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Codes & Standards
Background
NFPA Codes and Standards Definition
According to NFPA Regulations Governing Committee
Projects:
Code - A
standard that is an extensive compilation of provisions
covering broad subject matter or that is suitable for
adoption into law independently of other codes and
standards.
Standard - A document, the main text of which
contains only mandatory provisions using the word
"shall" to indicate requirements and which is in a form
generally suitable for mandatory reference by another
standard or code or for adoption into law. Nonmandatory
provisions shall be located in an appendix, footnote, or
fine-printnote and are not to be considered a part of
the requirements of a standard.
For more than 100 years the National Fire
Protection Association has been developing and updating
codes and standards concerning all areas of fire safety.
An international, non-profit organization with more than
65,000 members from 70 nations, NFPA's mission is to
reduce the burden of fire on the quality of life by
advocating scientifically based consensus codes and
standards, research, and education for fire and related
safety issues. While the NFPA is involved with extensive
fire research and produces numerous fire safety
educational programs and materials, it's lifeblood is
its codes and standards making system.
Currently there are more than 300 NFPA fire codes and
standards used throughout the world. Some examples of
these documents include:
- NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code
addresses basic
fire prevention requirements necessary to establish a
reasonable level of fire safety and property
protection from the hazards created by fire and
explosion.
- NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code provides
safety requirements for fuel gas equipment
installations, piping, and venting.
- NFPA 70, National Electrical Code addresses
proper installation of electrical systems and
equipment.
- NFPA 101, Life Safety Code provides minimum
building design, construction, operation, and
maintenance requirements needed to protect building
occupants from the dangers of the effects of fire.
Virtually, every building, process, service, design,
and installation in society today is affected by NFPA's
codes and standards. One reason these documents have
been so widely accepted and adopted is because of the
unique, open process under which they are developed and
updated.
A Consortium of Experts
NFPA's code and standard-making process began in
1896, when a small group of concerned professionals met
in Boston to address the inconsistencies in the design
and installation of fire sprinkler systems. At that time
there were nine different standards for piping size and
sprinkler spacing, and these business people realized
that unless these discrepancies were resolved, the
reliability of these sprinkler systems would be
compromised. Working together this small group created a
standard for the uniform installation of sprinkler
systems, which became the blueprint for NFPA 13,
Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler
Systems. The NFPA's codes and standards-making
process had begun.
Today, all NFPA codes and standards are administered
by NFPA's approximately 6,000 volunteers who come from a
wide range of professional expertise. These volunteers
serve on more than 200 technical committees, which are
made up of experts representing areas such as governing
agencies, fire services, educational institutions,
businesses, insurance companies, industry, and
consumers. Because the codes and standards are produced
by such a comprehensive pool of technical expertise and
fire safety knowledge, they are usually accepted by all
professions involved in fire safety, and withstand
judicial scrutiny.
The 200 technical
committees are overseen by a 13-person Standards
Council, which is appointed by the NFPA Board
of Directors and which administers the codes and
standards-making activities and regulations.
A Uniquely Open Process
One of the unique things about NFPA's code and
standards making process is that it is truly an open,
consensus-based process. Anyone can submit a proposal
for a new project. Once the proposal has been received,
NFPA publishes an announcement in NFPA Update, its
membership newsletter. This announcement asks members
for:
- comments on the project;
- information on organizations that may be involved
in the subject matter of the proposed project;
- a listing of available resource material; and
- an indication of who is willing to participate in
the project if the project is approved by the
Standards Council.
The proposed project and any public comments
generated by the announcement are then reviewed by the
Standards Council.
Technical Committee Assignments
If the Council does determine the need for the
proposed project, it either assigns the project to an
existing technical committee or establishes a new
committee. Regardless of whether the committee is new or
one already in existence, its membership reflects a
balanced representation of different interests. One way
NFPA achieves this balance is by classifying each
committee member by different categories reflecting
their interest. These categories include manufacturer,
user, installer/maintainer, labor, enforcing authority,
insurance, special expert, consumer, or applied
research/testing laboratory. The committee is purposely
structured so that a single interest is not represented
by more than a third of the committee. The Standards
Council also assigns a scope of activity to each
committee to avoid conflict or duplication of effort.
If the Standards Council feels the project is big
enough to span the scope of more than one committee, the
Council may appoint a technical correlating committee.
This committee directs the activities of the technical
committees that have the primary responsibility for the
development and revision of documents assigned to them.
The technical correlating committee makes sure that
there are no conflicts between the technical committees,
that all material developed by the technical committees
are consistent with each other, and that all activities
by the technical committees are conducted in accordance
with the regulations and other approved operating
procedures.
Once the technical committee is in place, the
committee develops an initial draft of a new document.
