NFPA Journal

You’ve heard me say over the past few years that NFPA is striving to be more global, more connected, and more digital. As a mission-based organization, it is incumbent upon us to provide you with the tools you need to ensure that people and property everywhere are protected from harm. That’s why we have focused on several projects that will help us apply these exciting new approaches with greater intensity, and allow us to deliver information to you in the ways you need it and want it.

We recently hired regional representatives to oversee planning and support in two especially active parts of the world. Anas Alzaid, based in Saudi Arabia, will oversee efforts in the Middle East and North Africa, and Jaime Gutierrez, based in Mexico, will provide Latin America with the support it needs to expand the impact of NFPA in fire and life safety expertise. Both representatives will collaborate with public and private entities to assess local safety concerns, cultivate strong alliances, implement strategies with new and existing stakeholders, and represent NFPA in regulatory, legislative, and technical circles. 

We are pushing forward with new standards that meet the evolving needs of users, including an exciting effort underway to develop the first standard for remote virtual inspection, or RVI. NFPA 915, Standard for Remote Inspections, is in the early stages of development and can’t come soon enough for those in code enforcement, building and life safety, and the trades. [For more on RVI, see the “Are You Seeing This?” feature in the July/August issue of NFPA Journal]

In addition to codes and standards development, we are pursuing opportunities for advancing safety through training and certification, outreach and advocacy, top-notch research, and rich, related content. We are delivering this information in new and more digitally focused ways.

Finally, we are making progress in our communication of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™, the essential framework that will enhance global fire and life safety. The NFPA Fire & Life Safety Policy Institute will soon release an assessment tool to help individuals and entities determine their place in the ecosystem, a critical step to help them identify their roles, fill gaps, and strengthen their connections to related aspects of the ecosystem.

In these times of uncertainty, please know we are working hard to serve your needs and develop the information you need to do your jobs. We wish you good health and safety.