NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 15

Dubravac, president of the Slovenia-based
International Association of
Fire and Rescue Services. The agreement
aims to facilitate the exchange
of experience and information in areas
such as leadership within the fire service,
training and education, exchange
programs, disaster relief and rescue,
and related services.
The Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association
brings together fire chiefs from
large metropolitan fire departments to
share information and focus on major
issues affecting policy changes in the
U.S. and abroad. Its members belong to
IAFC and NFPA and are the fire chiefs
of jurisdictions with minimum staffing
of 350 fully paid career firefighters.
NFPA elects Board
of Directors
NFPA completed the election of its
Board of Directors at its annual meeting
in June in Las Vegas, including new
member Brigadier General Mohamed
Abdulla Al-Nuaimi, Civil Defense,
United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the
re-election of Denis Onieal, former
U.S. Deputy Fire Administrator.
Al-Nuaimi has served as the UAE
Director General of the Department of
Fire, Protection, and Safety Affairs at
the General Command of Civil Defense
since 2014, where he has helped influence
policy for classifying civil defense
centers according to response time and
specialties areas, as well as ensuring
readiness in the fight against fire. He
graduated from United Arab Emirates
University with a Bachelor of Legal and
Police Sciences and joined the Dubai
Civil Defense Centers, where he was
a fire and rescue officer, later becoming
the General Directorate of Civil Defense.
Entering the NFPA Board of Directors
with more than 30 years in the fire
service, Al-Nuaimi has been involved in
various committees, including chairman
of the Standing Committee for the
Evaluation and Development of the
Readiness and Efficiency of the Civil
Defense Sector. He was also a member
of the Standing Committee for the
Development of Civil Defense Centers in
Abu Dhabi and has served as chairman
of the NFPA Advisory Committee for
the Middle East and North Africa. He
has received numerous awards during
his years in the fire protection industry,
including Fireland Magazine Award for
Best Practices in Fire and Emergency
Affairs. In addition, he has been honored
with the 2020 Middle East Excellence
Award within the Community Security,
Safety, and Protection Category.
Onieal, the former Deputy United
States Fire Administrator of the U.S.
Fire Administration, was elected to his
second three-year term.
Awards season
A number of awards were presented
at the NFPA Conference & Expo in Las
Vegas in June. Among the recipients:
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Dr. James Milke, a professor and chair
of the Department of Fire Protection
Engineering at the University of Maryland,
is the 2023 winner. The honor is
given by the NFPA Board of Directors
to individuals who have made significant
contributions in the promotion of
fire safety and NFPA's mission.
A life member of NFPA, Dr. Milke's
relationship with the organization is
extensive. He has been a past member
of the NFPA Standards Council and
the NFPA Fire Tests Committee and
is a current member and past chair
of the NFPA Committee on Smoke
Management Systems. In addition to
more than four decades in academia,
he has served as the fire protection
engineer for Fairfax County, Virginia,
as a research fire prevention engineer
at NIST, and as a member of FEMA's
Building Performance Study Team that
investigated the World Trade Center
catastrophe on September 11, 2001.
FIRE PROTECTION RESEARCH
FOUNDATION MEDAL
A team of four fire and life safety experts
was awarded this year's medal, which
recognizes a project that best embodies
the fire safety mission, commitment to
tackling technical challenges, and the
collaboration on project execution.
The project, " Firefighting Foams: A
Fire Service Roadmap, " was funded by
a DHS/FEMA Assistance to Firefighters
Grant and was designed to assist
the fire service as it transitions to fluorine-free
firefighting foam. Recipients
include Jerry Back, a fire protection
engineer from Jensen Hughes; Casey
Grant, executive director of DSRAE,
LLC, and former executive director
of the Fire Protection Research Foundation;
Edward Hawthorne, a global
emergency manager and consultant;
and Noah Lieb, a subject matter expert
at Jensen Hughes.
HARRY C. BIGGLESTONE AWARD
The Bigglestone Award is given
annually to the paper appearing
in the journal Fire Technology that
best represents excellence in the
communication of fire protection
concepts. For their paper " Experimental
Study of the Fire Dynamics
in a Semi-enclosure Formed by Photovoltaic
(PV) Installations on Flat
Roof Constructions, " this year's winners
are Jens Kristensen, who has
focused his research on fire safety
concerns related to renewable energy
transition, especially photovoltaic
installations; Benjamin Jacobs,
whose master's thesis focused on the
fire dynamics of photovoltaic systems
on flat roof construction; and Grunde
Jomaas, a fire-safe sustainable environmental
researcher and a leader
at the Slovenian National Building
and Civil Engineering Institute. The
award is accompanied by a $5,000
prize from NFPA.
STANDARDS MEDAL
Daniel O'Connor, P.E., FSFPE, was named
the 2023 recipient of the medal, the highest
award given by the NFPA Standards
Council. The award is given annually to
recognize outstanding contributions to
fire safety and the development of NFPA
codes and standards.
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023

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