Back To Vegas
NFPA’s must-attend annual conference heads back to Las Vegas this year, intent on its core mission: to bring together professionals from the fire, electrical, and life-safety fields to create the industry’s best and biggest educational and networking event.
NFPA Journal®, January/February 2010
By Victor Bishop
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the year’s most important event for the fire, life safety, and electrical industries. Join NFPA and other likeminded professionals as we gather June 7 to 10 for the 2010 NFPA Conference & Expo®, widely regarded as the most comprehensive event in the industry. The event combines an unrivaled educational conference and an exhibition with more than 300 participating companies. You’ll want to take advantage of the networking opportunities and gain up-to-date knowledge on codes and standards that relate to you.
The education conference
The education conference includes an impressive list of industry experts. Presentations will include many case studies, code updates, and results from an assortment of research projects. On Wednesday, June 9, the featured presentation will be given by Kelvin Cochran, the newly appointed administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s United States Fire Administration.
The presentation, “Putting the Fire Back in the U.S. Fire Administration: Shaping the Future,” promises to be a huge attraction during the event. Cochran has more than 28 years of experience in preventing and responding to fires and emergencies, and extensive experience in the fire service, including firefighting, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, public education, and research and development.
The entertainment during the general session is an annual highlight. This year the general session will feature Gerry McCambridge, better known as “The Mentalist.” McCambridge has been amazing audiences for more than 30 years and has appeared on countless radio and television talk shows, including "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Today Show." McCambridge is also the creator and executive producer of the hit television show "The Mentalist."
The conference schedule offers more than 120 education sessions in 11 different tracks. The Society of Fire Protection Engineers is pleased to once again sponsor the Fire Protection Engineering Track, which will focus on the advancement and education of fire protection engineering. The conference tracks also include:
- Building and Life Safety This track concentrates on information needed by designers, engineers, and building and fire officials, including plans review, inspection techniques, and updates on code requirements, technology, and best practices.
- Codes and Standards This focuses on providing information to assist with code application, and includes many sessions discussing important code updates and changes.
- Detection and Suppression This track concentrates on code requirements and design issues, the application of new technologies in alarm and suppression systems, and the impact of maintenance on systems performance.
- Emergency Preparedness/Business Continuity This includes information on assessing risks and consequences, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, incident management, and recovery plans.
- Fire and Emergency Response This track features current information on firefighting apparatus and technologies, safety and preparedness for first responders, incident command strategies, and fire prevention and inspection techniques.
- Facility Fire Safety and Security Features of this track will emphasize new technology in industrial fire protection and emergency response, fuel storage issues, and security of industrial processes.
- Electrical This considers new electrical design issues, successful maintenance programs, and best practices in electrical contracting, effective inspection techniques, and practical electrical safety programs.
- Public Education This track includes fire and life safety planning and strategies, and offers the latest in safety education, including challenges and creative solutions.
- Research The research track considers the latest information available on many timely issues, such as video smoke and flame detection systems and the reliability of water mist fire protection systems.
- NEW Green This in-demand track includes sessions on environmentally friendly initiatives that affect the design, maintenance, and testing of fire and life safety systems and components.
The expo
The three-day expo will showcase many of the latest technologies and services from more than 300 of the top solution providers in the fire safety, life safety, and electrical industries. Knowledgeable representatives from these companies will be available to answer your questions and offer solutions to your most pressing challenges. The exposition provides attendees the ideal location to see, touch, and try products, and to meet with a company’s technical staff. As always, the expo is free when you register in advance.
Pre-conference seminars
While the 2010 NFPA Conference & Expo officially begins on Monday, June 7, you can arrive early to attend any of the 20 comprehensive pre-conference seminars being offered. Some of these seminars will only be offered in Las Vegas. Pre-conference seminars are priced separately from the main conference and are offered at a substantial discount from NFPA’s regular seminar pricing. Come early and enrich your overall experience.
Five one-day seminars will be held Saturday, June 5:
- NFPA 3, Commissioning and Integrated Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems
- Changes to NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2010 Edition
- Designing and Installing Photovoltaic Systems
- Risk Management/Property Loss
- Water Mist Fire Protection Systems
Five one-day seminars will be held Sunday, June 6:
- Identifying and Installing Medium Voltage Circuits
- IAEI’s Analysis of Changes, 2011 (NEC®)
- Dust Explosion Hazards
- Changes to NFPA 72®, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code®, 2010 Edition
- Aviation Fire Safety
Six two-day seminars will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6:
- CFPS Primer
- NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code™
- NFPA 1600, Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
- NFPA 921, Fire and Explosion Investigations
- Sprinkler Hydraulics
- Code Requirements for Maintaining Fire and Life Safety Systems
Four three-day seminars will be held Saturday through Monday, June 5 to 7:
- NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems
- NFPA 72®, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code®
- NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® Essentials
- NFPA 70E®, Electrical Safety in the Workplace® and Certificate Exam
NFPA Conference & Expo blog and social media
Stay on top of all the important details about the NFPA Conference & Expo by visiting our blog site at http://npfa.typepad.com/conference. Visitors will find updated articles, live broadcasts, and downloadable podcasts. Give feedback before, during, and after the conference about your experience on the conference blog. You can also follow the NFPA Conference & Expo on Twitter. Go to nfpa.org/conference for more information.
The Association technical meeting
At the heart of the codes and standards development process is the Association Technical Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, June 9 and 10. More than 30 documents are up for review at the upcoming meeting, including NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code®; NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems; and NFPA 654, Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions.
Documents that cover flammable and combustible liquids, aircraft hangars, Class A foams, liquefied petroleum gas, explosive materials, laboratories using chemicals, fire protection for marinas and boatyards, and more will be voted on during these sessions. Technical Committee members will receive 20 percent off conference registration prices.
Ladies & gentlemen, Las Vegas
Las Vegas offers much more than casinos and bright lights. When you travel to Las Vegas, you enter a world that will captivate you with its international flare, superb dining choices, and award-winning shows. You are sure to be impressed by the unique buildings, massive hotels, and the countless attractions, sights, and sounds of this destination city, especially the brand-new, $11 billion City Center, a hotel-residence-spa-dining-shopping development that bills itself as "The Capital of the New World."
Depending on where you’re traveling from, flights to Las Vegas are relatively inexpensive. Combine that with endless dining options and reasonable hotel rates, and you have a perfect destination for any company budget. Come to the Conference & Expo for an incomparable learning experience and be sure to explore all that Las Vegas has to offer.
Hotel reservations and registration
NPFA has negotiated special rates at four Las Vegas hotels close to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Hotel rooms must be reserved by April 9, 2010, to guarantee convention rates at these participating hotels: Mandalay Bay, THE hotel at Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur. Hotel reservations can be made online at www.nfpa.org/conference or by calling the Las Vegas Hotel Housing Authority toll free (U.S.) at 1-888-892-5822. Register today to receive the early-bird discounted rates.
Victor Bishop is a marketing specialist in the Professional Development Department at NFPA.