by Brianna Crandall — September 21, 2015—The latest issue of NFPA Journal, the official magazine for the global nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), covers NFPA 45 changes and the issue of unsafe classroom science experiments, plus recent U.S. Fire Loss and U.S. Catastrophic Fire reports.
The cover story, “Hey Kids, Watch This,” written by Washington fire protection engineer Andrew Minister, addresses the importance of lab safety in schools. Over the last 15 years, many students have suffered serious injury as the result of classroom experiments. In some cases, this can be due to insufficient training of teachers or schools lacking the appropriate safety equipment.
“Minister’s story on school lab safety is timely and insightful,” says NFPA Journal Executive Editor Scott Sutherland. “He mixes student burn victim perspective, chemical engineering insight, and recent media coverage of these incidents to successfully demonstrate that dangerous school lab fire incidents are both prevalent and preventable.”
According to the article, changes to the latest edition of NFPA 45, Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, were made with the goal of eliminating these hazards from classrooms and other laboratory settings. At about the same time, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued a safety bulletin, Key Lessons for Preventing Incidents from Flammable Chemicals in Educational Demonstrations, including guidelines for storing large amounts of flammable liquids away from the demonstration area, for example.
“By following the requirements of NFPA 45 and the lessons provided by the CSB, and by exercising caution and common sense in laboratory settings, schools and teachers can prevent these incidents that have resulted in injury and trauma to hundreds of students,” asserts Minister in his article.
Also featured in the issue:
2014 U.S. Fire Loss Report — A look at different categories of fires in 2014, comparing death/injury numbers and property loss to previous years. Public fire departments responded to an estimated 1,298,000 fires last year, including 494,000 structure fires. The report looks at the number of residential losses versus non-residential concerns, the damage left by these fires, and much more.
U.S. Catastrophic Fire Report — A detailed breakdown of last year’s 24 catastrophic fires, including multiple-death fires. The report features in-depth information on each of the fires, including date, time, casualties, building details, path and origin of fire, contributing factors, victim locations, and the existence of smoke alarms and other protective devices. These individual reports present a sobering reminder of fire dangers in the home.
Hands-On History — Outlines updates that fire museums are making to engage a modern audience. Jamie Smith Quinn of Hudson, NY’s FASNY (Firemen’s Association of the State of New York) Museum of Firefighting discusses creating an interactive experience that will cater to children as well as adults.
Read the latest digital version of the September/October 2015 NFPA Journal on the NFPA site with hyperlinked content from the print version. The NFPA Journal mobile app is available through the Apple App Store.
