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• Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes Web site
• NFPA Regional Fire Code Development Committees
• USFA fire prevention Web page

IFMA Welcomes Chapter 28
IFMA would like ot welcome the California Fire Chiefs, Fire Prevention Officers Section Northern Division as IFMA chapter 28.

2008 Nominating Committee report
The nominating committee, which consists of Chairman Scott Adams, John Robison, and Ron Farr, has submitted the 2008 Nominating Committee Report. Nominees are:

• President: Jimmy Hill
• First Vice-President: Ed Altizer
• Second Vice-President: R.T. Leicht
• Secretary: Steve Peavey
• Board Member, term expiring in 2010: Gary Santoro of Wethersfield, Connecticut and Ken Tyree of Charleston, West Virginia
• Board Member, term expiring in 2009: Jeff Donahue of Polk County, Oregon, Fire District Number 1

Other candidates other may be nominated by petition of 10 NFPA members, provided the Executive Secretary receives the petitions no less than 5 and no more than 45 days after publication of the Nominating Committee's nominations. All nominees for office must be NFPA members.

The business meeting will take place on June 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

From the members
Preserve Chapter 7 of NFPA 1124 to help keep our communities safe
by John Robison

With over 44 years of experience within the fire protection industry and as a former Fire Marshal for the state of Alabama, my personal passion and experience lies in the safety and protection of our public and our community from the danger and damage that can be caused by fires. The issue of fireworks and their legal status across the United States, and especially in the Southeast, is a topic that has raised disagreement and much discussion among the firefighting community and the community at large in years past. But, it is an issue that we are beyond. Fireworks have been legalized in 44 states and in thousands of districts. It is time that we come to accept that fireworks and sparklers have been made legal for consumers, and turn our attention to the safety guidelines and proper use of fireworks and sparklers to protect those who choose to purchase them.

This topic has been reignited with new vigor due to the recent proposed actions by the Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  In a recent Council meeting on Oct. 1, 2007, the Council announced the following proposed actions:

1. Revising the scope of the Technical Committee on Pyrotechnics (TC), which is responsible for NFPA 1124, so that it no longer covers the retail sale of consumer fireworks, and
2. Taking steps to revise the scope of NFPA 1124 to exclude the retail sales of consumer fireworks, and to delete Chapter 7 from NFPA 1124.

These actions are a result of a study that was commissioned by the Fire Protection Research Foundation, and the actions will be decided upon on June 2, 2008.  If it is decided to approve these actions, the NFPA would eliminate any safety guidelines and standards for the retail sale of legal sparklers and fireworks.

The NFPA’s mission is to “reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education,” which includes assisting local jurisdictions with helpful and recommended safety standards and guidelines. With the removal of Chapter 7, the NFPA would no longer provide assistance for safety guidelines or national standards for cities and states who allow the retail sales of fireworks, therefore it would be up to the individual state, county or city to come up with their own standards. State and local jurisdictions across the nation currently adopt NFPA standards and implement them within their own jurisdictions. Removing Chapter 7 would propagate conflicting environments from jurisdiction to jurisdiction based on home-spun recommendations and guidelines.

Now, this recommendation is not to be confused with the legality of approving or disapproving the sale of fireworks in the retail market. The NFPA does not have the authority to demand a state to ban its sales of fireworks, so this does not alter the legalization of fireworks.  The question is not whether the retail sale of consumer fireworks should or should not be legal because it is up to state governments to decide – the question we should be asking ourselves is should fire officials, who are trained with the proper expertise of advising and implementing guidelines for the public’s safety, provide the safety guidelines and recommendations to jurisdictions who are in need? This does not call for giving up our own convictions of whether or not we agree with the use of consumer fireworks. On the other hand, if we choose to abandon our responsibilities for providing public safety information and education regarding this matter, we are ignoring the fact that the public is going to be exposed to fireworks any way. What will we say if something bad happens, and we knew we had the knowledge to prevent it but stood by and did nothing?

We need to be doing everything we can to create national standards of care for our public safety. The protection of our public is what the NFPA codes and standards are here for, and we need to continue and keep Chapter 7 of NFPA 1124 in existence. There should be tremendous support from the NFPA to study and test how fireworks can be safely packaged, stored and used by consumers. We have the resources, knowledge and the mechanisms to create recommendations for our local jurisdictions that are vitally important in protecting the public, and that is our purpose. By removing Chapter 7, we are creating a situation in which local enforcers would have a difficult time creating educated and responsible safety guidelines as different jurisdictions are led by individuals with conflicting levels of experience.

We must encourage and create safety guidelines to be adhered to, created by the most informed and educated individuals in our profession – those with different but knowledgeable interests and backgrounds that can help by recommending guidelines published by the NFPA to be adopted by states, counties, and cities for their citizens.

We as fire officials, fire fighters and members of the public need to let the NFPA know that Chapter 7 of NFPA 1124 should not be abolished but instead nurtured and expanded in a regular manner as other NFPA code sections are. Without your voice, NFPA will likely abolish Chapter 7 based on the recommendation they have received from the Technical Committee. The Council will be holding a public hearing regarding this matter on Monday, June 2, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in conjunction with the NFPA’s World Safety Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas. The Council will also be accepting and considering written submissions received by the NFPA by Friday, May 9, 2008.  I encourage you to please join me in supporting the preservation of Chapter 7 of NFPA 1124 to help keep our communities safe and informed through a national standard of safety for all.

John Robison is a former State Fire Marshal for Alabama and can be reached at (334) 657-0740.

NFPA World Safety Congress & Exposition®
IFMA has a busy schedule at NFPA’s 2008 World Safety Congress & Exhibition  in Las Vegas from June 1 to 6. On Sunday and Monday, the chapter presidents will meet. On Tuesday, we will open our hospitality room, and on Wednesday, we will hold our business meeting. Throughout the week, educational seminars will be offered. Please stop by the booth during exhibit hours. See the conference schedule and Quarterly for times and locations.

Professional development
Anyone interested in attending or sponsoring a program may contact Section Executive Secretary Steven F. Sawyer at +1 617 984-7423.