February 2020
Published by the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal
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Focus on Reducing Loss of Life This Winter
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As we head into another month of winter, Oregon residents will continue to rely on home heating systems, fireplaces, and other heat sources to stay warm during our coldest days of the year. Unfortunately, heating equipment remains a major fire safety issue, statewide as well as nationally.
Over a two-year period from 2014 through 2016, the leading causes of residential fires in Oregon — for which the cause was able to be determined — were cooking, heating, and smoking. All too often the fire service sees the aftermath of these preventable scenarios, most of which occur during the months of December through February.
Investigations of these fires point to the culprit of space heaters as being the cause of ignition resulting in injuries, deaths, and significant property damage. On a national level, half of the fires attributed to space heaters occurred when the devices were placed too close to combustible materials. Other leading causes were electrical failures and the equipment being accidentally turned on or not getting turned off.
Nationally, the number of home fires involving heating equipment has dropped from 70,000 a year in 2002 to less than 50,000 a year in 2016 due to better safety standards, which include automatic shut off features for tipped-over heaters and guarding around heating coils.
Even with these consumer product innovations to improve life safety, there are still too many preventable incidents resulting in home fires. That is why I am encouraging the Oregon fire service to continue its fire and life safety messaging on home heating and electric and fuel burning space heaters. It is through your dedication and commitment to fire prevention and fire safety that we will continue this downward trend and help us be successful in reducing the number of fire fatalities.
Fire services can order materials from the Office of State Fire Marshal
website, along with other fire and life safety materials for public events and outreach.
Thanks for all you do.
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Oregon State Fire Marshal Jim Walker
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Nominations Open for 2020 Sparky Awards
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The Office of State Fire Marsh is accepting nominations for the 2020 Golden and Silver Sparky Awards.
The Golden Sparky recognizes a fire service member or fire agency for outstanding achievement in fire prevention or public safety education.
The Silver Sparky recognizes a civilian or civilian agency for outstanding achievement in fire prevention or public safety education.
Nominations are open until April 1. Please submit your completed
Sparky nomination form, with an explanation and examples of your nominee's achievements.
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Competency Recognition for the 2019 Oregon Fire Code
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The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is offering six free courses on Oregon amendments to the 2018 International Fire Code, which were adopted in the fall 2019 to create the 2019 Oregon Fire Code.
The eight-hour classes will be offered in-person only at six locations statewide, and will cover the significant changes from the previous Oregon Fire Code and International Fire Code editions. The OSFM is partnering with Oregon Fire Marshals Association (OFMA) to provide eight ICC CEUs for this code update class.
Per Oregon Administrative Rule 837-039-0016, the class is required within the first year of every code cycle change in order to maintain competency recognitions for Specialist I & II and Fire Marshal certification.
The course will provide student activities showing how to apply the code changes to everyday work for the fire service. The course will also highlight the application of the new code requirements to design, plan review, and/or inspection.
Dates and locations, Feb. 12 to May 11:
Portland Area: Feb. 12
Clackamas Fire Dist #1
Happy Valley Community Room
9339 SE Causey Ave.
Happy Valley, OR 97086
Salem Area: Feb. 19
DPSST – Hall of Heroes
4190 Aumsville Highway
Salem, OR 97317
Southern Oregon: March 4
Jackson County FD #3
8383 Agate Road
White City, OR 97503
Central Oregon: March 25
Bend Fire Department
North Fire Station 305
63377 NE Jamison St.
Bend, OR 97701
Eastern Oregon: April 15
La Grande Fire Department Training Room
1806 Cove Ave.
La Grande, OR 97850
Central Coast*: May 11
Hallmark in Newport
744 SW Elizabeth St
Newport, OR 97365
*The OSFM is partnering with the Oregon Fire Marshals Association to co-host the May 11 class, at the Hallmark Resort in Newport. This add-on class is being offered separate from the group’s Annual Business Meeting and at no cost. Hotel rooms can be reserved now by calling the Hallmark at (855) 391-2484; mention the “Oregon Fire Marshals Association group” for a discount. Learn more about the business meeting on the
OFMA website.
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Meet Deputy State Fire Marshal Tad Pedersen
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Where do you work/how long have you been in your position?
I am on my 15th year with the Office the State Fire Marshal, working in District 1, which includes Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties.
Tell us about your background before you became a Deputy State Fire Marshal (DSFM).
In high school I started out in emergency services as an Explorer Scout with the ambulance service. When I turned 18, I joined the Knappa Fire District, moving up through the ranks. In 1995 I became the Assistant Fire Chief, a position that I still hold today. I worked as a medic for 20 years before moving to the Office of State Fire Marshal.
What makes you most proud of being a DSFM?
I enjoy being the “good guy.” I believe we have a very good reputation in being able to solve issues without having to be a hammer. We can work with our customers in meeting the code requirements and leave having everybody feeling good about the experience.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I enjoy working with fire chiefs in my district. To have the chief executive of a fire department or fire district call you just to bounce an idea off of you and value your opinion is huge. The job of a deputy state fire marshal is so much about relationships. Being able to nurture those relationships into in some cases lifelong friendships has meant the world to me.
