NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 13

NEWS FROM NFPA
AND BEYOND
The violent blaze was part of a spate of fires around
the country that occurred at buildings under construction.
The same day as the Charlotte fire, two residential
buildings under construction were destroyed by fire
in Portland, Oregon. On June 11, a large commercial
building under construction in San Gabriel, California,
was destroyed by a fire, and on June 20 a massive fire
leveled an apartment building under construction in
south Las Vegas, Nevada. Media coverage of the Las
Vegas incident described other area fires involving
buildings under construction as " some of the biggest
blazes in Las Vegas over the past 20 years. "
As a result of these fires and many others, more
and more jurisdictions are looking to NFPA 241 to
help them manage a problem that has reached epidemic
proportions nationwide. Among the changes
to the 2022 edition of the standard was a new section
to help authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) with
enforcement of the standard; enhanced requirements
for creating a fire prevention program (FPP)
for construction sites; and a new chapter on large
wood-frame construction, among other changes.
The structure that burned in Charlotte was reported
to be of large wood-frame construction. " I'm really
proud of the latest edition of the standard, " Bruce
Campbell, a fire protection engineer and vice president
at Jensen Hughes who serves as the chair of
the NFPA 241 technical committee, told NFPA Journal
for a 2021 article that explored the changes to the
latest edition of the standard.
Although the next edition of the North Carolina fire
code isn't set to take effect until January 2025, North
Carolina Chief Fire Code Consultant Charlie Johnson
told The Observer that changes could be introduced
sooner. The NC Fire Code Revision Committee was
scheduled to meet in June, the newspaper reported.
North Carolina is far from the only place in the
United States-and around the globe-where firefighters,
building officials, construction workers,
and other professionals face fire safety challenges at
construction sites. According to the most recent data
from NFPA, the number of fires in buildings under
construction in the United States has been rising
since 2014. On average, U.S. fire departments respond
to 4,300 fires in buildings under construction each
year, or nearly a dozen such blazes every day. These
fires also inflict an annual average of $375 million
in direct property damages, according to the data.
Some policymakers and fire service professionals
have speculated that the rising numbers of construction
fires over the past several years could be due to
a boom in wood-frame construction for large, multifamily
dwellings. " We're on heightened awareness
of these, and especially when they're in the most
To establish fire, life, and electrical
safety in buildings and other spaces-
no matter what stage of development
they may be in-it's critical for
jurisdictions to use the most up-to-date
codes and standards.
populated areas, " Taylor told The Observer about
this type of construction. " You'll see them in downtown
Raleigh, downtown Charlotte. "
But there have also been many examples of nonwood-frame
buildings under construction burning,
and experts say building materials alone don't
change the risk of a fire starting.
" Construction is a vulnerable point in any building's
life cycle, " Jon Hart, a technical lead at NFPA,
said in a recent NFPA Journal article. " There can be
a lot going on, such as welding and other hot work
activities or the use of cooking equipment by workers.
In addition to that, you can have piles of combustible
debris and fire protection systems that aren't fully
operable yet. All of this creates an environment where
fires can start, so it's critical for building owners,
construction companies, and authorities having jurisdiction
to ensure proper safety plans and procedures
are in place for any project. "
To establish fire, life, and electrical safety in
buildings and other spaces-no matter what stage of
development they may be in-it's critical for jurisdictions
to use the most up-to-date codes and standards.
That concept is one of eight components outlined
in the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™
, which
is why Lorraine Carli, vice president for Outreach
& Advocacy at NFPA, applauded the efforts taking
shape in North Carolina to incorporate the 2022 edition
of NFPA 241 into the state fire code.
" The recent fire in Charlotte was an absolute tragedy,
but we hope it can lead to changes that could
help prevent future tragedies like this from occurring
in North Carolina and in other places, " Carli
said. " Safety exists as a system, where everything
from the use of modern codes to employing skilled
workers matters. So it's not just about saying, 'Let's
use NFPA 241.' It's about training on it, implementing
it, and ensuring there is proper enforcement. "
Visit nfpa.org/constructionsafety to explore a variety
of NFPA resources aimed at helping to prevent
construction fires. For NFPA online training courses
related to fires in buildings under construction, visit
nfpa.org/training.
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023

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