Thousands of professionals tied to the fire industry attended the National Fire Protection Association‘s (NFPA) World Fire Safety Congress & Expo May 13-17 in Anaheim, Calif. The event featured a high number of educational sessions spanning the building and life safety industries, as well as an exposition with more than 250 exhibitors showing the latest in fire and life safety products.
Some manufacturers noted the downtrend in show attendance during the past couple of years. Whether the lackluster turnout was due to the products on display or technological issues, the question remained unanswered. For the fire professionals that did attend the expo, they were able to view the latest in fire components, such as sprinklers, water pumps, annunciators, fire alarm control panels, smoke and heat detectors, and more.
The educational sessions covered specific issues and featured top NFPA officials as speakers, as well as consultants, specialists and academic scholars. From healthcare facilities to electrical wiring, fire professionals were able to choose from a number of sessions that dealt with with fire and life safety.
One interesting session covered the use of sound in emergency egress. Deborah Withington of the University of Leeds in England discussed how the use of directional sound with light decreases the amount of time a person takes to find his or her way out of a building engulfed with smoke or fire.
Another session updated fire and security professionals on the NFPA’s premises security project, which has generated mixed reactions within the security industry. Attendees were told that the standard dates back to 1994, but laid dormant for about three years before being revitalized in June 1999 with a clear direction and a changed name to cover a wider spectrum of security beyond burglar systems.
A technical committee was appointed in April and its first meeting was scheduled to take place June 5 to outline further details.
