NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 8

NFPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
First Word
by Jim Pauley
NFPA President
A World Without Standards
L
ast month, as part of a
presentation I gave at an
industry conference, I posed
a thought-provoking question
to the audience: what would
the world look like without standards?
Think about it. Just about everything you
do every day is impacted in some way by
standards. You don't have to walk too far in
your home, neighborhood, workspace, or
any other place you frequent without being
safer because of a standard designed to
address fire, life safety, or electrical hazards.
I can sleep on the 68th floor of a hotel
and feel comfortable that I am safe. But
what if there were no standards? In that
case, I'm simply hoping that the thousands
of design and construction decisions that
were made when the hotel was built were
made with my safety in mind rather than as
part of an effort to reduce costs. I might very
well ask for a first-floor room. Without standards,
the decisions to include sprinklers,
smoke alarms, exit signs, and much more
would be left to the discretion of someone
else. Safety considerations would likely be
inconsistently applied, if applied at all. The
same goes for every other type of building.
Without codes and standards, what would
the plan review and building acceptance
process look like? How would an authority
having jurisdiction perform a plan review
without a recognized standard as the backdrop?
Would there even be a formal review
process? How would contractors make
8 | NFPA JOURNAL * WINTER 202 1
design decisions? What would an errors and
omissions policy look like?
Imagine the issues faced by responders.
What happens when firefighters show up
at a fire but can't access water because the
hose doesn't fit the hydrant? What happens
if their apparatus is built with thousands of
components chosen by individual purchasing
agents without any knowledge of what
is needed?
A world without codes and standards
would be dangerously complex.
Without standards, how
would an AHJ perform
a plan review? Would
there even be a formal
review process?
As an NFPA member you know this, but
the public and policymakers often don't.
They expect to be safe in these places without
really knowing how safety happens.
That's why it's up to all of us to not only
play our roles in the standards process, but
also to be more vocal and consistent in our
efforts to educate others about its value.
Clear and consistent communication is key
to ensuring that this system-one that has
made the world safer for more than 125
years-endures well into the future.
OFFICERS
Amy R. Acton, Chair
The Phoenix Society for
Burn Survivors, Inc.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
James Pauley, President
President and CEO, NFPA
Quincy, Massachusetts
Russell B. Leavitt, First Vice Chair
Telgian Corp.
Tempe, Arizona
R. David Paulison, Second Vice Chair
Global Emergency Solutions
Davie, Florida
John D. Bonney, Secretary
Alendi Consulting Ltd.
Ropley, United Kingdom
Donald R. Cook, Assistant Secretary
Shelby County Department of
Development Services
Pelham, Alabama
Kwame Cooper, Assistant Secretary
Los Angeles Fire Department, retired
Los Angeles, California
Roger W. Montembeault, Treasurer
The Montembeault Group, Inc.
Tampa, Florida
Michael Wallace, Assistant Treasurer
West Palm Beach, Florida
Keith E. Williams,
Immediate Past Chair
Underwriters Laboratories, retired
Northbrook, Illinois
*Sally P. Everett, Assistant Secretary
Secretary of the Corporation, NFPA
Quincy, Massachusetts
*Paul DeFronzo, Staff Officer
Chief Financial Officer, NFPA
Quincy, Massachusetts
Terms Expire 2022
Hatem Kheir (deceased 2021)
Kheir Group
Cairo, Egypt
Patrick J. Morrison
International Association
of Fire Fighters
Washington, DC
Teresa L. Deloach Reed
Oakland Fire Department, retired
Oakland, California
Stacy N. Welch
Marriott International
Bethesda, Maryland
Term Expires 2023
Dr. Denis Onieal
US Fire Administration,
Federal Emergency
Management Agency, retired
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Terms Expire 2024
Raj Arora
Jensen Hughes
Baltimore, Maryland
Brion Callori
FM Global
Johnston, Rhode Island
Reginald D. Freeman
Oakland Fire Department
Oakland, California
William J. Fries
Department of Defense
Washington, DC
Louis Paulson
California Professional Firefighters
Walnut Creek, California
*Not a board member
NFPA

NFPA Journal - Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Winter 2021

Contents
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 1
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 2
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 3
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 4
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 5
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - Contents
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 7
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 8
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 9
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 10
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 11
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 12
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 13
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 14
NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - 15
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NFPA Journal - Winter 2021 - Cover3
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