fire Prevention Program Manager Online Training Series • Construction Site Fire Safety Fundamentals Online Training • NFPA 241 Online Training Series • NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, Online Training Series • Hot Work Safety Training Certificate Online Training (also available in Spanish) To establish fire, life, and electrical safety in buildings and other spaces—no matter what stage of development they may be in—it’s critical for jurisdictions to use the most up-to-date codes and standards. In fact, that concept is one of eight components outlined in the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™, which is why NFPA Vice President of Outreach & Advocacy Lorraine Carli applauded the efforts taking shape in North Carolina to incorporate the 2022 edition of NFPA 241 into the state fire code. “The recent fire in Charlotte was an absolute tragedy, but we hope it can lead to changes that could help to prevent future tragedies like this from occurring in North Carolina and in other places,” Carli said. “Safety exists as a system, where everything from the use of modern codes to employing skilled workers matters. So it’s not just about saying, ‘Let’s use NFPA 241.’ It’s about training on it, implementing it, and ensuring there is proper enforcement.” Visit nfpa.org/constructionsafety to explore a variety of NFPA resources aimed at helping to prevent construction fires.  Top photograph: Getty Images

A version of this blog was originally published in 2022. It has been updated to reflect the most recent information. You would think that as someone who lives and previously conducted electrical inspections in Michigan, a state with 3,288 miles of freshwater shoreline and countless marinas, I would have known about electric shock drowning (ESD) before joining NFPA®. Well, you would be wrong; I had no idea what ESD was until I started working at NFPA. At a recent electrical inspectors’ conference, I began to wonder if I was the only inspector who had been in the dark about ESD. I asked if anyone knew what ESD was, and very few did. This was surprising to me, but also provided me with an opportunity to educate them. So, how can an electrical inspector have an impact? We must first answer the question, “What is ESD?” RELATED: Learn more about the NFPA Electrical Inspection Membership According to the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association, ESD occurs when a typically low-level alternating current (AC) passes through the body with sufficient force to cause skeletal muscular paralysis, rendering a swimmer in freshwater unable to keep him or herself afloat, eventually resulting in the drowning of the victim. Higher levels of AC in the water could also result in death via electrocution. It has been said that ESD is the catch-all phrase that encompasses all in-water shock casualties and fatalities. ESD occurs more in freshwater environments than in saltwater, which is why ESD is of particular concern around freshwater docking facilities, marinas, lakes, and ponds. Creating a specific code section in NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®), for ESD may sound simple, but it is not. ESD is not a piece of electrical equipment or an electrical conductor but rather a phenomenon that can occur in areas where boats are connected to shore power electricity. Increased knowledge on the risk of ESD has impacted the construction of boats, marinas, and docking facilities, which may help reduce occurrences of ESD. And even though ESD isn’t specifically addressed in the NEC, it has had a significant impact on recent changes that have been made in it. New solutions for helping eliminate ESD have become a regular subject in the code-making process, public inputs, and comments for potential new NEC requirements. Changes to the 2023 NEC that electrical inspectors should be aware of and that could lead to a reduction in electric shock drowning deaths include the following: Requiring emergency shutoff devices or emergency disconnects located within sight of the marina power outlets or other enclosures providing power to boats. They are to be marked “Emergency Shutoff,” readily accessible, and externally operable, which allows bystanders to quickly de-energize power to the boat and safely release a person who may be suffering an electric shock. Adding equipotential planes and bonding of equipotential planes that could help mitigate step and touch voltages for electrical equipment that supply power to the equipment. Requiring that modified, repaired, or replaced electrical enclosures, devices, or wiring methods comply with the current provisions of the NEC. The installation also requires the circuit be inspected due to exposure to harsh environments. Requiring all luminaires and retrofit kits to be listed and identified for use in their intended environment. Also requiring that luminaires installed below the highest tide level or electrical datum plane and likely to be periodically submersed comply with 555.38(B). As conversations around ESD continue throughout the code development process, it is important to remember which edition of the NEC is being enforced in your area, and how you as an electrical inspector can use those sections to make an impact in reducing ESD. Through enforcement of electrical codes, the inspector can help educate owners and installers about ESD risks. Here are just a few topics inspectors might want to look up in the NEC: Signage – You might be wondering, “How can signs help prevent ESD?” They can do it by continuing to warn everybody of the true dangers facing them. These areas are challenged with constantly changing environments because numerous boats in various degrees of electrical repair travel in and out of these facilities all the time. This can make a place you may otherwise consider swimming in potentially