Presentation: Fire Service Interaction with Building Fire Protection Features
Plans, cut sheets, and as-builts are really good to have and understand. Challenging risks and technological solutions to these risks are becoming more commonplace. However, at 3:00 a.m., during a blizzard, what does a company officer on a responding engine know about any of these details? How many types of fire suppression, detection, alarm systems are in any given community? Are fire prevention staff who work on these systems day in and day out intimately familiar with all these various systems?
Who likes and is familiar with current IT challenges? Company officers and their crews don’t and typically aren’t. Knowledge and experience on the part of emergency responders vary between communities and their size. Now, think about volunteer versus paid.
All of these factors come into play when thinking about how the fire service interacts with built-in fire protection features. This discussion will attempt to explore some of the inherent behaviors, beliefs, and barriers to the collaborative fire protection effort. From an engineering perspective, we require thousands to millions of dollars in specialized equipment to “engineer” much of our fire problem. When these engineered solutions don’t work, whose left to figure it out? When those systems are working, how do we expect responding crews to compliment them?
This presentation will explore some of the myths, some of the truths, and hopefully, provide a framework for better design consideration and outcomes for fire suppression efforts to be collaboratively more successful.
Guest Presenter: Brett Lacey - Fire Marshal, Colorado Springs Fire Department
Brett Lacey is an Oklahoma State University alumni, a registered professional engineer, and a certified safety professional whose dedication to the fire service industry spans over 39 years serving in the ranks of firefighter, paramedic, and fire protection engineer and, for more than two decades, as fire marshal to Colorado Springs Fire Department. Brett currently sits on the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Executive Board and has served as chair on various training manual technical committees. Additionally, he serves on committees for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards including 1031, 1300, 1452, 1730, and 1037. Brett has also co-authored two textbooks for IFSTA’s Fire Protection Publications: Fire Prevention Applications Second Edition and Fire Prevention Applications for the Company Officers First Edition.
