The NFPA Podcast by National Fire Protection Association

04.23.2024

Hoarding Risk-Reduction Strategies

Residential hoarding poses numerous dangers and fire risks for residents and firefighters, yet communities have struggled to find meaningful solutions. Today on the podcast, two of North America’s most prominent hoarding researchers join us to talk about the causes and...

03.26.2024

Moral Injury and Suicide

In most years, more firefighters die by suicide than from accidents or injuries that happen in the line of duty, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. It’s well understood that PTSD is a huge contributor to the problem, but...

03.12.2024

What to Know About CO

Each year, accidental carbon monoxide poisonings cause at least 430 deaths in the U.S., and send more than 100,000 people to emergency rooms, according to the CDC. Studies have found that the number of accidental CO deaths has increased over...

02.27.2024

Doing It Right: Energy Storage and Solar Installs

As the number of energy storage and photovoltaic systems being installed across the world continues to rise dramatically, so does the need for trained professionals to ensure that these systems are reliable and safe for decades to come. Today on...

02.13.2024

Where is AI Headed?

We wrap up our two-parter about how AI technologies might impact fire and life safety by talking with Xinyan Huang, a fire protection engineer, professor, and AI researcher at the Research Centre for Fire Safety Engineering ...

01.23.2024

Artificial Intelligence and the Fire Service

Today’s podcast is the first in a two-part series looking at how artificial intelligence technologies could impact fire and life safety. In this episode, we focus on AI’s potential impact on the fire service. How might fire departments use AI?...

01.09.2024

Sustainability vs. Fire Protection

Lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic panels are technologies that may improve environmental sustainability, but also present challenges to fire protection engineers. Conversely, chemical flame retardants may lead to better fire outcomes, but also have potentially serious impacts on human health and...

12.26.2023

Short-Term Rentals: Risky Business

From elevators that can decapitate you to grills that can explode in your face, short-term rental properties aren’t short on things that can hurt you—or worse. In fact, short-term rental safety expert Justin Ford calls these properties the most dangerous...

12.12.2023

Re-Thinking Wildfire

As destruction from wildfire in the U.S. continues to set records, it’s become abundantly clear that the country’s current strategies are not working. But what should we be doing differently? Over the past year, a wildfire commission, comprised of 50...

11.28.2023

Trauma and Risk

It’s well understood that childhood trauma can have dramatic effects on a person’s adult life, and in recent years, risk prevention experts have started to recognize it as a sizeable contributor to both individual and community risk. Today on the...

11.14.2023

The Economic Impact of Fire Departments

At budget time, fire departments are listed as a cost on the city ledger, but that’s only part of the story. Firefighting and fire prevention also provide huge returns on investment by saving lives, buildings, businesses, and jobs. Is there...

10.24.2023

Heat, the Silent Killer

Heatwaves aren't just uncomfortable; they are deadly for millions of people around the globe each year. Recognizing this growing threat, governments and safety departments are starting to reconsider their vulnerabilities to heat and are taking action to protect their...

09.26.2023

The Survivors, Part 5: “Never Again”

We are replaying "The Survivors," an award-winning podcast series that NFPA first published in 2017. In the final episode, the van Dijks and other survivors want their experience to be the catalyst for the inclusion of fire sprinklers in all...

09.12.2023

The Survivors, Part 4: “Back into the Lion’s Den”

We are replaying "The Survivors," an award-winning podcast series that NFPA first published in 2017. In Part 4, upsetting his family, Feike joins the fire service and places himself into one of America’s deadliest places for fire: homes. Fire service...

08.22.2023

The Survivors, Part 3: “Refinement by Fire”

We are replaying "The Survivors," an award-winning podcast series that NFPA first published in 2017. In Part 3, the van Dijk's emotional scarring from the fire seems to have taken a larger toll on the family than their physical injuries....

08.08.2023

The Survivors, Part 2: “The Aftermath”

For the next five NFPA Podcast episodes we are replaying "The Survivors," an award-winning podcast series NFPA first published in 2017. In Part 2, impacted by the death of their two boys, the van Dijks go through the painstaking process...