unsafe due to the presence of low-level AC (leakage current). Installing permanent safety signs around marinas, boatyards, and docking facilities gives notice of the ESD risk to persons within those areas. Signs should say more than “No Swimming” since some people may not take that warning seriously and swim anyway. Code language was added to have signs state: “No Swimming / Warning / Potential Shock Hazard / Electrical Currents May Be Present in the Water.” To aid in further preventing ESD, docking facilities were added to the list of marinas and boatyards found in 555.10 of the 2020 NEC. Ground-fault protection – Article 555, Marinas, Boatyards, Floating Buildings, and Commercial and Noncommercial Docking Facilities, addresses both ground-fault protection of equipment (GFPE) and ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection. With cumulative effects of leakage current causing excess tripping of 30 milliampere GFPE devices, changes were made to the code language for the 2023 edition of the NEC that increased GFPE current settings not to exceed 100 milliamperes on feeders and 30 milliamperes on branch circuits, which will require inspectors to verify devices are properly located in the electrical system. This change helps facilitate more dependable power for marinas and docking facilities. Branch circuits feeding single shore power receptacles must still have individual GFPE devices set to open at currents not exceeding 30 milliamperes. Coincidentally, this requirement matches main breaker settings in boats manufactured after July 31, 2017. Outlets for non–shore power had the GFCI protection for personnel expanded in the 2023 NEC to cover 150 volts to ground and 60 amperes, single phase, and 150 volts or less to ground and 100 amperes or less, three phase. Leakage current measurement device – The 2020 NEC language allowed electrical inspectors to require marinas, boatyards, and docking facilities that have more than three receptacles supplying shore power to boats to have a leakage current measurement device available on site. This device would allow facility operators to isolate and notify boat owners of leakage current so repairs could be made by a qualified person, thus helping to eliminate a potential ESD risk. The new language in the 2023 NEC requires the device to be listed for use in marina applications. This requirement doesn’t become effective until January 1, 2026. Private docks – Locations where ESD hazards may easily get overlooked or not inspected are on lakes surrounded by homes with private docks. These homes don’t always have shore power but may have electrically powered boat hoists. Section 555.35(C) requires boat hoist outlets not exceeding 240 volts installed at dwelling unit docking facilities to have GFCI protection for personnel. We have seen notable code changes within Article 555 over the last several cycles. Prior to the 2017 NEC, warning signs around marinas, boatyards, or docking facilities were not an NEC requirement, but they are now. GFCI and GFPE have had changes made within Article 555 over the 2017, 2020, and 2023 NEC cycles. There’s been a lot of positive influence on the codes because of the risks surrounding ESD, including regulating electrical requirements in marinas, boatyards, and docking facilities, rendering them much safer now. But you still can’t swim there! As inspectors, we can help raise awareness of ESD in our communities. It starts with educating ourselves. Visit this webpage to learn more about this topic and ways to help mitigate the risk of ESD.

On Saturday, May 6, communities across the country came together in different ways to get ready for wildfires. Some focused on outreach, hosting wildfire education or safety days, sharing information, and creating a space to ask questions and get advice. Other communities organized work projects and hosted potlucks to celebrate their hard work. No matter how you participated, we applaud your efforts and encourage you to keep it going!   On this year’s Wildfire Prep Day, I had the opportunity to visit Reflection Lake, a Firewise USA® and Wildfire Ready Neighbors community located in eastern Washington, a little north of Spokane. While the weather was a little gloomy—overcast with intervals of rain—spirits were high.    IN HIGH SPIRITS  Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan (right), who manages the Firewise USA® program at NFPA®, joined community leaders in Reflection Lake, Washington, Saturday, May 6, as the community celebrated Wildfire Community Preparedness Day.  Photo by Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan   The community had a variety of things going on. Some people cleaned up pine needles and other debris in parks or on lakefront areas. There was a large group of people feeding a burn pile near a beach where trees had been dropped, clearing out an access road and removing a hazard below homes (all local burn regulations were followed). A couple of residents helped a neighbor by cutting up and removing trees that had been dropped and that the homeowner couldn’t clean up.   During the tour conducted by my hosts, we encountered other homeowners who were inspired by the organized Prep Day activities to clean up their properties, raking needles and leaves, pruning trees, and picking up downed debris. Thanks to a grant provided by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WA DNR), the community had brought in two roll-off dumpsters—one for garbage and one for green waste, making it easier for folks to act.   It was so nice to meet with different community members and hear about the support they get from Firewise USA and WA DNR, and what it means to them.  There was a lot of pride—rightfully so—in the different projects they’ve completed over the past five years and hopefulness in moving forward.    