NFPA Journal - July/August 2018 - 52

International by Donald P. Bliss

THE NFPA VIEW ON
GLOBAL FIRE AND LIFE
SAFETY ISSUES

Teaming Up
WHY PARTNERSHIPS ARE CRITICAL TO STRENGTHEN AND MAINTAIN
THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE SAFETY ECOSYSTEM

e often talk about the

In addition to giving professors and stuimportance of using
dents direct access to our information
current safety codes
and resources, NFPA facilitated a threeand standards, but what
week intensive training course for BUET
if there aren't enough
faculty on the principles of fire protecskilled professionals to knowledgeably
tion engineering and the role of NFPA
apply those requirements?
codes and standards. We have also signed
An NFPA member in Addis Ababa,
a memorandum of understanding with
Ethiopia, once told me how hard it is to
BUET to provide ongoing support.
operate his fire protection company. He
In China, Worcester Polytechnic
has difficulty finding skilled workers to
Institute has partnered with Tsinghua
install and maintain fire protection sysUniversity in Beijing to establish the
tems. He said that most architects and
Center for Global Public Safety, an interengineers don't incorporate fire safety sysdisciplinary research consortium that
I've found in my
tems into their building designs, and that
focuses on advancing essential techthe local building inspection department
nology for the development of smart
travels that the local
doesn't have the training to review and
and safe communities worldwide. The
capacity of skilled
approve the systems that he does install.
schools have plans to expand the Center
professionals can be
In my experience, these are not
to universities in other regions of the
extremely limited.
uncommon complaints. I've found in my
world. In South Africa, NFPA is exploring
This gap in the safety
travels that the local capacity of skilled
ways to support Stellenbosch University
ecosystem is cause for
professionals-architects, engineers,
as the school incorporates fire safety conimmediate action.
contractors, installers, inspectors, maincepts into its engineering program.
tainers, etc.-can be extremely limited or
The global reach of NFPA's certification
nonexistent. As a result, countless strucand training programs are also having a
tures worldwide are built to substandard
positive impact. With classroom, online,
requirements, and those with proper
and hands-on offerings, students anydesigns are often poorly maintained. Given the World Bank's where in the world can access the most current information and
estimate that up to 1.4 million people per week are moving into knowledge about fire and electrical safety. Classroom training
urban areas around the world, and that nearly 1 billion new is offered in Spanish and Arabic in approximately 20 countries,
dwelling units will be built by 2050, this gap in the safety eco- and we are currently developing certifications in Spanish. NFPA
system is cause for immediate action.
also recently established hands-on training for water-based fire
Several groups, including NFPA, have stepped up to begin protection and fire alarm systems in Latin America, and there
initiatives supporting the development of fire safety curric- are plans to expand this initiative to the Middle East.
ula and training programs in regions where there is a need.
But our work is not done. Solving the problem will require
In 2016, for example, NFPA and the University of Maryland a concerted effort by academic institutions, trade associations,
teamed up to offer guidance to the Bangladesh University of labor groups, nongovernmental organizations, and public polEngineering and Technology (BUET), with a focus on improv- icymakers. That's why NFPA is committed to building the
ing workplace safety for tens of thousands of garment factory partnerships and initiatives needed to strengthen this critical
workers. Creating a true culture of safety in Bangladesh must component of the fire and life safety ecosystem.
happen systematically starting with the university's ability to
train the next generation of leaders and fire safety experts. Donald P. Bliss is vice president of field operations for NFPA.

52 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

MICHAEL HOEWELER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2018