NFPA Journal - May/June 2020 - 8

Editor's Note by Scott Sutherland

Executive Editor, NFPA Journal

Impact On
nter the words "impact of
coronavirus on" into a Google
search, and the list of related
topics that's generated appears
to be bottomless. (Google
informs me that the search returned 1.62
billion results, but I think they might be
lowballing it just to keep me from feeling
overwhelmed.) A brief sample: the global
economy, food supply, public health, the
pet trade, the United States shale oil
industry, climate, health care workers, emergency responders, tourism, our lives, the
world. Nothing, seemingly, has remained
untouched by the most disruptive pandemic
the world has experienced in a century.
Dig deep enough, and you might find
"the NFPA annual conference" on the list.
Turn this page, and you'll find an explanation from Jim Pauley, the president and
CEO of NFPA, about why the association
was left with no other choice but to cancel
this year's annual meeting in Orlando,
Florida. The primary reason was safety:
while it's impossible to say at this point
when it might once again be safe to bring
5,000 people together in the confines of
a convention center, it's safe to say that
moment is not now, and it won't be in midJune, either. Even as Florida takes steps
to reopen, after drawing widespread early

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Scott Sutherland
ssutherland@nfpa.org

criticism for moving slowly to contain
the outbreak, it's clear the state continues
to face a significant coronavirus threat.
On May 1, Florida's health department
reported more than 1,000 new cases of
coronavirus infection.
Dig deeper on that Google list, and you
might find "this issue of NFPA Journal."
Our May/June issue is typically devoted to
all things conference, from ed sessions to
special events to a preview of the upcoming
tech session, but the cancellation required
that we move to Plan B. The magnitude
of the pandemic and its profound impact
on NFPA constituents also compelled us
to expand our coverage of the ongoing
emergency from one story to three, and
to make it our cover package. In a trio of
stories by NFPA Journal staff, we take an
up-close look at some of the early lessons
suggested by the pandemic and how they
could affect communities, emergency
responders, and health care facilities going
forward. At least one noted public health
expert has observed that we are living in an
age of epidemics, and that we should safely
assume COVID-19 will be followed by similar events great and small.
I hope one of those items somewhere
down the Google list reads, "our willingness to learn."

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NFPA Journal - May/June 2020

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