READYING REFLECTION LAKE  Reflection Lake residents marked Wildfire Prep Day 2023 in part by clearing and burning debris.  Photo by Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan   Like so many communities across the country, Reflection Lake is trying to change a community that was built many years ago, without wildfire in mind. Leveraging their funds with grants from DNR, they have removed abandoned structures that presented a hazard, opened up access roads for responders, thinned out tree stands, and pushed homeowners to take actions on their homes and property. I look forward to hearing more as they continue on their wildfire journey and hope to visit again. It was such a beautiful area.   While Wildfire Community Preparedness Day 2023 is officially over, the need for action remains. Wildfires can happen at any time and communities need to stay ready.  Use the resources available for free on wildfireprepday.org to guide your individual and community risk reduction strategies year round.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Prep Day) is just around the corner! What projects are you planning to help prepare your home and neighborhood for wildfire? For the ninth consecutive year, NFPA® and campaign cosponsor State Farm® encourage everyone to join together on the first Saturday in May for events and activities that can help make homes and communities safer from wildfire. On Saturday, May 6, 2023, people from across the United States and Canada will take part in projects that increase their safety from wildfire. Take the opportunity to defend your home ignition zone by taking simple, low-cost steps along with your neighbors.   NFPA and State Farm make it easier with a Prep Day toolkit. The toolkit is a wealth of project ideas, safety tips, promotional material, and more. While project awards are not part of the 2023 campaign, Prep Day activities bring tremendous value to your community. For instance, Prep Day work can help Firewise USA® sites meet their annual investment criteria for volunteer hours. Engaging in Prep Day can be an important first step for people who want to be safer from wildfire but aren’t sure how to begin. Use the Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Toolkit, videos, social media cards, and other wildfire safety resources at wildfireprepday.org. Share them with others in your community to not only make a difference in safety on Prep Day, but to make a difference all through the year as well.

Those who can … share how they do it with their peers. The NFPA Spotlight on Public Education (SOPE) conference is an exciting and cost-effective way to connect with fire and life safety professionals for learning, sharing, and networking. This “conference within a conference” is specially designed for professionals to educate and empower their communities for fire, burn, and related hazards prevention. Now in its seventh year, SOPE takes place Monday and Tuesday, June 19 and 20, at the 2023 NFPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration for SOPE includes eight unique fire and life safety–related workshops, access to the Expo floor and General Session, and a dedicated lounge for people to network and grab a snack. SOPE participants also have free admission to the “Community Risk Reduction: Making Neighborhoods Safer” workshop on Wednesday, June 21, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This year’s workshops cover a variety of topics for learning and skill development, including:   ·      Promoting public education programs: From the firehouse kitchen table to the community ·      Adverse childhood experiences and CRR: Mitigation with evidence-based approaches ·      Fire prevention education programs: Engaging the community ·      Data-driven prevention programs for older adults ·      Demonstrating results: Evaluating your fire and life safety efforts ·      Fire Prevention Week™: Repurposing history to create informed communities ·      Enhancing fire safety education with virtual reality ·      Utilizing community partnerships to save lives   Register for the 2023 Spotlight on Public Education today. At $125, it’s a great value for dedicated fire and life safety professional development and networking in sunny Las Vegas! Follow me on Twitter @AndreaVastis, Sparky the Fire Dog® on Twitter and Facebook and NFPA on Instagram to keep up with the latest in fire and life safety education.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Prep Day) is just around the corner! What projects are you planning to help prepare your home and neighborhood for wildfire? For the ninth consecutive year, NFPA® and campaign cosponsor State Farm® encourage everyone to join together on the first Saturday in May for events and activities that can help make homes and communities safer from wildfire. On Saturday, May 6, 2023, people from across the United States and Canada will take part in projects that increase their safety from wildfire. Take the opportunity to defend your home ignition zone by taking simple, low-cost steps along with your neighbors.   NFPA and State Farm make it easier with a Prep Day toolkit. The toolkit is a wealth of project ideas, safety tips, promotional material, and more. While project awards are not part of the 2023 campaign, Prep Day activities bring tremendous value to your community. For instance, Prep Day work can help Firewise USA® sites meet their annual investment criteria for volunteer hours. Engaging in Prep Day can be an important first step for people who want to be safer from wildfire but aren’t sure how to begin. Use the Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Toolkit, videos, social media cards, and other wildfire safety resources at wildfireprepday.org. Share them with others in your community to not only make a difference in safety on Prep Day, but to make a difference all through the year as well.

