Fire chiefs from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom endorsed a number of initiatives during the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) in Quincy, Mass. last week.
The group decided to support documents addressing Warehouse Fires and Pre-Fire Planning; Fire Community Assessment, Response Evaluation System (FireCARES) and National Fire Operations Reporting System (N-FORS).
United States Fire Administration (USFA) Administrator Chief Ernest Mitchell, International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) CEO and Executive Director Chief Mark Light, United Kingdom Chief Fire & Rescue Advisor CFO Peter Holland, and Chief Fire Officer of the United Kingdom (CFOA) incoming President Paul Hancock also participated and offered presentations.
“To meet the challenges firefighters face today, fire chiefs must understand and embrace the latest research and have access to quality and timely data in order to prepare members of their departments for the broad range of emergencies and catastrophic events that have become commonplace in the United States and throughout the world,” said NFPA Metro Chiefs Executive Secretary Russ Sanders and coordinator of the event. “These position papers are critical resources for departments to use to apply the latest fire research and implement best practices for usual and extraordinary circumstances.”
Sanders said the Urban Fire Forum brings together the fire chiefs who are responsible for protecting some of the largest urban centers in the world. The program objectives are to provide the chiefs an opportunity to learn from their peers and expert speakers, and for NFPA to stay abreast of current trends and needs in the fire service. As part of the overall mission of the UFF, chief officers share UFF position papers and associated information with fire officers from all over the world.
The officers of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (Metro) Executive Board make up the core group of the UFF.
