Aimed at increasing firefighter participation in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards-making process, the organization this week announced its launch of a new campaign, “NFPA Standards: Your Voice Matters,” which actively works to increase fire service participation in its standards-making process.
“While the initiative emphasizes the importance of firefighters’ input on the 100-plus NFPA codes and standards that directly affect them, NFPA has created an online platform that makes involvement in its standards-making process quicker and easier than ever; participation is completely free,” the group said in its announcement.
“NFPA’s standards directly impact the way firefighters do their jobs each and every day, from the equipment and apparatus they use and wear on the fire ground to the procedures they follow when fighting a fire, just to name a few examples,” said Ken Willette, NFPA’s divisional manager of public fire protection. “That’s why their input and feedback is so important.”
“If one of NFPA’s standards has requirements that make firefighters’ jobs more challenging or doesn’t help them do their work in the most effective way, we want and need to know about it,” Willette added.
NFPA said its “Standards in Action campaign largely comes as the result of an NFPA survey, which showed that most firefighters either don’t know how to get involved in NFPA’s standards-making process or don’t think their voices will be heard. According to the survey results, 86 percent of the respondents had never participated in NFPA’s codes and standards process. Meanwhile, 75 percent said they’d like to know more about how the standards process works, while 81 percent said they’d like to be notified on deadlines for input and comments.”
“Letting the fire service know that we truly want their input and feedback on our standards is a priority, and we need to make the process as easy and straightforward for them as possible,” Willette said, noting, “That’s what the Standards in Action campaign is all about.”
Along with the launch of a new web page dedicated to streamlining and simplifying the process for firefighters to provide public input and comment on NFPA standards in the revision cycle, NFPA said it “will be more consistently reaching out to the fire service through social media and other communications outreach efforts to make sure they’re aware of opportunities to participate in our standards as they arise. The campaign also works to encourage firefighters to get involved in NFPA standards in other ways, such as participating in committee meetings.”
NFPA offers many training and educational opportunities, including its annual conference & expo, which this year will be held in Chicago June 22-25, as well as seminars, webinars, online learning and certifications. For more on NFPA’s training and educational offerings, visit its online events calendar for a full list.
