NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 23

Dispatches Briefs
"pro-active risk management," Galbraith says.

ISTOCKPHOTO

Innovation: Digital mapping for safer,
more connected wildland firefighters
Innovator: Rebekah Fox, assistant
professor of communications at
Texas State University
During the nation's largest wildfires,
firefighters are deployed from different
communities, and even different states
and countries. They're plopped into
areas they likely aren't familiar with
and need to learn quickly, all while
focusing on suppressing the blaze. Different vegetation might mean different
cutting methods when clearing brush.
It could also mean unknown poisonous plants.
"We need to find ways to train
deploying firefighters more effectively,"
Fox says. "One way to do this would be
to create a digital map of the deployment area with short, embedded
videos that focus on regional specific
firefighting tactics and safety information. [It] could be made available to
deploying firefighters via mobile applications and used while in transit."
Innovation: A wildfire checklist for
city planners and officials
Innovator: Leon Konz, Firewise
state liaison, Tennessee Division of
Forestry
"Even the most committed city officials
in wildfire vulnerable communities are
often unaware of all the elements that
need addressing to prevent or minimize losses during rare, catastrophic
wildfires," Konz says.
That's why he's created a checklist
for officials to refer to. The list asks
questions like: What are the common
wildfire ignition sources within the city?
Is there an evacuation plan in place?
Have employees in all city departments
been trained on wildfire safety? "The
checklist...could be disseminated via
conferences, association newsletters,
incorporated into community planners'
curricula, etc.," Konz says.
To read the full report and check out
other innovations, visit the resource
library page at globalresilience.northeastern.edu/research.

NFPA, others
laud incentives
for fire protection
systems in federal
tax act

The Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act passed by
Congress late last
year has drawn praise
from organizations like
NFPA, the American
Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA), and the
National Fire Sprinkler
Association because
it offers significant
incentives for fire
sprinkler installation
and other fire protection systems.
"Our research time
and again stresses
the life-saving importance of fire sprinkler
protection," said NFPA
President Jim Pauley.
"The financial incentives allowed by this
act will undoubtedly
lead to safer establishments throughout the
U.S." Similarly, ASFA
President Frank Mortl
III said the incentives
"will undoubtedly save
the lives of countless
American workers and
families."
Under the new
act, small businesses
can expense building improvement
purchases for fire
protection systems,
including fire sprinkler retrofits, up to
$1 million per year.
Sprinkler installations
in commercial and
other large buildings
can be fully expensed
until 2022, after which
the amount allowed to
be expensed gradually
decreases.

Study highlights
effects of multiple
traumatic events
on firefighters

A single traumatic
event like the terrorist
attacks of September
11 can weigh heavy on
a firefighter's psyche,
but it's more common
for firefighters to
experience a negative mental health
impact from a series
of traumatic events

common to their jobs,
according to a new
study from the U.S. Fire
Administration.
"Previous studies
have looked at firefighter mental health
challenges in the
context of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD), which relies
on assessment instruments attuned to one
particular traumatic
event," an article about
the study says. "Firefighters experience
'secondary trauma' or
'compassion fatigue'
from repeated exposure to trauma. They
may not be diagnosed
with PTSD, but clearly

they are responsible
for are at risk for fires
involving combustible
exterior wall materials
such as foam insulation or metal cladding
that also contains
plastic.
Many buildings
around the world are
believed to be covered
in combustible materials, an issue NFPA
Journal examined in
the September/October 2017 feature article
"London Calling." Fires
involving combustible
exterior wall materials
have been observed
in cities including
Dubai, Melbourne, and
London.

suffer from symptoms such as sleep
disorders, avoidance
behaviors, and feelings
of helplessness that
are associated with
PTSD." Symptoms of
repeated exposure
trauma, or RET, also
include desensitization, irritability,
cynicism, and intrusive
flashbacks, according
to the article.
The study recommends future
research to explore
how firefighters and
other first responders
are coping with the
effects of RET. Read
more at usfa.fema.gov/
current_events.

With funding
from NFPA, global
engineering firm
Arup developed
the technical basis
for the tool-called
the Exterior Facade
Fire Evaluation
Comparison Tool,
or EFFECT™-that
prompts users to
input information
about not only a
building's exterior wall
materials, but also its
height and configuration, fire protection
equipment such as
sprinklers, emergency
notification system,
escape routes, and
more to determine its
risk level. The tool is
designed for building owners, facility
managers, authorities
having jurisdiction,
and others.
Find the tool and
other NFPA resources
on combustible
exterior wall materials at nfpa.org/
exteriorwalls.

NFPA releases risk
assessment tool
for buildings with
combustible exterior walls

In February, NFPA
released an online tool
for stakeholders to
determine if buildings

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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http://usfa.fema.gov/current_enevnts http://usfa.fema.gov/current_enevnts http://www.nfpa.org/exteriorwalls http://www.nfpa.org/exteriorwalls http://www.eastern.edu/research http://WWW.NFPA.ORG/JOURNAL
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2018
