Fire Smarts, in partnership with Telgian, provides a series of informative training webinars taught by Telgian fire protection experts who educate on specific areas of fire protection systems. Recent examples include introductory webinars on Emergency Communication Systems, Fire Safety and Extinguisher Use, and Fire Alarm System Communication. The December 13 webinar, Historic Fires: How Fire Loss Impacts Code Development and Enforcement traces how tragic events have long been the catalyst for improving safety. Following a significant fire loss there is much to be learned about what occurred and how the loss may have been prevented.
This webinar will focus on building and fire codes that exist today as a direct result of tragic fire loss. Several preventable disasters and the code changes they triggered will be covered such as:
- The Great Chicago Fire
- The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
- The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire
These major fires played a critical role in driving the development of modern-day fire codes and what is now the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. Understanding these events provides a clearer understanding and appreciation for current fire codes aiding in compliance, enforcement and risk management.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about recurring failures we see in the building and fire codes.
- Describe historic fires leading to major changes to the fire codes.
- Understand the effect of large-scale fire fatalities on code enforcement.
- Gain a deeper understanding of the code development process.
CEUs: 1 contact hour
Learn more about Historic Fires: How Fire Loss Impacts Code Development and Enforcement at Fire Smarts.
About the Presenter: Ralph E. Bless, Jr., PE, CFPS, SET
Ralph Bless has more than 35 years of fire protection engineering experience in areas that include system design, consulting, risk analysis, and code review. He has served as a liaison between customers, authorities having jurisdiction, and contractors/suppliers, and has expertise in the design of water-based fire suppression systems, as well as fire and smoke modeling.
He is a Professional Engineer licensed in six states and is a Level IV NICET senior certified fire sprinkler layout technician and holds 3 additional NICET certifications. Ralph also holds several state and national certifications including that of Certified Fire Protection Specialist. Currently, he serves on four NFPA code committees.