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NFPA’s reputation for professional integrity

In October, I was the keynote speaker at China Fire 2004 in Beijing, where I discussed our codes and standards. This meeting, which is held every two years, brings together leaders in fire protection and the fire service from China and from all over Asia. I also signed, on behalf of NFPA, an agreement with China’s National Technical Committee for Fire Protection Standardization that will result in the translation of more than 30 NFPA codes and standards into Chinese.

A week later, I went to Buenos Aires to inaugurate NFPA’s new Argentinian chapter meeting dedicated life-safety professionals from Argentina and throughout Latin America. Together with the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, our chapter in Argentina joins those in Mexico and Colombia. And in response to Latin America’s demand for our information, we are quickly moving ahead with the Spanish translation of NFPA codes and standards.

You already know that NFPA is an international organization. We produce codes and standards that are used globally, and our influence in other countries is growing. I also want you to know why those working so hard to make their countries safer want to associate themselves with NFPA. They want to use our codes and standards and to avail themselves of our educational opportunities because of our reputation for integrity.

In China, I spoke with a senior member of the fire service. He told me that many years ago, when he was a fire chief in a city far from Beijing, he needed an answer to a technical question involving fire protection in a local factory. He was unsure where to get the information, but found the answer in an NFPA handbook. He had learned through his career what NFPA was, and he knew that our information was reliable.

NFPA is influential in the United States and Canada, but in recent years, we have seen our influence expand to new places. International leaders in fire safety follow what we have to say because we bring together knowledgeable people to tackle problems in a balanced, open, and transparent process. Nobody gets to rig the game. Anybody who is unhappy with the result can appeal. Decisions are made on the technical merits of the issues.

Around the world, even where there is not always a detailed understanding of how our process works, there is an understanding that NFPA’s code and standards are the product of an honest process committed to achieving consensus on the right answers to fire-safety problems.

I have written before about the Internet’s threat to NFPA. We are concerned that the ability to rapidly disseminate our information will erode our revenue base. But we also see the Internet as a fantastic way of fulfilling our mission. After all, our mission is all about getting important life-saving information into the hands of those who can put it to use.

The Internet has already provided NFPA with the means for people who can’t attend our meetings or participate on our technical committees to learn more about who we are and how we operate. They can follow our process as documents are developed. They can submit comments and proposals in a timely fashion, and they can join a community committed to the same safety mission.

It’s clear that the more people who are given the opportunity to witness our process, the more NFPA will be recognized for its professional integrity. And everything we do to advance NFPA’s safety mission, from the promotion of our codes and standards to our professional development and public education programs, depends on maintaining that reputation in everything we do.