Presentation Transcript

1. School Safety: The Fire Marshal’s Perspective NASFM 2013Annual ConferenceH. “Butch” BrowningLouisiana State Fire MarshalRaymond ReynoldsIowa State Fire MarshalEd PAULkALABAMA STATE FIRE MARSHAL
2. School Safety Traditionally focused on: Fires Weather Hazardous Materials Child protection The New Threats Facing Our Schools Intruders Active Shooters Crimes of destruction
3. Fire Protection and Egress Schools have been built to provide: Unobstructed and free egress/ingress Fire alarms and drills are now imbedded and habit Automatic fire suppression is rarely required Open floor plans with no sheltering component Limited fire separation control; “An Evacuation Concept to Safety.”
4. Today’s Challenges Lock Down – Shelter in Place Locking of entry points Maintaining free egress Sheltering in an unprotected building Outdated Fire Safety Codes for schools We are expecting schools to function like health care or detention type occupancies Retro-Fitting Budget On-site evaluation of each school- Time consuming
5. Louisiana’s Response One Day Summit Attended by stake holders Identified three areas of concern Codes Technology Response Created a memo on existing locking requirements
6. Codes Clearly a need to respond to the overwhelming requests for special locking OSFM issued an interpretative memo on locking Smaller fire compartments, automatic fire suppression and fire detection Staff to have more technical training Mini- First Responders
7. Codes (Cont.)Locking of Doors Free Egress Delayed-Egress Locks Access-Controlled Egress Doors Electric Strikes Magnetic Lock Releasing Devices Special Locking Arrangements that allows a second action (Existing)
8. Technology Real-Time surveillance on buildings Far beyond cameras Smoke/Heat detection Panic buttons Virtual notifications to responders Integration to conventional fire alarm panels Determining response- Evacuate or Shelter Direct communications with responders
9. Response Our plan is to encourage local collaborations Fire service should work with local law enforcement to ensure a seat at the table State passed law requiring local planning Consider modifying pre-fire planning to expand into new threats
10. Balance Codes and Procedures Prevent and mitigate threats to our children Maintain fire safety and egress Ensure safety and security from threats Coordinate and build partnerships Life safety must be protected from all threats, not just active shooter.
11. National Assn. of State Fire Marshal’s Created an active committee to begin representing school fire safety issues nationally Providing information to state’s Working with the code committees to require heavy fire protection systems new construction Lead technology advancements
12. RESPONSE: Marshal Ed Paulk Pre-Incident Response Incident Response Post Incident/Investigation COLABORATION
13. ADDITIONAL RESCOURCES:Marshal Ray Reynolds School Safety Advisory Committee Response Flip Chart Controlling the “White Noise”