NFPA Journal - July/August 2020 - 17

GETT Y IMAGES

"Convenience should never be placed
over safety. Allowing anything in the hallways is a hazard."
"Protecting the means of egress from
obstructions and hazards is a sacred,
tried-and-true fire safety principle," said
Catherine Stashak of the Illinois State
Fire Marshal's Office. "NFPA 1 specifically prohibits the introduction of high
hazards into, or travel through, an area
with high hazards."
Others, however, argued that simply
excluding valet trash collection services from codes like NFPA 1 and 101
won't make the practice go away, so it's
better to address it in these documents.
"While I oppose the idea of valet trash,
if it is allowed in some jurisdictions,
it needs to have parameters to be
enforced," said Matthew Mertens of
North Shore Fire Rescue in Wisconsin.
"This language needs revision, but it's
better than having no direction at all."
Val Ziavras, the NFPA 1 staff liaison,
wasn't surprised with the CAMs and
debate that ensued. When the NFPA 1
technical committee weighed banning
valet trash collection services in the
first place, it "was probably the most
controversial thing we discussed,"
Ziavras told NFPA Journal in a 2021
code revision roundup published in the
May/June 2020 issue.
Debate on the valet trash CAMs and
others stretched from June 8 through
June 17, and voting took place June 22

through June 26. (See the full voting
results at nfpa.org/nitmam.)
The experience of conducting the
first-ever virtual NFPA Technical Meeting came with its expected challenges,
said Dawn Bellis, director of Standards
Administration at NFPA. "One of the
biggest challenges was preserving
the core elements of our traditional

"While I oppose the
idea of valet trash, if
it is allowed in some
jurisdictions, it needs to
have parameters to be
enforced. This language
needs revision, but it's
better than having no
direction at all."
Technical Meeting," Bellis said, such as
voter debate and transparency. "Seeing
the debate continue daily, with the
meeting quorum being met well in
advance of the closing for registration,
and having received positive feedback
from stakeholders and participants on
the ease of use of the website, I think
we achieved what we set out to do."

Annual Meeting + Awards

With the cancellation of this year's
C&E, the 2020 NFPA Annual Meeting was also conducted virtually and
included NFPA members voting to

elect individuals to the NFPA Board of
Directors. Dr. Denis Onieal, who has
served as deputy fire administrator for
the United States Fire Administration
and superintendent of the National
Fire Academy, was elected to a threeyear term on the board.
Ahead of the vote, Keith Williams,
the outgoing board chairman, and
Jim Pauley, NFPA president and CEO,
delivered remarks via video, both
commenting on the unique circumstances that led to a virtual Annual
Meeting. "I speak for the entire staff
at NFPA when I say we wish we could
be interacting with you in person this
week," Pauley said. "In these times of
uncertainty, please know that we are
working hard to serve your needs and
to get you the information you need
to do your job ...We look forward to
a time when we can meet again in
person."
On June 15, what would have
been the first day of C&E, NFPA also
announced the winners of awards
that are typically named during the
conference.
Paul D. Martin, retired deputy state
fire administrator with the New York
State Division of Homeland Security
and Emergency Service's Office of Fire
Prevention and Control, was awarded
the James M. Shannon Advocacy
Medal. Maria Bostian, public education and information officer for the
Kannapolis (North Carolina) Fire
Department, was named Fire and Life
Safety Educator of the Year. Peter J.
Willse, a former member of the NFPA
Board of Directors who has an extensive engineering background, was
awarded the Standards Medal.
The Research Foundation Medal
was awarded to a Fire Protection
Research Foundation report published
in December 2019 titled "Digitized
Fuel Load Survey Methodology Using
Machine Vision," while the Harry C.
Bigglestone Award was given to a
paper published in the journal Fire
Technology in July 2018 titled "Should
We Leave Now? Behavioral Factors in
Evacuation Under Wildfire Threat."
Read more about this year's award
recipients at nfpa.org/dispatches.
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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http://www.nfpa.org/nitmam http://www.nfpa.org/dispatches http://NFPA.ORG/JOURNAL
NFPA Journal - July/August 2020

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