NAHB Partners to Improve Fire Safety for National Fire Prevention Week

In time for this week’s National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) National Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 8-14), NAHB along with leading fire prevention and code organizations have announced the formation of a Construction Fire Safety Coalition dedicated to reducing the occurrence of fires in buildings under construction, alteration or demolition.

The Coalition has been created in collaboration with the American Wood Council (AWC); Davidson Code Concepts, LLC; FireForceOne; International Code Council (ICC); NAHB; National Association of State Fire Marshals; National Fire Sprinkler Association; and a representative of the Cambridge, Mass. Fire Department, in response to recent fires in Massachusetts, California and New Jersey.

Though less than 1 percent of fires occur during the construction stage, those that do can result in injuries, significant financial losses and may require intensive fire service response, straining municipal resources. By developing science-based training programs and making fire safety guidance – including the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and NFPA 1 Fire Code, NFPA 241 Standard for Safeguarding Construction Alteration and Demolition Operations, the International Building Code and the International Fire Code – accessible to all stakeholders across the United States, the Coalition aims to ensure fire fighters and occupants are safe, and buildings under construction remain unharmed by fire.

The Coalition is working to accomplish the following:

• Improved public and fire fighter safety through reduced frequency and/or severity of construction site fires.
• Reduced frequency and/or severity of fires in projects involving construction, alteration, demolition or related activities, including site development and on-site material staging.
• Reduced negative impacts on neighboring buildings, delays in building occupancy, water resources, and the environment.

Fire service professionals, regulators and developers can learn more at www.ConstructionFireSafety.org. The website offers a wide variety of content from checklists to videos for owners/developers, builders, regulators, and operational fire service personnel.

Also check out NAHB’s Housekeeping and Fire Safety video from our Video Toolbox Talks series.