Fire Prevention and Investigation News

Offensive Fire Prevention: Target Acquisition

Take advantage of summertime to reassess your efforts

By Daniel Byrne

, Firehouse.Com Contributor -

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For fire prevention programs to be efficient and productive they need to be targeted to the appropriate audience, and the department needs to be offensive in its approach in reaching them. As I have said a thousand times before the people who most need to hear your messages are probably not the ones who will be walking into your station, calling for a program, or live in school districts that can afford field trips. You need to go out and get them.

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Hitting Close to Home

We must work with AARP and NAACP to reduce fire fatalities

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah

, Firehouse.Com Contributor

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By now, thanks to all of the efforts that National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has put in developing great statistical reports year after year, we in the fire service know that the majority of the fires and the fatalities occur in homes.

Take a look at the following 2007 fire loss statistics from the NFPA:

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Next-Generation Building Codes Take on Safety and Sustainability

By Kraig Stevenson & David Nichols, International Code Council -

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Energy efficient and renewable technologies on and in commercial buildings are becoming more commonplace as businesses "go green." Due to the upswing in sustainable construction activities, it is important to understand how these technologies are applied within the framework of a sustainable building code, as well as how green building design and construction relates to fire safety.

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NFPA's Take: Fire Departments and the Codes & Standards Development Process

The process requires much involvement from firefighters and officers

By Amy Beasley Cronin

, NFPA Division Manager -

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Public participation in the development of NFPA's codes and standards is essential. All NFPA codes and standards are revised and updated every three to five years in revision cycles that begin twice each year and that normally take approximately two years to complete. Each revision cycle proceeds according to a published schedule that includes final dates for all major events in the process. There are over 300 codes and standards; many are extremely import to the fire service.

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What are the Odds?

Cuts to prevention units is like rolling dice on life and property

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah

, Firehouse.com Contributor

Web Exclusive included with this article

I read the article titled "Families of "Charleston 9" Reach Partial Settlement" posted on the Firehouse.com, and the memory of that tragedy got my blood boiling again. What a shame! Nine firefighters died in that disaster, and now three years later and in these tough economic times, their families are settling for mere "chump change."

PDF Attachment:

Charleston Phase II Report

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There We Go Again

Product liability, federal incentive programs could enhance community safety

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah

, Firehouse.com Contributor -

Web Exclusive included with this article

Well, there we go again. Just as they did last year, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has once gain increased their systematic behind the scene maneuverings at the state legislative levels in many states, demanding that the legislatures pass laws that prohibit all jurisdictions from enforcing the requirement for installation of residential fire sprinklers in all new homes.

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There We Go Again

Product liability, federal incentive programs could enhance community safety

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah and

, Firehouse.com Contributor -

Web Exclusive included with this article

Well, there we go again.

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We Reap the Harvest We Sow

Budget cuts will have lasting impact on residents and responders

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah, Firehouse.com Contributor

When the frequency of an occurrence is drastically increased, the exposure is prolonged or when the magnitude and impact of an incident are quite significant, people impacted tend to adjust and become desensitized after a while.

It has a numbing impact, and right, wrong, or indifferent, we just get used to it. Maybe not at first, but then gradually.

With the increased frequency of occurrence of an event, people simply adjust their norms and accept it as a non-event regular part of life.

PDF Attachment:

Phil Mele's Letter of Intent to Retire (PDF)

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The Proof is in the Pudding

While fire data exists, the overall picture is still not clear

By Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah, Firehouse.com Contributor

Web Exclusive included with this article

Just about a month ago in December, the USFA National Fire Data Center NFDC released "Fire in the United States, 2003-2007" report.

This document is the 15th major edition of "Fire in The United States" published by the USFA and covers the five year period of 2003 to 2007 with a primary focus on 2007. The first edition was published in 1978, and included fire data from 1975 and 1976.

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How Can a Fire Marshal Maximize Their Team's Performance?

By Brett Lacey and Paul Valentine, Firehouse.com Contributors -

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During a recent discussion of how to best maximize our fire prevention team during these tough economic times where many of us are faced with doing more with much less, it occurred to us that it may be a good time to refresh some of these tried but true thoughts on team work.

In most fire prevention bureaus, it is not uncommon to face challenges we did not plan for or start the day with, yet somehow we need to resolve them by the end of the week.

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