First, I must applaud those involved in the development of this document. Their effort to improve our profession through this document is outstanding. I will offer some advice to the members of the committee. Do not have thin skin when it comes to the comments you will hear from those not in favor of this document. I still remember comments directed to the original committee members of NFPA 921. Yes, some of the negative comment got personal.

I believe there will be the same resistance to this standard as there was to NFPA 1500. Let’s look at some of the first comments to NFPA 1500.

“People were shocked. Their thinking was, ‘A group of idiots got together in a hotel room and now they’re telling us we can’t do this or that any longer.’ We were violating a lot of traditional practices in the fire service that had been there for 200 years.”
“I can’t tell you how many people told us this would be the end of the American fire service, that they wouldn’t be able to do business if NFPA 1500 was adopted.”
“One of the biggest concerns was what the financial impact would be. Along with that was the concern that non-compliance could lead to liability, that departments would be sued constantly by the public if they didn’t meet every part of NFPA 1500.”
“There was concern about if NFPA 1500 might impact operations or prevent us from doing our job and saving lives. The answer was obviously no.”
Over the decades NFPA 1500 has been accepted by most of the fire service.

Each of the above comments were the same comments made about NFPA 921.

Where I see a problem with the public agency compliance with the standard is when it comes to cost on implementing the requirements of the standard and requirements that are beyond the ability of the agency to implement.
Because the standard strictly put the responsibility on the FIU for compliance, when in most cases these units do not have the authority to force compliance, the FIU will be considered to have failed to comply with the standard. Words matter. Throughout the document it states, “The FIU shall”. I have yet to see a FIU that has the ability to set its own budget, financial system, or selection of vendors. There need to be some wording that transfers these requirements to other department of the government. The same is true when it comes to employee health records.

All the tasks required by the standard are tasks that are needed. The question is who has the responsibility to implement the requirements.

Remember, the larger audience for this standard is governmental agencies. In 2003, NFPA published their own building code. Governmental agencies for years have been using the International Building Codes.
The International Code Council’s International Building Code (IBC) is in use or adopted in all 50 states. NFPA 5000: Building Construction and Safety Code—is only used by reference in 7 states.
This is an example what takes place if the standard is written in such a way to put added requirements that is not accepted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction.

I wish the committee members and am hoping this document evolves overtime as did NFPA 921.

Jim Mazerat
Forensic Investigations Group