Many EHS professionals working in industry understand their obligations for adherence to applicable environmental and occupational safety and health regulations, but may rely on their Facilities or Maintenance departments or their property underwriter to ensure compliance with Fire Codes. That may not be a sound risk management strategy. Beyond addressing the design and construction of the physical plant or fire protection and extinguishing systems, Fire Codes impinge on a wide range of safety issues such as:
- storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials such as corrosives, oxidizers, toxics, flammable/combustible liquids, flammable solids, and combustible dust;
- production and maintenance activities such as spraying/dipping/coating using flammable and combustible liquids, welding/hot work, and refueling;
- stationary battery systems; and
- emergency evacuation and drills.
Many of these issues overlap to some degree with federal OSHA regulations, but the Fire Codes are typically more prescriptive than OSHA requirements. The two primary Fire Code standards used in the United States are the International Fire Code (IFC) and NFPA 1 Fire Code. Almost all states have adopted one or the other, frequently with state-specific modifications. The complexity of Fire Codes is compounded by the fact that each of the primary standards (IFC and NFPA) draws upon literally hundreds of other standards that are either extracted or incorporated by reference.
If youd like to get more familiar with Fire Codes, please join us for our free webinar A Fire Code Primer.
Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/529221186
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.