NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 21

suspicion with many feeling that the
Russian government bore responsibility
for the blaze.
"This tragedy reflects all of Russia's
problems-the corruption of officials
who closed their eyes to problems with
fire safety, uncoordinated work of the
special services, the imperviousness of
authorities," Rasim Yaraliyev, head of a
citizen's group that pressed for answers
in the wake of the fire, told the Associated Press.
According to the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services,
Russia in general has one of the highest
fire death rates of any country in the
world-6.4 deaths per 100 fires, compared to 0.2 deaths per 100 fires in the
United States and Great Britain.

GETT Y IMAGES

Rouen, France

of the fires was intentionally set, and
that there have been other recent fires
in Russian malls that have gone unreported in state media.
Not surprisingly, online commenters
also called for increased fire safety
measures in Russia. "Hey Russia," one
person wrote, "time to install sprinkler
systems in your malls, public buildings,
and multi-family residential compounds." Another said, "Need to install
sprinkler and fire alarm [systems] in
these places."
In the catastrophic 2018 Kemerovo
fire, the mall lacked working fire alarms
and fire sprinklers, and exit doors had
been blocked. That fire sparked similar

monitor the "health and safety of persons in the affected area," as well as the
"health and safety of personnel responding to the incident," and the impact on
the environment.
Monrovia, Liberia
Boarding school fire claims over two
dozen lives
At least 28 people, including 26 between
the ages of 10 and 20, died in a September fire that consumed an Islamic
boarding school in the Liberian capital
of Monrovia. Students were asleep when
the fire started, reportedly caused by
an electrical problem. The blaze left
little more than a blackened shell of the
building.
A pastor from a nearby church
described the scene to the Associated
Press. "The entire place was red," he said.
"When I looked through the window, I
saw the whole place blazing with fire."
Building collapses and fires in Monrovia are common but "rarely deadly,"
according to Reuters. In the US, fires in
schools occur with some regularity-

Chemical fire prompts safety concerns
in France
In September, a large fire broke out at
a chemical factory in the French city
of Rouen, about 75 miles northwest of
Paris. The blaze raged
for over 20 hours, sendSMOKY SKIES
ing thick black smoke
Acrid black smoke filled the sky of Rouen,
pouring over the city.
France, after a fire broke out at a chemical
While nobody was hurt
plant there in September.
directly in the incident,
it prompted widespread
panic over health and
environmental safety
in the community. "The
city is clearly polluted.
I cannot guarantee that
there is no danger. There
are of course traces of
hydrocarbons," Agnes
Buzyn, France's health
minister said, despite
state authorities telling
the public that the air
and water in the city
was safe, according to
the Guardian. Similar
concerns have surfaced
in Paris related to the fire
that destroyed parts of
the iconic Notre Dame
church in April.
NFPA 1600, Standard on Continuity,
Emergency, and Crisis
Management, is often
associated with incidents
like natural disasters
and terrorist attacks, but
it can also be applied for large fires or
from 2013 to 2017, an average of 3,320
explosions, especially when they impact
fires in US schools occurred each year,
whole communities, such as the Rouen
according to NFPA data-but those, too,
fire. The standard specifically requires
are rarely deadly. On average, one civilian
emergency plans to be in place to
death a year occurs in US school fires.

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

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

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