Briefs

In-home fire deaths drop QUINCY, Mass. - More than 3,000 deaths from fires in U.S. homes were reported in 2001, a 9.1 percent drop from the previous year, according to a new report from the National Fire Protection Association. Nationwide, there was a home fire death every 170 minutes, compared with every 153 minutes for the previous year. In all 6,196 fire deaths occurred last year, including 3,086 fatalities outside of the home. That number includes 2,451 deaths due to fires started by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. NYC mayor signs sprinkler ordinance NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in early September signed into law a bill requiring the installation of automatic fire sprinklers in below grade commercial locations that store flammable or combustible mixtures. Bloomberg cited a fatal accident last year at a hardware store in Queens that killed three firefighters after vapors from the store's paint ignited. Only business owners that store flammable materials in segregated storage areas will be required to install sprinklers within that area. Earlier reports said hardware, paint stores and cleaners would have until April 30, 2004 to comply. UL speaker to headline NFPA conference QUINCY, Mass. - J. Thomas Chapin, general manager of the Fire Protection Division of Underwriters Laboratories Inc., is slated to be the keynote speaker at the seventh annual Fire Suppression and Detection Research Application Symposium, hosted by the Fire Protection Research Foundation of the National Fire Protection Association. The conference will feature more than 25 papers on research on fire suppression and detection. The event will be held Jan. 22-23, 2003 at the Holiday Inn Select Orlando International Airport.