07.25.2023

The Survivors, Part 1: “One of 367,000”

For the next five NFPA Podcast episodes we are replaying "The Survivors," an award-winning five-part podcast series that first ran in 2017. In part 1, Feike and Noelle van Dijk’s sense of normalcy is shattered when a home fire...

07.11.2023

A Battery in Every Garage?

Few topics are as hot right now in the fire service as consumer lithium-ion batteries. While electric vehicles and e-bikes still get the bulk of attention, residential energy storage system (ESS) installations are also starting to skyrocket as...

06.29.2023

How Virtual Reality Is Changing Firefighter Training

Incredible advancements are being made around using virtual reality to bolster firefighter training. Some fire departments are even using VR to educate the public about fire safety. Today on the podcast, we talk to Ken Willette, executive director of the...

06.13.2023

Is 911 In Trouble?

In the United States, when someone calls 911 the call is routed to an operator at a public safety answering point, or PSAP. But news outlets across the country are finding that local PSAPs are struggling, and that 911 callers...

05.23.2023

Grilling Safety

An estimated 75 million households in the United States will fire up their grills this Memorial Day weekend. For most, the worst that will happen is a few burned hot dogs. But each year, about 22,000 people in the U.S....

05.09.2023

Can We End Cancer in the Fire Service?

Last month, the U.S. federal government launched the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer—the largest project ever undertaken to better understand and reduce the risk of cancer among firefighters. Today on the podcast, we talk to the leader of this effort, Dr....

04.25.2023

Falls, Fires, and Older Adults

Falls and fires kill and injure more older adults than many people realize. Not only are seniors twice as likely as the general population to experience a fatal fire, they suffer an estimated 36 million falls each year in...

04.11.2023

Giving Dampers Their Due

Dampers are usually hidden away in ducts or ceiling cavities and seldom get much attention, but they’re a critical part of the fire protection strategy for many buildings. In a new Code Corner, NFPA Engineer Shawn Mahoney gives us a...

03.28.2023

Diversity and the Fire Service

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three words that have quickly risen priority lists at fire departments across the world in recent years. While most agree on the importance of having a diverse and inclusive workforce, what do those words actually...

03.14.2023

The Persistent Problem of Construction Fires

The latest data from NFPA shows that the number of fires in buildings under construction has been steadily rising over the past several years. On average, US fire departments respond to nearly a dozen such fires every single day. In...

02.28.2023

A Better Fit For Female Firefighters

About 80 percent of female firefighters say that their personal protective clothing doesn’t fit right, and studies show that ill-fitting gear puts women at greater risk of being injured on the job. Today on the podcast, we talk to two...

02.14.2023

America’s First Paramedics

In his stunning new book, American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics, former paramedic Kevin Hazzard explores the largely forgotten history of the Freedom House Ambulance Service. Hazzard joined the podcast to talk...

01.24.2023

A New Fire Protection Handbook, 15 Years in the Making

Today on the podcast we examine one of NFPA’s oldest and most significant publications, the Fire Protection Handbook. Guests Nick Dawe, a fire marshal in Georgia, and Casey Grant, a fire protection engineering consultant and longtime NFPA employee, discuss what...

01.10.2023

Heating or Eating: The Fire Risks of Inflation

As cold weather begins to move into the northern latitudes, families all over the world are struggling with high heating bills, leading some to make desperate choices that can dramatically increase fire risks. On today’s podcast, a prevention officer and...

12.27.2022

Riding the Tailboard

We are ringing in the New Year by rerunning one of our favorite episodes of all time, which originally aired in January 2017. It might seem strange now, but firefighters dying from falling off fire trucks used to be a...

12.13.2022

The Rising Dangers of Home Fires

Believe it or not, a reported home fire in the US today is more likely to be fatal than it was in 1980. In fact, a new NFPA report reveals that the number of fire deaths per 1,000 reported home...

11.22.2022

Cooking Fires and Turkey Fryers

Shockingly, cooking fires now kill more people on average per year in the US than they did in the 1980s. As Thanksgiving nears, we are re-airing this episode from November 2020 looking at this growing problem. First, Jesse talks to...

