NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 26
ยป RESEARCH
CASEY GRANT
THE FIRE PROTECTION RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Family Ties
L
ast year, NFPA acquired two powerful clusters of computer servers-one for storing massive quantities of data, and the other for processing it-and in doing so stepped into a
new era. The servers, dubbed
Crosby-after Uberto Crosby, NFPA's
second president, and his son, Everett,
co-author of the first Fire Protection
Handbook-are similar to Watson, the
number-crunching behemoth made
famous by IBM. Crosby has quickly
become a key part of our team, transforming the notion of "big data" at
NFPA from concept to reality.
Definitions of big data abound, but
a simple progression used in the field
of computer science lays it out well:
data leads to information; information leads to knowledge; knowledge
leads to wisdom; wisdom equates to
power. With data as the raw material
to fuel all we do, NFPA is looking to
Crosby has transformed the
notion of big data at NFPA
from concept to reality.
empower all who serve the mission
to make the world a safer place. The
possibilities to do this are all around
us, and we experience "aha" moments on a regular basis as we stumble upon new applications.
One such moment came at the recent Alternative Fuel Vehicles Safety
Summit, held in Detroit in June. The
workshop on alternative fuel vehicle
emergency response brought together emergency responders, automakers, energy providers, regulators, and
others. As expected, two of the biggest issues related to this technology
were raised: quick incident size-up,
26
NFPAJOURNAL
JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
JULY/AUGUST 2016 2016
NFPA
and ongoing data
collection. First responders need to
quickly, safely, and
accurately learn onsite what kind of
vehicle is involved
in an incident, its
specifications, and
its associated hazards. What kind of
fuel is on board?
How much energy
is left? Where is the
damage? In addition, researchers
need to be able to better collect detailed data on these incidents to inform more research, better public
policy, codes and standards development, and related training materials.
Solutions to both of these issues
have been elusive, with their own
distinct challenges.
Our "aha" moment came during a
discussion with automakers about
the rapidly advancing vehicle-tovehicle telematics soon to be implemented by major automakers. These
are sophisticated onboard computers that constantly monitor every
detail of engine and battery performance, passenger and location data,
and specific damage information,
and are starting to communicate between vehicles. For emergency responders, we want immediate access
to this data, which can provide a direct and straightforward means to
address immediate hazard size-up in
an emergency. It's also a wealth of
extremely detailed, real-time data
that can be automatically captured
and fed into Crosby's powerful analyzing software. Over time, we can
draw meaningful correlations, pre-
dictions, and observations that
can drive the development of
codes and standards and training
materials, and help manufacturers
further improve the safety of their
vehicles. With Crosby on board,
we can now do this.
At NFPA's first annual meeting,
in 1897, President Uberto Crosby
said the object of NFPA is "to
bring together the experience of
different sections and different
bodies of underwriters, to come to
a mutual understanding, and, if
possible, an agreement on general
principles governing fire protection, to harmonize and adjust our
differences so that we may go before the public with uniform rules
and conditions which may appeal
to their judgment."
The vision of the leaders who
founded NFPA is profound. As we
enter the 21st century, it is exciting
to honor their distinguished legacy
and welcome Crosby into the
NFPA family.
CASEY GRANT is executive
director of the Fire Protection
Research Foundation.
Photograph: Shutterstock
Meet Crosby, the servers that usher NFPA into the big-data age
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2016
Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - Contents
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 3
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 4
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 5
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 6
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 7
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 8
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 9
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 10
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 11
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 12
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 13
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 14
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 15
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 16
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 17
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 18
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 19
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 20
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 21
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 22
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 23
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 24
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 25
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 26
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 27
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 28
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 29
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 30
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 31
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 32
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - I1
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - I2
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 33
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 34
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 35
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 36
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 37
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 38
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 39
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 40
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 41
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 42
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 43
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 44
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 45
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 46
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 47
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 48
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 49
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 50
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 51
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 53
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 55
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NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - Cover4
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