The state of Hawaii has adopted National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1, Fire Code, as the state fire code for the first time. Its adoption of the code took effect as of January 1, 2010.
The decision to adopt the NFPA fire code rested with the State Fire Council, which is comprised of the Fire Chiefs from the four County Fire Departments, whose members are Chief Ken Silva (Honolulu Fire Department), Chief Darryl Oliviera (Hawaii County Fire Department), Chief Bob Westerman (Kauai Fire Department, and Chief Jeff Murray (Maui Fire Department).
“We are very pleased that NFPA 1 has been adopted in Hawaii. It will be truly beneficial in helping us to ensure that all citizens of our state are better protected from the dangers caused by fires and explosions,” said Chief Ken Silva, Chair of the Hawaii State Fire Council.
In order to assist the State Fire Council in the adoption, NFPA provided staff assistance by facilitating meetings of the Council’s Fire Prevention Committee which is comprised of members of the fire prevention bureaus of the four county fire departments. In these meetings, the Fire Prevention Committee members spent many hours reviewing the entire code and determining amendments, based on enforcement authority, and other state and county statutes.
State Fire Council Administrator and Honolulu Fire Department Battalion Chief Socrates Bratakos said “The support that NFPA provided for this adoption effort is unprecedented. It allowed our staff to concentrate on the technical provisions and amendments, while the NFPA staff took care of secretarial duties. The result was the best fire code for the state.”
NFPA 1 provides reasonable fire safety and property protection requirements to protect against risks associated with fires and explosions. It outlines inspection requirements for buildings, processes, equipment, and other significant aspects that affect fire and life safety situations. The code provides guidelines on construction, specifications, and maintenance of fire protection systems. It also establishes necessary fire and life safety education for fire departments and the general public. This code primarily focuses on basic ways to ensure fire prevention, and references or extracts key fire prevention and protection components of many of the other NFPA codes and standards.
Hawaii will receive complimentary training on NFPA 1 in June, through programs developed by NFPA. The programs are offered free to states that have adopted major NFPA codes and standards. These trainings, provided by NFPA technical experts, cover the codes’ requirements and the numerous ways they can be utilized and enforced.
