NFPA Will Develop High-Rise Fire Risk Assessment Tool
The risk assessment tool will help authorities having jurisdiction prioritize mitigation by incorporating a methodology that identifies key variables (such as wall materials and building fire protection systems). It is scheduled to be completed this year.
The National Fire Protection Association announced it will develop a fire risk assessment tool for high-rise buildings.
The announcement on June 27 said the decision to develop it followed a recent series of fires in high-rise buildings with combustible facades, including the Grenfell Tower fire in London. NFPA has started a project to such a tool to assist local authorities globally with fire safety in their communities, and the organization's announcement said the project builds on previous NFPA work begun in recent years that relate to "growing concerns about fire risks associated with combustible wall insulation components."
"NFPA is committed to helping communities respond to current fire threats," said Jim Pauley, NFPA's president. "Given several recent tragic high-rise fires, this resource couldn't be more needed or timely."
The risk assessment tool will help authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) prioritize mitigation by incorporating a methodology that identifies key variables (such as wall materials, building fire protection systems, etc.); the tool helps to characterize those variables in terms of risk or mitigation potential and incorporates them into an engineering-based risk model. The project will be conducted by a global engineering team whose work will be overseen by an advisory panel of global stakeholders and experts, and it is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.
"The deadly fires that have occurred around the globe reflect a need to recommit and promote a full system of fire prevention, protection, and education in order to help save lives and reduce loss," said Pauley. "At NFPA, we're doing all we can to support and provide jurisdictions with the tools they need to assess risk and deliver the level of safety people expect and deserve."