Quincy, MA – The board of directors of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has appointed four new members to the Association’s Standards Council. They are: Kerry M. Bell, P.E., of Northbrook, IL; Lydia A. Butterworth, P.E., of Frederick, MD.; Ralph D. Gerdes, AIA, of Indianapolis, IN.; and Joseph M. Jardin, P.E., of Hauppauge, NY.
All appointments were effective January 1, 2005.
Bell, a principal engineer specializing in fire sprinkler and pump equipment for Underwriters Laboratories Inc. in Northbrook, IL, has been involved in UL’s testing and certification activities related to a variety of fire suppression products. He has authored numerous articles for fire protection trade journals, and serves on technical committees with the American Water Works Association; the National Fire Sprinkler Association; and NFPA, where he is currently a member of more than a dozen committees.
Butterworth is senior fire protection engineer for the Smithsonian Institution Office of Environmental Management and Safety in Washington, DC, where she assists in developing life safety and fire protection standards, criteria, policy and specifications for Smithsonian operations worldwide. She recently served on the Maryland State Fire Prevention Commission and the Maryland State Fire Code Update Committee, and is a current member of NFPA’s Technical Committee on Smoke Management Systems and past chair of the Technical Committee on Fire Safety Symbols.
Gerdes is an architect and founder of Ralph Gerdes Consultants, L.L.C., which provides building code and fire protection consulting services. He is the author of Planning and Designing the Office Environment (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981), and has frequently presented speeches on fire safety and building codes. His other professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. Gerdes is a current member on several NFPA committees, including the Technical Committee on Assembly Occupancies for NFPA 101 & 5000, both of which he chairs.
Jardin, a lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department, serves in Squad Company 252 of the department’s Special Operations Command, where he supervises fire department personnel during fire and emergency operations and training sessions. He formerly worked as a life safety engineer for NFPA, and is a current member on various NFPA technical committees, including the Building Code Technical Correlating Committee. He is a registered fire protection engineer in Connecticut.
The NFPA Standards Council comprises 13 individuals from a broad range of appropriate interests, and administers NFPA’s consensus codes and standards development activities, including issuance of documents. The Council works to assure that due process and fairness are upheld throughout the creation or revision of all NFPA codes and standards.
