The Firewise Communities program recently reached a milestone and announced the 900th community to earn recognition as a Firewise Communities/USA® site! The city of Lakeway in Travis County, Texas is the latest neighborhood to take action to improve residents’ safety from threats posed by brush, grass and forest fires. According... Continue reading

NFPA members only! Register today for the next NFPA Insider presentation being held on May 23 at 2pm (EST). NFPA President Jim Shannon will give his first word as always. In this episode's 'Up to Code' segment, Carolyn Cronin from NFPA Codes and Standards Administration discusses the latest codes and standards information and activities. In the NFPA Journal Live piece, NFPA Principal Fire Protection Engineer Matt Klaus discusses key changes to the 2014 edition of NFPA 25. And, lots more! Here's a preview: NFPA INSIDER is a live, bi-monthly online session that features expanded news and content from the latest... Continue reading

Each week, we have fun with fire safety trivia on Sparky the Fire Dog's Facebook page. We ask a trivia question early in the morning, take guesses all day long, and then post the correct answer by the end of the day - every Tuesday. Here's how you can participate! Head over to Sparky's Facebook page and leave your guess to the following trivia question. Then be sure to check back later today to find out if you were right! (Hint: all of the correct answers can be found on our website as well!) Have fun and good luck! Continue reading

While NFPA has several Standards dealing with ladders, including NFPA 1931, Manufacturer’s Design of Fire Department Ground Ladders and NFPA 1932, Use, Maintenance, and In-Service Testing of Fire Department Ground Ladders and we do publish recommended Job Performance Requirements for... Continue reading

We are happy to announce that we are sponsoring the “Fire Service Safety & Health Quiz” Sweepstakes in conjunction with International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (which will be June 16-22, 2013). The theme of the week, and of the contest, will be “Saving Our Own… An Inside Job.” The... Continue reading

We are happy to announce that we are sponsoring the “Fire Service Safety & Health Quiz” Sweepstakes in conjunction with International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (which will be June 16-22, 2013). The theme of the week, and of the contest, will be “Saving Our Own… An Inside Job.” The... Continue reading

We are happy to announce that we are sponsoring the “Fire Service Safety & Health Quiz” Sweepstakes in conjunction with International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (which will be June 16-22, 2013). The theme of the week, and of the contest, will be “Saving Our Own… An Inside Job.” The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NFVC) are co-sponsoring this sweepstakes with NFPA. Career firefighters, volunteer firefighters and other fire department employees and fire service members are invited to take the online, interactive quiz, featuring 15 questions related to firefighter health and safety. “Raising... Continue reading

We are happy to announce that we are sponsoring the “Fire Service Safety & Health Quiz” Sweepstakes in conjunction with International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (which will be June 16-22, 2013). The theme of the week, and of the... Continue reading

Do you want to make a difference? We have an ideal opportunity for a Compensation/HR Analyst to work out of our Quincy, MA headquarters. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in data analysis, reporting, development of plans and programs that link to business objectives and be able to drive performance and results. He or she must be accurate, organized, and detail oriented, with the ability to function in a fast paced environment. Principal responsibilities and requirements for this position can be found on our Careers webpage. If you think you are a fit, please apply today! For a... Continue reading

Recent wildfires in Minnesota and Wisconsin highlight the threat to homes and property in communities across the Midwest. According to news reports, the Germann Road Fire in Douglas and Bayfield Counties in northwest Wisconsin burned 9,000 acres while just across the border in northern Minnesota, the Green Valley Fire has... Continue reading

The wildfire season is off to a fortuitously slow start; wildfires have burned an estimated 175,000 acres this year in the U.S., the lowest number to date in a decade, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Experts have attributed this low figure to unusually cool weather patterns in the... Continue reading

Each week, we have fun with fire safety trivia on Sparky the Fire Dog's Facebook page. We ask a trivia question early in the morning, take guesses all day long, and then post the correct answer by the end of the day - every Tuesday. Here's how you can participate! Head over to Sparky's Facebook page and leave your guess to the following trivia question. Then be sure to check back later today to find out if you were right! (Hint: all of the correct answers can be found on our website as well!) Have fun and good luck! On... Continue reading

