IAFC Conference to Mark Last Four Days of Summer
DEPARTMENTS
From the Publishers Desk
As we write this, it is one of the hottest days of the summer and our thoughts are turning to fall, the IAFC and Philadelphia.
As you can see by the articles in this issue that advise you where to find some good eating at a range of prices and where to spend your time sightseeing, Philadelphia is hosting the 109th annual conference of the IAFC Sept. 1922, Sunday through Wednesday. That makes a natural tie for our thoughts of the IAFC and Philadelphia.
The thought of fall, however, was not quite so appropriate as you might first think. It wasn’t until we checked The World Almanac that we were disillusioned about fall making its appearance during the IAFC conference. The Sept. 21 date we learned in school drew a rain check this year-well not literally, but astronomically. It seems that the sun in its inscrutable way-at least to uswill signal the start of the fall season the day after the IAFC conference closes with the banquet Wednesday night. The autumnal equinox, to be specific, will occur at 3:46 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 23, Philadelphia time.
Equinox or no equinox, this year the conference exhibits will be open on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as the usual hours during the rest of the conference. The Sunday admission to the exhibits will be only $5, a low price set to encourage attendance from the heavily volunteer makeup of the fire service within three hours drive from Philadelphia. One-day admissions to the exhibits will be the usual $20 during the other three days of the conference.
To continue with our thoughts of outer space, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sponsored a hazardous materials conference on July 23 for fire chiefs, city managers and emergency management specialists that was televised to 45 viewing locations by satellite. At least 1500 persons, we are told, saw the telecast that also linked the program in Denver with regional workshops in 12 other cities from San Francisco to Quincy, Mass.
Way back last November, Fire Engineering had a story on page 28 of the collapse of a condomimium under construction at Cocoa Beach, Fla. Eleven workers were killed and 23 others were injured. We recently learned that last June, the Florida Board of Architecture suspended the license of William Juhn, the condo architect, for 10 years and fined him $1000. We thought you might be interested in learning this final detail of the tragedy.
