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A fire safety professional with nearly two decades of experience in the field, Richard Shannon Draper is a longstanding fire service instructor with Bucks County Community College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Richard Shannon Draper is a longtime member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
In November 2020, the NFPA unveiled a brand new guidance document focused on the latest research in fighting structure fires. NFPA 1700, Guide for Structural Fire Fighting, was developed by the Technical Committee on Fundamentals of Fire Control Within a Structure Utilizing Fire Dynamics. It serves as a comprehensive resource of best practices for addressing structure fires based on a wide swath of evidence from researchers, fire investigators, and dynamics testing professionals.
The document also stresses the importance and effectiveness of the proper personal protective equipment in structure fire situations, as well as guidance for contamination control. Proper steps to ensure safety for both civilians and responders is addressed as well. For more information about NFPA 1700 and the organization’s other codes and standards, visit https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards.