11.08.2022

Babcock Ranch and the Future of Resilient Design

When hurricane Ian tore through Florida in September, it left a trail of destruction—but not at Babcock Ranch, a 2,000-home development designed to be both sustainable and to withstand the worst natural disasters. Today on the podcast, we speak to...

10.25.2022

Flame Retardant Chemicals in Furniture

For years, flame retardant chemicals have presented a catch 22. When applied to furniture they can help prevent fire ignition and potentially save lives, however, many scientists believe the chemicals are harmful to both human health and the environment. Today...

10.11.2022

Energy, Climate, and California Burning

A new book called California Burning details Pacific Gas & Electric’s 117-year rise to becoming one of the largest utilities in the United States—as well as how the company’s negligence, a changing climate, and state energy policy have all contributed...

09.27.2022

The Future of Fire Investigation

Thirty years ago, NFPA released NFPA 921, the world’s first comprehensive guide on fire and explosion investigation. Since then, the profession has advanced leaps and bounds. However, a recent report on the profession argues that fire investigation can still be...

09.13.2022

Fire on Campus: Turning Pain into Purpose

On January 19, 2000, Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, then 18- year- old freshman roommates at Seton Hall University, were severely burned when the residence hall they lived in caught fire. The blaze, one of the worst at a college...

08.23.2022

The New Foams

For more than 50 years, firefighters have relied on aqueous film forming foam—better known as AFFF—to quickly and effectively put out dangerous liquid fuel fires. However, due to health and environmental concerns, AFFF is now being rapidly phased out across...

08.09.2022

The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke Inhalation

As the number and severity of wildfires increase in many parts of the world, experts have concerns over what the health impacts of wildfire smoke inhalation might be. In today’s episode, we hear from three researchers who are studying that...

07.26.2022

The Failures Before the Fires

In May, journalists Madison Hopkins and Cecilia Reyes were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their investigative series, “The Failures Before the Fires,” which exposed dangerous systemic flaws in how Chicago handles building code enforcement. On today’s podcast, Hopkins and Reyes...

07.12.2022

Are SMART Sprinklers the Next Big Thing?

SMART fire sprinklers, which use less water and can employ a range of sensors to target exactly where a fire is happening, have potential to be a game changer, according to some experts. Today on the podcast, Jesse talks...

06.28.2022

Safety in Short-term Rental Properties

From elevators that can decapitate you to grills that can explode in your face, short-term rental properties aren’t short on things that can hurt you—or worse. In fact, short-term rental safety expert Justin Ford calls these properties the most dangerous...

06.14.2022

E-bike and E-scooter Fire Safety

Battery-powered electric bicycles and scooters, collectively known as micromobility devices, have exploded in popularity in recent years, but so too have fires involving these devices. From New York City to India, e-bikes and e-scooters batteries have sparked fires that have...

05.24.2022

An Arc-Flash Survivor’s Story

In 2011, longtime electrician Brandon Schroeder was involved in an accident on the job that left him severely burned and without the use of his hand. After a long and grueling recovery, Schroeder became a vocal advocate for electrical worker safety...

05.10.2022

Lessons from Grizzly Flats

For more than a decade, the small, wooded town of Grizzly Flats, California has participated in Firewise USA, an NFPA program where residents voluntarily work together on community projects to lessen their risks from wildfire. In August 2021, however, the...

04.26.2022

Under Fire: Life for Responders in Ukraine

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) has taken on an unrelenting burden since Russian forces invaded more than two months ago. Among other tasks, the SES’s 60,000 responders put out fires, search for survivors buried under rubble, clear landmines,...

04.12.2022

Drugs, Falls, and Fires

Research suggests that two-thirds of US adults aged 65 and older use at least three prescription medications. Meanwhile, older adults are twice as likely as the general population to experience a fatal fire, and deaths and injuries from accidental falls...

03.22.2022

40 Years of Fire Research

Since 1982, the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA, has been instrumental in answering countless important questions about how best to protect the world from fire and electrical dangers. Its research has improved safety in countless industries...

03.08.2022

Long COVID and the Fire Service

Dr. Denise Smith, who has spent decades researching the physiological impact of firefighting, joins The NFPA Podcast to discuss how firefighters who have been infected with COVID-19 could struggle for weeks or even months following acute illness as they return...

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