The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a US association in charge of the generation and maintenance of the minimum required standards and requirements in regards prevention and fire extinction, training and equipment, as well as life safety codes and standards. These includes from construction codes through firemen protection equipments. NFPA regulations have as central objective to protect people, property and the environment.
The NFPA was founded on 1896 by a group of insurance firms representatives with the purpose of standardize the fire sprinkler market. NFPA objective grew to include electric construction materials specifications, as well as other design aspects, construction, architecture and engineering. In 1904 other industries and individuals were allowed to participate actively on the NFPA standards development.
The NFPA has it’s headquarters in Quincy Massachusetts, US, and currently covers development and maintenance of more than 300 codes and standards; with a group of more than 6,000 volunteers representing fire protection services, insurance companies, general industry, government and general consumers. Must of the cities in the world, specially US ones, include NFPA codes as a part of their local construction and operation laws. Nonetheless it is included within law or not, worldwide NFPA normative is accepted as a professional standard and a solid reference for fire protection.
The NFPA is the main source of development and spreading of fire protection and life safety knowledge. The system to develop codes and normative within NFPA is an open process based on consensus produced from the must referenced documentary materials in the fire protection industry, including National Electric Code, Life Safety Code, Fire Prevention Code and National Fire Alarm Code. The NFPA is leader on fire protection and life safety educational programs promotion. NFPA publications have been translated into several languages around the world. More than 75,000 members integrated it’s global network.