What would you like the public to know about your job?
Be patient. Even though we work for the state of Oregon, we are a relatively small organization, with 15 deputies working the entire state. We have a plan on Monday, and by Tuesday we are investigating a fire or some other situation that quickly rose to the top of the list. As deputies we are constantly prioritizing and reprioritizing our workload to serve our customers as efficiently as possible.
Looking back on 2019, what was your most successful activity in your assigned district that had the most impact in protecting the lives of Oregonians or preventing fires in Oregon?
For my part of the state, 2019 was a year of change. Fourteen of 24 fire chiefs either retired or took positions at other departments. This meant starting over to build relationships with the new chiefs, helping get them up to speed in the services the Office of State Fire Marshal can provide, as well as the authority the chiefs have in Oregon. With some chiefs coming from out of state, this can be daunting. Amid the personnel changes, Oregon adopted the next version of the Oregon Fire Code, which presented new and exciting opportunities to educate and work though with local fire officials.
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Annual Report Available for Hazmat by Rail Program
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Gov. Kate Brown signed legislation in 2015 relating to the safe transport of hazardous materials by rail. The law made changes to Oregon Revised Statute 453.307 to 453.414 relating to the safe transport of hazardous materials by directing the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to coordinate training, preparedness, and response planning activities with a specific focus on oil or hazardous materials spills or releases that occur during rail transport.
In part, this law mandates the OSFM to adopt by administrative rule (837-120-0520), a plan for the coordinated response to oil or hazardous material spills or releases that occur during rail transport, identify response resources (existing and needed), and to coordinate training for emergency responders.
The report, prepared by the OSFM for the Oregon State Legislature, highlights activities completed in 2019 for emergency planning and training and community outreach activities, totaling more than 1,500 hours. The document also summarizes the OSFM’s resource coordination and information sharing activities and plans for the coming year. A copy of
the full report is available on the
OSFM website.
For questions concerning the report, contact Hazmat by Rail Program Coordinator Fraser Wick:
tel.: 503-934-8283;
email:
fraser.wick@osp.oregon.gov.
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By OSFM Code Deputy David Mills
Occupant Load Calculation in
Business Use Areas, Part I of II
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The method of calculating the occupant load in business areas has been recently revised, which allows for larger occupant loads in buildings. The 2019 Oregon Fire Code (OFC), table 1004.5, establishes minimum occupant densities based on the function or actual use of the space or area (not by the occupancy group classification). This table presents the maximum floor area allowance per occupant (i.e., occupant load factor) based on studies and counts of the number of occupants in typical buildings.
The 2019 OFC has made two changes to calculating the occupant load in a business use area. In part I of this article, we will discuss the first change, which revises the 100 square feet per occupant to 150 square feet per occupant for determining the means of egress requirements in business areas.
The occupant load factor of 100 square feet per occupant for business occupancies first appeared in the third edition of the Building Exits Code, published in 1934 by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The occupant load factor of 100 square feet per occupant was specified for office, factory, and workroom areas. All occupant loads factors were based on the gross floor area of the building, such that no deduction was permitted for corridors, closets, restrooms, or other subdivision.
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It seems likely that the results from a study published in 1935 by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) — now referred to as the National Institute of Standards and Technology — were the most likely basis of the occupant load factors adopted into the 1934 Building Exits Code. Over the years, a number of studies have been conducted, and it is generally agreed that the factor of 100 square feet per occupant for business occupancies is conservative.
A more recent project to study the appropriateness of the 100 square feet per occupant factor was undertaken by the NFPA Fire Protection Research Foundation (NFPRF). The study was conducted by Worchester Polytechnic Institute undergrad students. The recommendations of this study have indicated that it is reasonable to increase the occupant load factor in business occupancies. Thus, the occupant load factor of 100 square feet per occupant has changed to 150 square feet per occupant.
In the upcoming part II article next month, we will discuss unique configurations and limited work spaces provided within businesses such as telephone call centers, trading floors, and electronic data processing centers, where a higher density of occupants is anticipated with a new occupant load subcategory.
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Task Force Leader Symposium
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CAMEO Suite Training Opportunity in Portland, March 24-26
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First responders and other emergency management professionals are encouraged to sign up for the
Introduction to the Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) Suite (PER-229) training in Portland, taking place March 24 to 26.
The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) at Louisiana State University is offering the training in collaboration with the Office of State Fire Marshal’s Regional Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team 07 for this Department of Homeland Security-certified course.
The course provides training on the fundamental elements of the
CAMEO Suite of programs as they relate to emergency situations. It includes detailed technical information and hands-on practice of critical elements in the CAMEO system and its associated programs (CAMEO Chemicals, CAMEOfm, ALOHA, and MARPLOT).
The course is intended for fire service professionals, law enforcement, EMTs, public health workers, hazmat professionals, public safety communications personnel, public works officials, and emergency managers.
A FEMA SID number is required for registration. You can look up your FEMA SID, or register for a new one, on
FEMA’s website
. For questions about online registration, contact the NCBRT Help Desk at
help@ncbrt.lsu.edu.
(
CAMEO illustration courtesy of the U.S. EPA.)
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