The United States still has one of the highest fire death rates in the industrialized world, but our standing has greatly improved. Falling from among the top three nations in terms of the fire death rate two decades ago, the United States now has the tenth highest fire death rate, putting the Nation in the upper half of the countries around the world. The USFA released its report, Fire Death Rate Trends: An International Perspective which was developed by USFA’s National Fire Data Center. The analyses reveal the magnitude of the fire death problem; trends in overall rates and differences between the countries are also explored.

  Apparent delays with establishing a sustained water supply via the building standpipe system are being published in the Asheville Citizens-Times.com today. Direct link HERE Published reports are indicating possible problems with water delivery to the standpipe system designed to supply water from a street hydrant system to the fifth floor of a burning medical […]

On July 17, 1981 a suspended walkway collapsed in The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 people and injuring 216.

Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems is a very useful manual that was developed and published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor for the purpose to increase the safety of building occupants and emergency responders by streamlining fire […]

  Thirty years ago on the morning of November 21, 1980, 85 people died and more than 700 were injured as a result of a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the second largest life-loss hotel fire in United States history. It was determined during the investigation that the […]

Firefighter Exposure to Smoke Particulates Under a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant, Underwriters Laboratories in collaboration with the Chicago Fire Department and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, recently completed a sixteen month study on the smoke and gas exposure firefighters confront during firefighting operations and subsequent contact exposure […]

Residential Fire Sprinklers: A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH FOR COMMUNITIES Residential Fire Sprinklers…A Step-By-Step Approach for Communities (Second Edition) – National Fire Sprinkler Association and International Association of Fire Chiefs – has developed and published a comprehensive  guide  for all stakeholders, from the citizen to the fire chief and from the homebuilder to the elected official, with […]

Many U.S. buildings are vulnerable to extreme loads that may cause partial or total collapse. Modern structures have a limited reserve capacity to accommodate abnormal loads. There is no accepted science-base or design practice to maintain overall structural robustness within a multi-hazard context that considers both design loads and abnormal loads. The National Institute of […]