ICC and NFPA join in International Fire Code process
The International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) entered into an agreement in March, under which they will jointly develop and produce the International Fire Code (IFC). The International Fire Code Council, in the process of being formed, will coordinate the International Fire Code activities.
Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) International Inc., the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) are also parties to the agreement. These organizations will name representatives to serve on the joint committee and participate in developing the code. Representatives of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Fire Marshals Association of North America, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, the Metro Fire Chiefs, and the Canadian Division of the International Association of Fire Chiefs have also been asked to serve on the Code Council.
The code development process will include processing the code and code change proposals through the ICC Rules of Procedure for Code Development and the NFPA Regulations Governing Committee Projects. Provisions approved by the eligible voters of code enforcers in the ICC process and the NFPA Standards Council will form the code`s content. The IFC will be coordinated with other ICC International Codes so that its content will not conflict with the scope of the International Building Code, other ICC codes, or NFPA standards.
According to BOCA President Henry Green, the “agreement enables the ICC to complete the family of International Codes by the year 2000 with the cooperation and participation of affected interests.” He noted also that the “agreement coordinates that which appears to be two different processes: code development and standard development. The integrity of the democratic code development process as practiced by the model code organizations combined with the front-line, wide-based input of the industry interests as made available by NFPA will prove to enhance the acceptance and the authority of the International Fire Code.”
BOCA will serve as the secretariat for the development process through the first edition, ICBO for the Performance Committee effort, and the NFPA for the second edition.
Additional information may be obtained from BOCA International at (708) 799-2300, fax: (708) 799-4981, e-mail: boca@bocai.org.