NFPA then issues public notices - which appear in
NFPA News, the U.S. Federal Register, the
American National Standards Institute's Standards
Action, and relevant trade journals - stating the
committee's next meeting date and asking for any
interested persons to submit specific proposals to be
included in the document. Interested parties have
approximately twenty-four weeks to respond to this Call
for Proposals.
Report on Proposals
Following the Call for Proposals period the committee
holds meeting over the course of three months to
consider all the submitted proposals and listen to
anyone wishing to address the committee regarding a
proposal. The committee also develops its own proposals
and incorporates them into their report. With respect to
public proposals, if the committee revises or rejects a
proposal in whole or in part, it must include the reason
for the change. All the proposals are presented in a
document called the Report on Proposals (ROP). That ROP
is published and widely distributed. ROPs are sent
automatically to each proposer and affected committee
members, as well as anyone else who requests a copy. The
committee members vote to approve or reject their report
in the ROP by letter ballot, and if two-thirds of all
committee members eligible approve, the process
continues to the next step. If the ROP does not receive
two-thirds approval, their report in the ROP returns to
the committee.
Report on Comments
After the ROP has received the necessary approvals,
there is a 60-day comment period during which anyone may
submit a public comment on the proposed changes in the
ROP. The committee then reconvenes at the end of the
60-day period and decides how to act on all comments.
Once again the meeting is open to anyone who wishes to
address the committee on a particular public comment. A
two-thirds approval vote by letter ballot of the members
of the committee eligible to vote is again required for
approval of actions on the comment, and the committee
must again publish reasons for revising or rejecting any
public comments in a new report. This report in called
the Report on Comments (ROC) and is available to anyone
for review for a seven-week period.
Debate at NFPA Meetings
The ROP and ROC are then submitted for open debate at
either the NFPA's biannual/membership meeting in May or
November. Anyone, regardless of whether they are an NFPA
member or not, may attend the meeting and present their
views on the ROP and ROC. However, only NFPA members of
record for at least 180 days may vote on the adoption of
the Reports. The only amendments that may be proposed
from the floor at an NFPA annual meeting are those that
have been previously published as proposals in the ROP
or comments in the ROC. The proposer of the amendment
must be either the submitter of the original proposal or
comment, or a duly authorized representative.
Anyone, however, may propose that an entire committee
report be returned to the committee for further study;
and anyone may propose that a portion of a ROP or ROC be
returned to the wording in the previous edition of the
document, assuming there has been a change in that
portion of the document between the release of the ROP
and the release of the ROC. After the debate, the NFPA
membership votes to either approve, amend, return a
portion of the report to the committee, or return the
entire report to the committee. The technical committee
then votes on any amendments made at the NFPA annual
meeting.
Appeal Period
Anyone who is dissatisfied with action taken during
the codes and standards making process can file an
appeal to the Standards Council. Areas of appeals may
cover:
- the Standards Council's decision on whether a
certain document should be developed;
- the Association's action on a proposal Committee
Report at an NFPA meeting;
- the technical validity of fairness of a document
or part of a document; and
- the Council's decision on the appointment of a
nominee to a committee.
Notification of an intent to file an appeal must be
filed within 20 days of the debate that occurs at an
annual or association meeting.
Finally, the Standards Council considers all the
information that was presented, as well as the vote of
the membership and the disposition of any appeals and
decides whether or not to issue the document. If the
code or standard is approved, it is issued in the form
of a pamphlet and published in the appropriate volume of
the NFPA's National Fire Codes.
Codes and Standards Revisions
NFPA codes and standards are reviewed on a periodic
basis to keep current with new fire protection knowledge
and technologies. Many codes and standards are amended
to include safety lessons learned from significant
fires. For example, fatal nursing home fires and
boarding fires in the past 50 years have led to new
regulations for those types of occupancies. Any
revisions to a code or standard are made following the
same consensus-based process used in creating a
document.
Adoption of a Code or Standard
The legal procedure for adopting
a code or standard differs from one jurisdiction to
another. The easiest way to adopt the document is by
reference, a method requiring that the text of the law
or rule cite it by its title, without actually printing
the words into law.
When local laws do not allow adoption by reference, a
code or standard can be adopted by transcription. This
requires the entire text to be written into the law.
For example, NFPA codes and standards have been
referenced in the United States by federal agencies such
as Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the
Veteran's Administration, and the Department of Health
and Human Services.
The Impact of NFPA Codes and Standards
Implementation of NFPA codes and standards are seen
in many aspects of day-to-day life. The placement of
fire detectors and sprinklers, the design of building
exits, and the installation of electrical wiring are
just some of the areas influenced by NFPA fire codes and
standards. The adoption of these documents, along with
increased public awareness of fire safety practices, has
resulted in significant reductions in the loss of life
and property damage due to the effects of fire. By
continuing its history of an open, consensus-based codes
and standards making process, the NFPA can continue to
develop documents that are readily accepted and
implemented, thereby furthering its mission of making
the world safer from fire and related hazards.
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