CONSTITUTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL FIRE PROTECTION SECTION
(amended March 1999; March 2003, June 2010 by the NFPA Board of Directors)
ARTICLE I: NAME
1.1 The name of this organization shall be "Industrial Fire Protection Section" of the National Fire Protection Association.
ARTICLE II: ORGANIZATION
2.1 This organization shall be established and operated in compliance with Section 7.3 of the Bylaws of the National Fire Protection Association.
ARTICLE Ill: OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES
3.1 The objectives and purposes of the Industrial Fire Protection Section shall be:
(a) To unite for mutual professional benefit those employees of industrial and certain other properties engaged full or part-time in fire protection, fire prevention, or fire suppression.
(b) To act as a central agency for the exchange of information among its members.
(c) To advance the interests of industry in the field of fire protection, prevention, and suppression.
(d) To stimulate awareness, throughout industry, of the need for continually improving industrial fire programs.
(e) To provide and encourage its members to hold meetings, conferences, seminars, and such other forums as may be practicable for the exchange of information and the encouragement of professionalism among those responsible for implementing industrial fire programs.
(f) To encourage participation by its members on the Technical Committees of the Association, consistent with the Regulations Governing Committee Projects.
(g) To prepare for publication by the Association such educational materials as may be most practicable and suitable for broadening the understanding of industrial managements and their employees.
(h) To advance and encourage the development of improved fire protection equipment, devices, and methods of pooling experience and correlating the recommendations of its members.
(i) To encourage industry to specify and purchase fire protection equipment on the basis of quality and performance.
(j) To bring to the attention of its members such matters of legislation and regulation as would be of obvious interest.
(k) To promote cooperation between industrial and public fire fighting forces.
(I) To help industry achieve its primary goal of profitable operation by stimulating awareness of the total cost of fire.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP
4.1 A Member shall be any employee of an industrial property or properties, institutional property, commercial property, or similar entity who, on a full-time or part-time basis:
(a) is actively engaged in and directly responsible for the formulation of policies and procedures designed to provide fire protection for one or more plants (e.g., Director of Security, Safety Director, Director of Loss Prevention, Insurance Manager), or
(b) is directly responsible for a plant fire protection program (e.g., Plant Manager, Plant Engineer, Safety Engineer), or
(c) is directly responsible for the administration and implementation of fire protection policies and programs within a plant or plants (e.g., Plant Fire Chief, Plant Fire Protection Officer, Safety Supervisor).
4.2 A Member shall also be anyone, indirectly involved in the activities described in 4.1, who can demonstrate an interest in industrial fire programs (e.g., Insurance Engineers, Fire Service Officers).
4.3 Membership in the Industrial Fire Protection Section shall be contingent upon Membership in the National Fire Protection Association.
4.4 Each Member is entitled to one vote in the affairs of the Section. Section 5.3 hereof shall govern Executive Board voting.
4.5 There shall be no special dues or fees for Membership in the Industrial Fire Protection Section other than the regular dues for Membership in the National Fire Protection Association.
4.6 Distinguished Member may be conferred upon any section member who has made outstanding contributions to the objectives and purposes listed in Section 3.1, herein. Such membership status shall be granted upon affirmative vote by 2/3 of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
5.1 The officers of the Section shall be: Chairman; Vice Chairman; Executive Secretary.
5.2 The officers of the Section must be members of the Section as described in 4.1.
5.3 The Executive Board shall consist of the officers, the immediate past Chairman, if available, six Member Directors as described in 4.1, and three Member Directors as described in 4.2. All members of the Executive Board may vote in the Executive Board proceedings.
5.4 Officers shall serve for a term of one year or until their successors are elected. They shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms in any one elective office, except that the Executive Secretary may serve indefinitely.
5.5 The Executive Secretary shall be a member of the staff of the National Fire Protection Association whose service is authorized by the President of the Association and who serves the Section without voting privileges.
5.6 At least two Members (4.1) and one Affiliate Member (4.2) shall be elected annually to serve as Directors for a term of three years.
5.7 Vacancies in office may be filled by the Executive Board until the next election.
ARTICLE VI: CHAPTERS
6.1 Groups of members of the Industrial Fire Protection in individual geographical areas desiring to form a local chapter for purposes of discussion and advancement of the objectives of the Industrial Fire Protection Section may apply to the Executive Board for authority to organize a chapter. Applications for chapter status shall be accompanied by a list of the names of the members of the proposed chapter, a chapter constitution and bylaws, a list of provisional officers, and such other supporting data as the applicant may desire to submit. Once a chapter has been established, any amendment to its constitution or bylaws must be submitted to the Executive Board of the Industrial Fire Protection Section for approval.
6.2 Membership Grades:
(a) Chapter Member - Chapter Membership shall be open to any person holding membership in the Industrial Fire Protection Section.
(b) Chapter Affiliate Member - Chapter Affiliate Membership shall be open to personnel of fire departments, fire protection consultants, architects, insurance engineers, or personnel connected with the sale or manufacture of fire equipment.
(c) Chapter Honorary Member - Chapter Honorary Membership may be conferred upon any person who has contributed to the advancement of fire prevention, fire protection, or fire safety, and who is still interested, but no longer active.
6.3 Officers and Directors:
(a) The offices of President, Vice President, and at least 50% of the Directors shall be Chapter Members.
(b) The offices of Secretary, Treasurer, and not more than 50% of the Directors may be Chapter Affiliate Members. (Whether or not an Affiliate Member officeholder shall be required to be an NFPA member is to be left to the judgement of the Chapter Executive Committee.)
