The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) is a global nonprofit organization that promotes fire safety through more than 300 consensus codes and standards. These standards are used as a basis for safety regulations by government agencies and other private companies. Virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation in society today is affected by NFPA documents.
Circle Security Solutions is your local fire code compliance expert. To demystify some of the jargon, we’ve simplified the new 2018 editional of the Life Safety Code for you.
2018 Changes to NFPA Life Safety Code®
Changes to the 2018 edition of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®, which is adopted by the Florida Fire Prevention Code (FFPC) 2017, added safety provisions to address vastly expanding technology and the increasing severity of dangerous events happening in today’s world.
Some important changes to the Life Safety Code are:
- New testing requirements for life safety and integrated fire protection services
- Additional requirements for hazardous materials protection
- Increased requirements for mass notification systems
- Added door-locking criteria to prevent unauthorized entry to educational, day care and business occupancies
- New section for carbon monoxide (CO) detection
Additionally, language changes have been proposed. These changes include shifting from the very specific “Fire Safety Control Functions” to the broader “Emergency Control Functions.”
NFPA Provisions for Active Shooter Events
For only the second time in history, NFPA has authorized—and fast-tracked—a provisional standard in response to increasing active shooter events.
National Fire Protection Agency headquarters established the groundbreaking provisional standard NFPA 3000 to address the numbers of hostile events and mass killings that continue to rise in the United States. While this standard has not been adopted by Florida as of yet, it was spurred by events that have occured within state lines.
NFPA standards are developed in response to a serious life safety concern. The US has seen increasingly deadly occurrences of mass shootings in recent years. NFPA president Jim Pauley explains, “Hostile events are happening with greater frequency and ferocity today. It’s critical that we take steps to protect people from this increasing threat. By employing the unified response outlined in NFPA 3000, first responders, facility managers, hospital officials, and community members can minimize risk before, during and after these devastating incidents.”
Pauley added, “We were clearly hearing the need for such a standard from those on the frontlines. Through this process, we are able to respond quickly to provide a critical body of knowledge to those who are faced with such horrendous events, ultimately making them and the public safer.”
NFPA 3000 focuses on civilian and responder safety through response and recovery benchmarks and focusing on integrated protocol and establishing preparedness.
Circle Security Solutions ensures your business remains fire code compliant throughout installation, and annually with thorough inspections. If you want to make sure your business is currently up to code, contact us today!
