NFPA is an abbreviation for the National Fire Protection Association. It is a body whose aim is to safeguard lives by eliminating death or property loss caused by fire incidents. The NFPA Standard 25 is concerned with the inspection, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems or programs. These fire protection systems or rather programs include items like “sprinklers, standpipe and hose, fixed water spray, private fire hydrants, water mist, foam-water systems, water mains, fire pumps, water tanks, and control valves” (Willis, 2011). The components mentioned above have to be of a certain standard in order for them to be effective in fire protection and that is why there is the need for them to be inspected for their quality and to as well, be tested periodically, according to the system type and to their functionality, so that they can be maintained in case of any impairments. The NFPA Standard 25 is very important in several ways. One importance of the NFPA Standard 25 is that it ensures that fire protection systems will work as expected during emergencies (Willis, 2011) thus the need to have every component of the system readily available. It also ensures that the systems have followed best practices, according to the industry, meaning that they are of the right quality. The NFPA Standard 25 maintains a good record of fire or property losses, explaining the fact that it ensures there are no chances of fire occurrences due to inspection, testing, and maintenance of the systems. This thus brings the advantage of having a good fire or property loss record that is, insurance premiums going lower due to a smooth relationship between the insurance company and the client. There are legislative government fire codes that need the strict following at different levels like federal, state, provincial, and city or municipal. The NFPA Standard 25 ensures the implementation of these codes effectively (Willis, 2011). Another importance of NFPA is that it ensures that people conducting the inspecting, testing, and maintenance of fire protection systems are conversant with their work such that they comply with all the requirements. This thus calls for owners to make sure that they consult the right authorities. The NFPA Standard 25 influences fire protection and firefighter safety positively in several ways, which I am going to outline below. For fire protection, the NFPA Standard 25 helps people in charge of properties, managers, inspectors, and service providers to work together to maximize fire protection (NFPA, 2017). This is effective in that all the people mentioned have different roles, but end up playing their part and incorporating others all to ensure the provision of maximum fire protection. Maintenance of systems helps save lives thus the firefighter’s safety is catered for. We can also point out that maintenance is less costly in that it is cheaper to maintain systems other than replacing thus maintenance saves the owners of properties a great deal. The NFPA Standard 25 also has regulations of what needs action in case of any impairments of the system (Koffel, 2012). The regulations include a measure like evacuating a building, which aims at saving lives. In conclusion, it is clear that for a fire protection system to be effective, it needs to be in line with the NFPA Standard 25. The benefits are many and very important since there is the saving of lives and protection from property losses brought about by fire.
References
Koffel, W. E. (June 2012). NFPA 25: STANDARD FOR THE INSPECTION, TESTING, AND MAINTENANCE OF WATER-BASED FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS. Koffel Associates.
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NFPA. (2017). NFPA 25: Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. NFPA.
Willis. (February 2011). FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM INSPECTION, TESTING AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. Willis.