As we all know, home fires don’t pick and choose where they strike. They can affect anyone, anywhere, anytime—even firefighters.   Fire stations are a home away from home for firefighters, often with cooking and sleeping quarters. Even though firefighters are the station “residents,” when a fire station doesn’t have fire sprinklers installed and a fire strikes, the damage can be significant, especially when the firefighters are out on a call.   That’s precisely what happened to the Glenburn Fire Department in north central North Dakota on March 6, 2021, when their own fire station burned down. The Glenburn Rural Fire Protection District covers a large jurisdiction, including two small cities and numerous farms and ranches.   The station was unstaffed and by the time firefighters got the call it was too late―most everything had been destroyed. An investigation determined the fire was caused by a furnace failure. Fortunately, no lives were lost, and no one was injured in that fire.   BUILT BACK BETTER   Today, the station has been rebuilt and is protected with installed fire sprinklers. Glenburn Fire Chief Mike Overton said it has been a long two years, but now the fire department is up and functioning. He and department personnel are using their experience to raise awareness about fire dangers and the benefits of fire sprinklers.   In fact, the Glenburn Fire Department received a $500 stipend from the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), which it will use to hold an educational open house in its new, sprinklered station during Home Fire Sprinkler Week 2023 (May 14–20). In addition to sharing information on home sprinklers, the open house will feature HFSC’s 3D virtual reality and other videos, information on smoke alarms, and more.   One of the key messages to be reinforced is that today’s home fires burn faster and hotter than in the 60s and 70s. Back then, residents had up to 17 minutes to escape a home fire. Now, with synthetic furnishings, lightweight building materials, and open designs, that window has closed to just 2 minutes or less. Fortunately, sprinklers activate quickly, controlling and often extinguishing the fire before the fire department arrives.   Chief Overton says members of the community will learn that having both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers cuts the risk of death in a home fire by 82 percent compared to having neither. He also plans to underscore that sprinklers are green, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 98 percent, fire damage by up to 97 percent, and water usage by as much as 91 percent.   When it comes to educating our communities about the dangers of home fires, seeing really is believing. Chief Overton understands this, and the Glenburn open house will go a long way toward delivering the vital messages through meaningful and memorable presentations to the community. WHAT CAN YOUR COMMUNITY DO?   Your community needs these lifesaving messages, too. A live demonstration or a side-by-side virtual reality video will reveal how quickly a home fire spreads without sprinklers, versus how quickly it’s controlled with installed sprinklers. And as Chief Overton is doing with his station, consider sharing personal stories you may have about fire sprinklers, not just for homeowners, but for firefighters as well.   You can tap into NFPA’s free resources, including safety tip sheets, you can download and share. And for home fire sprinkler content, use HFSC’s free turnkey tools that make it easy for you to educate your target audiences. You can also create a space on your website about the value of building new homes with fire sprinklers. Upload videos and other content. Post cards to your social media accounts. Or simply link to HomeFireSprinkler.org (HFSC’s website is free of advertising and all content is free to you).   No matter how you plan your outreach activities, NFPA and HFSC are here to support your efforts. We look forward to hearing about your successes.

Fire departments and fire safety advocates throughout North America are getting ready to increase awareness about home fire sprinklers using digital media tools and community outreach events May 14–20, 2023. The weeklong digital campaign, co-hosted by the NFPA Fire Sprinkler Initiative project and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), will amplify key home fire sprinkler messaging with daily themes and turnkey assets anyone can use. Participation has increased significantly since the campaign first started six years ago. During the pandemic, many fire departments were not able to conduct live community events but participated by visiting HFSC’s webpage daily and sending out social media messages. Now many fire departments have planned community events and are using HFSC resources including home fire sprinkler displays, educational banners, brochures, and live fire and sprinkler demonstrations. In addition to sharing our digital messages, many are producing their own short videos. We encourage fire departments to use HFSC’s media resources, like the press releases and radio PSA scripts that can be localized with fire department information. We receive positive feedback from members of the media who visit HFSC’s pressroom and download the broadcast-quality video footage to prepare their own stories. There is nothing more powerful than footage of a living room fire with and without sprinklers. If you have contacts with your local media, make sure you let them know about these high-quality resources. Now more than ever, we need you to participate. In most regions, new home construction is robust, with roughly 1 million new homes projected this year. And a recent survey revealed that 80 percent of millennials would prefer a new home with fire sprinklers once they learned how sprinklers work. That is why public education and community outreach is so important. Please plan to join us this May to populate the digital world with fire sprinkler and safety facts. I think you’ll be impressed with the array of powerful educational tools on HFSC’s dedicated Home Fire Sprinkler Week website. Every day there is a different theme along with corresponding digital content and messaging. You choose which resources to use―or use them all. Whether virtual or in-person, you can customize our digital tools for your audiences and potentially reach new people vital to your community risk reduction initiatives. I look forward to seeing the results as we all work together to spread the word.