Earlier this year, the Model Codes Committee of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) began work on a code enforcement training and support program to help state and local code enforcement agencies improve the quality and effectiveness of their service.
With the unanimous support of the NASFM Directors, the program has been designed with these elements:
- Topics may be suggested by code officials or any interested party, but are then selected by the NASFM Model Codes Committee, which consists entirely of senior state fire code officials.
- Resource documents are created to educate stakeholders on the nature and extent of the risk being managed, the relevant codes and standards and other information which may be helpful to those required to comply or enforce the rules.
- The resource documents then are shared with interested parties who are encouraged to suggest improvements.
- The final document is placed on the NASFM website for code officials and other interested parties.
- The resource documents may be used as part of broader training packages by NASFM or participating agencies.
Numerous topics have been identified and several have been selected, including topics pertaining to the Green Buildings movement, alternative energy and significant trends in industry.
The trend toward greater use of plastics in pallets was among the first topics selected. A resource document, a draft Code Application Bulletin entitled "Pallet Fire Loading Impact on Sprinkler Design," was developed by NASFM Code Consultant Robert J. Davidson and reviewed by the NASFM Model Codes Committee.
A conference call to enable industry input to the draft resource document was scheduled for 3 p.m., Thursday, September 25. The call was postponed for logistical reasons. NASFM regrets any inconvenience this may have caused.
Further, the October 1, 2008, effective date that had previously been announced for incorporating this topic as a standard training module for state and local code enforcement officials has been postponed indefinitely.
The draft resource document is included in this mailing, along with all comments that have been received to date. The draft also has been posted on the NASFM website ( www.firemarshals.org) for public review and written comment by interested parties for a 90-day comment period. The comment period ends on December 29, 2008. All comments will be posted on the NASFM website.
