The LA Wildfires
In the last week, huge swaths of metro Los Angeles have been devastated by wildfires fueled by parched vegetation and hurricane force winds. The images and videos of once vibrant neighborhoods reduced...
14 Jan 202540min
Artificial Intelligence and the Fire Service
You could make the argument that artificial intelligence was the most consequential new technology for fire and life safety in 2024. Several fire departments began dabbling with AI this year, and some...
24 Dec 202443min
A New Dawn for Smoke Alarms
This summer, long-awaited changes to the standard that sets the performance requirements for smoke alarms went into effect, marking a new era for the technology. For the first time, smoke alarms must ...
10 Dec 202445min
International Hospital Fires
Although hospital fires are rare in the United States, that's not the case around the world. Recent deadly fires at hospitals in India —including a fire in November that killed 10 newborn babies — sho...
26 Nov 202425min
The Single Exit Stair Debate
Nearly all jurisdictions in the United States enforce codes that require two exit stairwells in residential buildings above three or four stories. Housing advocates say that increasing the cap to six ...
12 Nov 202433min
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems
As online retail flourishes, distribution centers are installing new and more advanced automated storage and retrieval systems (or ASRS). These systems are like enormous vending machines that store, o...
22 Okt 202436min
Babcock Ranch and the Future of Resilient Design
When hurricane Ian tore through Florida in September 2022, 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 ...
8 Okt 202437min
Make Smoke Alarms Work For You
This month, a comprehensive new survey on smoke alarm use in the U.S. found that 16 percent of households—as many as 53 million people—do not having working smoke alarms. The new report comes just in ...
24 Sep 202440min
