Issue link: http://digital.corporatepress.com/i/445610
Facilities Manager | january/february 2015 | 47 encouraged but thoroughly evaluated to ensure fire and life safety is not compro- mised. This concern will most certainly be an area of consideration and focus for NFPA Technical Committees. Fire Alarm Activation and Delayed Response: Another area of concern is whether allowances should be made within current fire and life safety codes to support delayed response for evacuation, in the event a school building fire alarm is pulled or activated. The argument for allowing "delayed response" is that it would enable public safety personnel on school property to substantiate that a fire or related conditions exist, and to do so prior to sounding the audible alarm and evacuating occupants from the school building. This topic is of great debate among fire and life safety officials and security professionals and deservedly so. Tools, Procedures, and Resources Required of First Responders When Facing an Armed Intruder Situation: The workshop sought to identify the basic building/fire code provisions that must be understood by first respond- ers, as well as first responder protocols that must be understood by fire and life safety codes and standards developers. There was consensus among participants that greater clarity and adoption of gen- eral procedures were needed with regard to responder communications technolo- gies, school building entry and access, and student evacuation safe areas. Outcomes and findings from the workshop discussions with be circulated to APPA and other workshop partici- pants, as well as to other stakeholders, and will be considered for use by NFPA Technical Committees. A workshop re- port is being developed by NFPA. The APPA Standards and Codes Council will announce the availability of the report when published early this year. Additionally, to facilitate further un- derstanding and dialogue among APPA members on this important topic, the APPA Standards and Codes Council will organize a conference session at APPA 2015, to be held August 4-6 in Chicago. Council members and fire safety experts will be on hand to highlight the report's findings. The session will allow APPA member institutions to identify chief report recommendations and best prac- tices for discussion and implementation on their respective campuses, as relevant fire and life safety code language is de- veloped and adopted. John Bernhards is APPA's associate vice president and staff liaison to the APPA Standards and Codes Council. He can be reached at john@appa.org.