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Re: National Fire Codes - Authoritative?
Posted by:
Jim Mazerat (IP Logged)
Date: March 10, 2007 12:15AM
Pat:
I know I am not Dave answering the question, but maybe this will help.
The acceptance of a book or document as being authoritative is a personal decision based on supporting documentation. In using the NFPA Fire Codes one needs to consider the general acceptance of the term or word "Authoritative" and how it is being used as compared to the intent of the publisher of the book or document. Where the entire document may not be considered as authoritative by a person, there is the possibility section(s) of the text out of the same document can be considered by that person to be authoritative.
If one is to look at the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Thesaurus under the word “authoritative” one would find the function of this word is as a adjective with the text being: 1 being the most accurate and apparently thorough <this book is considered the most authoritative source on that subject.
Now you compare this to the statement published in each of the documents considered to be the National Fire Code. “While the NFPA administers the process and establishes rules to promote fairness in the development of consensus, it does not independently test, evaluate, or verify the accuracy of any information or the soundness of any judgments contained in its codes or standards.” “The NFPA makes no guaranty or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.”
Can anyone see a conflict in what these two statements are saying when comparing, “being the most accurate and apparently thorough” and “makes no guaranty or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness”?
This is were some may be coming from when not blankly accepting a specific document(s) as being "Authoritative."