Editing National Fire Protection Association

{{short description|International nonprofit organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo              = NFPA logo.svg
| type              = [[Nonprofit organization|Nonprofit]]
| footnotes         = 
| name              = National Fire Protection Association
| abbreviation      = NFPA
| founded_date      = {{start date and age|November 6, 1896}}<ref name="Freitag_Page_52">{{cite book |last1=Freitag |first1=Joseph Kendall |title=Fire Prevention and Fire Protection as Applied to Building Construction: A Handbook of Theory and Practice |date=1921 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=New York |page=52 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nW5YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52}}</ref>
| founder           = 
| headquarters      = [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| area_served       = Worldwide
| focus             = Industry standards, publications, conferences
| leader_title      = President and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]
| leader_name       = Jim Pauley<ref name="CEO">{{cite web |access-date=April 13, 2023 |title=NFPA Leadership |url=https://www.nfpa.org/About-NFPA/NFPA-leadership |website=National Fire Protection Association}}</ref>
| revenue           = 
| endowment         = 
| num_volunteers    = 9,000
| volunteers_year   = 2023
| num_members       = 50,000
| membership_year   = 2023
| homepage          = {{url|https://www.nfpa.org/|nfpa.org}}
}}
The '''National Fire Protection Association''' ('''NFPA''') is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property damage, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards.<ref name="CEO"/><ref>{{cite web |access-date=July 24, 2019 |title=National Fire Protection Association - NFPA |url=https://healthfinder.gov/FindServices/Organizations/Organization.aspx?code=HR0538 |website=Healthfinder.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, the NFPA claims to have 50,000 members and 9,000 volunteers working with the organization through its 250 technical committees.<ref name="Overview">{{cite web |access-date=April 13, 2023 |title=NFPA overview |url=https://www.nfpa.org/overview |website=National Fire Protection Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About NFPA |url=http://www.nfpa.org/about-nfpa |website=National Fire Protection Association |access-date=April 13, 2023}}</ref>

== History ==

In 1895, a Committee on Automatic Sprinkler Protection was formed in Massachusetts by men affiliated with several fire insurance companies and a pipe manufacturer to develop a uniform standard for the design and installation of [[fire sprinkler]] systems. At the time, there were nine such standards in effect within {{convert|100|miles}} of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], and such diversity was causing great difficulties for plumbers working in the [[New England]] region.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book | last1=Jones | first1=A. Maurice Jr. |title=Fire Protection Systems |date=2021 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=9781284180138 |page=22 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUuxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref>

The next year, the committee published its initial report on a uniform standard, and went on to form the NFPA in late 1896. The committee's initial report evolved into NFPA 13, ''Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems,'' the most widely used fire sprinkler standard.<ref name="Jones" />  

Around 1904, the NFPA began to expand its membership from affiliates of fire insurance companies to many other organizations and individuals, and also expanded its mission beyond promulgating fire sprinkler standards.<ref name="Jones" />

In 2024, the [[Grenfell Tower Inquiry]]'s final Phase 2 report noted that the NFPA's prescriptive approach to drafting its standards "reflects a conservative approach to [[fire safety]] which is embedded in North American culture" and the NFPA standards "allow little scope for independent design choices".<ref name="Moore-Bick_Page_220">{{cite book |last1=Moore-Bick |first1=Martin |last2=Akbor |first2=Ali |last3=Istephan |first3=Thouria |title=Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report of the Public Inquiry into the Fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, Vol. 7 |date=September 2024 |publisher=His Majesty’s Stationery Office |location=London |page=220 |url=https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/sites/default/files/CCS0923434692-004_GTI%20Phase%202%20Volume%207_BOOKMARKED.pdf}}</ref> The Inquiry found that it would be inappropriate to transpose the NFPA approach to fire safety into the British context where the functional approach has been prevalent for many decades, but also found that the UK could learn something from the American tradition that those persons "involved in the design, construction and inspection of buildings" must have a license or certification to establish a minimum level of competence in their field.<ref name="Moore-Bick_Page_220" />

== Codes and standards ==
<!--DO NOT LIST SPECIFIC NFPA CODES AND STANDARDS-->
The association publishes more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. The codes and standards are administered by more than 250 technical committees consisting of approximately 9,000 volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 13, 2023 |title=List of NFPA Codes and Standards |url=https://www.nfpa.org/Codes-and-Standards/All-Codes-and-Standards/List-of-Codes-and-Standards |website=National Fire Protection Association}}</ref>

==Mascot==
[[File:Sparky the fire dog visits children at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., during Fire Prevention Week hosted by the 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron Oct. 10, 2013 131010-F-IT851-004.jpg|thumb|Sparky the Fire Dog]]
'''Sparky the Fire Dog''' is the official mascot of the National Fire Protection Association. Created in 1951 to promote fire safety education for children,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sparky.org/about |title=Sparky |access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref><ref name=FS>{{cite web |url=https://flsamerica.com/blog/history-of-fire-safety-mascots-in-america/ |title=History of Fire Safety Mascots in America|website=Fire & Life Safety America |access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> he is a [[Dalmatian dog#In popular culture|Dalmatian]] dressed in firefighting gear.

A children's book about Sparky by [[Don Hoffman]] was published in 2011. He serves as the spokesdog for [[Fire Prevention Week]] each October in the United States and Canada.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.nfpa.org/}}
* [http://www.sparky.org Official website for Sparky the Fire Dog]
* [https://sparkyschoolhouse.org/ Child education resources]

{{Construction overview|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Electrical safety standards organizations]]
[[Category:Fire protection organizations]]
[[Category:Firefighting in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Occupational safety and health organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1896]]
[[Category:Quasi-public entities in the United States]]
[[Category:Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Standards organizations in the United States]]