6.4 In addition to the provisions pertaining to the objectives and operation of the chapter, each chapter constitution shall include an indication of the area from which the chapter solicits membership and the minimum number of meetings to be held annually.
6.5 The Secretary of each chapter shall regularly submit to the Executive Secretary of the Industrial Fire Protection Section notices of meetings, minutes of meetings, and such other information as may be requested by the Executive Board of the Industrial Fire Protection Section. In addition, the Secretary of each chapter shall submit annually a list of chapter members to the Executive Secretary of the Section. Said list shall indicate those chapter members who are members of the Section.
6.6 Each chapter may assess nominal dues upon its members as it sees fit to cover expenses related to running the chapter, sending out notices and minutes, etc. Such dues shall be retained by the chapter.
6.7 No chapter shall incur financial obligations for which the Industrial Fire Protection Section or the National Fire Protection Association may be responsible without approval from the Executive Board of the Industrial Fire Protection Section and the National Fire Protection Association Executive Office, nor shall a chapter engage in any political activities or other activities inconsistent with the objectives and policies of the Industrial Fire Protection Section.
6.8 The Executive Board may, after due notice, disband any chapter which, in its opinion, does not meet the provisions of this article or for conduct inconsistent with the best interests of the Industrial Fire Protection Section.
ARTICLE VII: ANNUAL MEETING
7.1 The Annual Meeting of the Section shall be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the National Fire Protection Association.
7.2 Reports of officers and committees shall be made at the Annual Meeting.
7.3 Election of officers and Executive Board shall be held at the Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE VIII: PROCEDURES
8.1 In carrying out the objectives and purposes of the Section, the procedures followed shall be consistent with the policies of the National Fire Protection Association, as established in its Articles of Organization and by its Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IX: RATIFICATION
9.1 The Constitution and Bylaws of the Section shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association and shall be ratified by a majority of the Section voting at an Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS
10.1 A proposed amendment to the Constitution or Bylaws shall be submitted to the Executive Secretary in written form and signed by at least 30 voting members or shall be proposed by action of the Executive Board.
10.2 A proposed amendment shall be authorized by the Executive Board and submitted to a letter ballot of the membership within six months of authorization.
10.3 The adoption of an amendment shall require a vote in its favor of a majority of the votes cast and shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association.
ARTICLE XI: DISSOLUTION
11.1 The Industrial Fire Protection Section of the National Fire Protection Association may be dissolved only by action of the Board of Directors of the Association.
BYLAWS OF THE INDUSTRIAL FIRE PROTECTION SECTION
ARTICLE I: ADMINISTRATION
1.1 The administration of the Section shall be vested in the Executive Board. All actions of the Executive Board shall be subject to review and approval at the Annual Meeting of the Section. A majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE II: OFFICERS
2.1 It shall be the duty of the Chairman to preside at all meetings and to perform other duties usual to the office. He shall call meetings of the Section and of the Executive Board at his discretion or by request of three or more members of the Board. He may appoint special and standing committees, subject to approval of the Executive Board as occasion may require.
2.2 In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall exercise the powers and prerogative of the Chairman.
2.3 It shall be the duty of the Secretary to perform such secretarial duties as are not performed by the Executive Secretary and such other duties as may be directed by the Chairman or the Executive Board. In the absence of the Executive Secretary from any meeting, the Secretary shall record the minutes of the meeting and transmit them properly to the Executive Office.
2.4 It shall be the duty of the Executive Secretary to maintain a register of the members of the Section. He shall conduct such correspondence and shall issue such notices of meetings as may be required or directed by the Chairman or the Executive Board. He shall be responsible for and sole authorized to issue minutes or proceedings of meetings of the Section and of the Executive Board. He may publish periodically and distribute to members bulletins containing information of professional interest and value and recording significant developments in the affairs of the Section and its members.
ARTICLE Ill: MEETINGS
3.1 In addition to the Annual Meeting as provided in the Constitution, there shall be such meetings of the Section as may be authorized by the Executive Board.
3.2 Special meetings may be called by the Chairman at the request of a majority of the Executive Board or of twenty-five or more members.
3.3 Notice of meetings shall be sent to all members not less than thirty days in advance, stating the nature of business to be transacted. Business not on the agenda shall not be considered except by unanimous consent of members voting.
3.4 In order to transact business at any meeting of the Section, at least twenty-five members shall be present.
ARTICLE IV: NOMINATING COMMITTEE
4.1 There shall be a Nominating Committee consisting of six members. Three members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected by the Section at its Annual Meeting, and three appointed within ninety days after said Annual Meeting by the Executive Board. The Chairman of the Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Board from among the members of the Nominating Committee.
4.2 It shall be the duty of the Nominating Committee to report to the Executive Secretary of the Section at least sixty days before the Annual Meeting next after its election, a list of nominations for Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Secretary, members of the Executive Board, and members of the Nominating Committee, to be elected at the Annual Meeting. The Executive Secretary shall submit this list to all members promptly.
4.3 Other nominations signed by at least five members, and received by the Executive Secretary not less than thirty days before the Annual Meeting, shall also be submitted to all members before the Meeting. Other nominations not so received by the Executive Secretary shall not be considered.
ARTICLE V: RULES OF ORDER
5.1 The rules of parliamentary procedure as laid down in Roberts Rules of Order-Revised shall govern the meetings of the Section.
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