NFPA Journal - Summer 2021 - 55

Others have raised similar concerns.
In an interview with Fire Engineering
in February, Jeff Hutchens, former
safety director for the global construction company Avalon Bay, called the
idea of turning on non-fully compliant
sprinklers systems " a non-starter, " citing
risks like the inadvertent activation of
sprinklers from construction heating
equipment, frozen pipes, and sprinkler
damage from construction activities.
But to the NFPA 241 technical committee members, the benefits outweigh
the risks. Additionally, Carr noted the
change may not be as drastic as it seems,
since AHJs are already permitted to
make exceptions to codes and standards
when they deem it appropriate. " The
AHJ determines compliance with the
code and is granted broad authority
to require compliance in a number of
ways, " he said. " This helps to ensure
safety for both those working onsite as
well as future occupants. "
According to Fire Engineering, getting
sprinkler systems turned on as soon as
possible on construction sites is something AHJs highly value and are already
doing-even if it means devising creative,
temporary solutions.
" We have had excellent success in
working with our local sprinkler contractors and building contractors in
West Des Moines [Iowa] to have dry attic
sprinkler systems connected very early
in the building construction process to
temporary fire department connections
that our firefighters can connect to and
supply with water during a fire, " West
Des Moines Fire Marshal Mike Whitsell told the magazine. " Most sprinkler
installations start from the attic down
during the construction process, so the
infrastructure is in place early on. And
while the city water supply isn't yet connected to the system, hydrants are active,
so our fire trucks become the sprinkler
riser for the sprinkler systems. "
Other changes to the standard
include a new section to help AHJs with
enforcement, a new chapter on large
wood-frame construction, enhanced
requirements for creating a fire prevention program for construction sites, and
references to NFPA documents that focus
on protecting historic buildings from
fire. (More on these changes is outlined

in " The Beat Goes On " in the Spring 2021
issue of NFPA Journal.)

'EVERYBODY'S RESPONSIBILITY'
Complementing this year's updated
version of NFPA 241 are a number of
educational resources from NFPA related
to fire safety in buildings under construction or renovation, including new
online trainings on the 2019 edition of
NFPA 241, the fundamentals of construction site fire safety, and fire prevention
program manager (FPPM) credentials.
The FPPM training fills a gap that's
existed for years. While NFPA 241 has
long required construction projects to
have a fire prevention program and
an FPPM to oversee that program, up
until the release of this training there's
been no way of
ensuring these
individuals are
Annual number of
knowledgeable
fires in buildings
enough to do the
under construction
in the US
job. " I think now
we're going to
see some jurisdictions saying
Annual number of
to contractors,
fires in buildings
'OK, who is your
being renovated in
the US
FPPM, and are
they able to facilitate the role as
it's required by
the standard?' "
Carr said.
Amount of annual
The beauty of
direct property
both the FPPM
damage from
these fires
training and the
fundamentals
Source: NFPA
of construction
site fire safety training is that they aren't
based on NFPA code language, but instead
on the general concepts surrounding the
fire hazards that exist on construction
sites. It's an important distinction that will
make the education more accessible to
a larger number of people, including the
workers who carry out day-to-day activities on construction sites.
" Everybody's responsible for fire safety
on a job site, " said Shawn Mahoney, an
engineer at NFPA who helped develop
the new trainings. " You could have the
best FPP in the world, but if you don't
have properly trained people to enforce

3,840
2,580

$408
million

it and the workers on site don't understand how they play a part in the FPP,
it all falls apart. You're only as strong
as your weakest link. " This idea is reinforced by the concept of the NFPA Fire &
Life Safety Ecosystem, which stresses the
need not only for using and complying
with codes and standards like NFPA 241,
but also having a skilled workforce to
carry out potentially hazardous construction activities.
Valerie Ziavras, another NFPA engineer
who helped develop the trainings, agreed
and likened the fundamentals of construction site fire safety training to NFPA's
successful online certificate program on
hot work safety. " It's similar in that it
encourages everyone on a construction
site to take responsibility for fire safety,
but instead of just focusing on hot work,
it goes further to address all of the other
hazards, " she said. (For more on NFPA's
online certificate program on hot work
safety, see " Still Hot " on previous page.)
The FPPM training, in particular,
interests Chandler, who said he was
eager to bring it to the attention of a
group of safety professionals known as
the DC General Contractor Safety Leadership Group, which represents about
two dozen construction contractors in
the Washington, DC, area. " When you
look at the standard, it requires building
owners to be involved with designating
a fire prevention program manager, so
I believe this training will be extremely
valuable, not only to general contractors
like Davis but to the owners involved in
projects as well, " Chandler said.
Experts like Chandler hope the virtual
events, online trainings, and a revamped
NFPA 241 will begin to reduce the
numbers of fires in buildings under construction or renovation.
" I think NFPA 241 and these related
resources are underutilized, " he said,
adding that after nearly two decades
in the construction industry, he only
discovered NFPA 241 about six months
ago. " We can all benefit from implementing and utilizing this standard.
It takes a really proactive approach at
minimizing the risk, and any construction, alteration, or demolition has that
ever-present risk of fire. "
ANGELO VERZONI is staff writer at NFPA Journal.

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

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