Thank you to Intertek for participating in the 2013 NFPA Conference & Expo sponsorship program! We appreciate your continued support. Please visit Intertek in booth 1057 from June 10th-June 12th to learn more about their products and services. Establish your... Continue reading

NFPA's Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program is honoring 34 official Firewise communities from 17 states as they each celebrate a 10-year anniversary of continued participation and successes in reducing wildfire risks. The communities were nationally recognized in 2004, and were among the earliest adopters of the Firewise Communities/USA process. The following communities are celebrating their 10-year anniversaries of active participation as Firewise Communities/USA sites: Forest Highlands, Arizona Summerhaven, Arizona Cherry Hill, Arkansas Hartman, Arkansas Hunt, Arkansas Inspiration Point, Arkansas Norphlet, Arkansas Strickler, ArkansasWindcliff, Colorado Cypress Knoll, Florida Pioneer Plantation, Florida RiverCamps on Crooked Creek, Florida Randall Creek Farms, Georgia Kohala By... Continue reading

NFPA's Firewise Communities/USA® Recognition Program is honoring 34 official Firewise communities from 17 states as they each celebrate a 10-year anniversary of continued participation and successes in reducing wildfire risks. The communities were nationally recognized in 2004, and were among the earliest adopters of the Firewise Communities/USA process. The following... Continue reading

Guest post by Brett Brenner, ESFI Each year in the United States, more than 2,400 children under the age of 10 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for electric shock or burn injuries from electrical outlets and nearly 500 children under the age of 15 die from unintentional fire or... Continue reading

The Fire Protection Research Foundation has released a report on a study of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The Foundation and its affiliated Property Insurance Research Group (PIRG) requested a study of the flammability of Li-ion batteries in bulk storage to inform the development of sprinkler protection criteria. Video: Kathleen Almand, executive director of the Fire Protection Research Foundation provides an overview of the project. The study was conducted in collaboration with commercial and industrial insurer FM Global and contained two test series conducted at their research facility. The first evaluated the free burn fire growth patterns of three types of common... Continue reading

The Fire Protection Research Foundation has released a report on a study of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The Foundation and its affiliated Property Insurance Research Group (PIRG) requested a study of the flammability of Li-ion batteries in bulk storage to inform the development of sprinkler protection criteria. Video: Kathleen Almand, executive... Continue reading

On any given night, nearly 63,000 Veterans are homeless in the United States. As fire and emergency medical services (EMS) members, we often encounter these Veterans out on the streets or on an emergency run and see firsthand the hardships... Continue reading

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) chose “Reducing Residential Arson,” as the theme for the 2013 Arson Awareness Week (AAW) which got kicked off yesterday, May 5th. USFA and its partners will use the week of May 5-11 to focus public... Continue reading

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) chose “Reducing Residential Arson,” as the theme for the 2013 Arson Awareness Week (AAW) which got kicked off yesterday, May 5th. USFA and its partners will use the week of May 5-11 to focus public attention on residential arson and provide communities with tools to reduce the incidence of this crime. The goal for this year’s Arson Awareness Week is to provide all residents with strategies to combat arson in their neighborhoods. The topic of arson if a very timely and important one. As detailed in a recent Fire Service Today blog post, recent research... Continue reading

From 1980 to 2009, the number of fire department emergency responses more than doubled, from 10.8 million to 26.5 million, primarily driven by the more than tripling of medical aid calls, from 5.0 million in 1980 to 17.1 million in 2009. Fire department budgets have not kept pace with this... Continue reading

From 1980 to 2009, the number of fire department emergency responses more than doubled, from 10.8 million to 26.5 million, primarily driven by the more than tripling of medical aid calls, from 5.0 million in 1980 to 17.1 million in... Continue reading

The Quincy Fire Department (Illinois) has introduced the newest member of the department, but he is a little different from other firefighters. He walks, he talks, he has a long nose and he has spots on his ears. Sparky the... Continue reading

The Quincy Fire Department (Illinois) has introduced the newest member of the department, but he is a little different from other firefighters. He walks, he talks, he has a long nose and he has spots on his ears. Sparky the fire dog made his debut to the Ohio Players' song... Continue reading