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My two cent worth
Posted by:
jgmcfps (IP Logged)
Date: October 24, 2006 03:17PM
First a published document does NOT have to be called a standard by its' publisher to be considered a "standard of care" by the courts. The courts has set out clear guidelines for what is necessary to be considered a "standard" See previous post by Lentinni.
Secondly, how NFPA classifies a document (code, standard, recommended practice, or guide) affects the type of language and writing style that is permitted to be used in the document. Documents classified by NFPA as codes and standards are written in legal language in a form suitable for adoption into law. These documents use words such as shall and must - mandating what must be done. Any advisory information must be contained in the Appendix and is not considered part of the document.
Recommended practices and guides use permissive language such as should. Many of the recommended practices and guides published by NFPA are considered to be industry standards for the subjects that they address. The provisions of a recommended practice or guide can also become mandatory is adopted by law by a govermental agency. As an example, an agency could adopt a law/regualation/rule that says that all pre incident planning must be done in accordance with the provisions of NFPA 1620 Recommended Practice on Pre Incident Planning. This effectively changes the "should" in the document to "shall".
The bottom line is you can call NFPA 921 a moose if you want, but the courts have clearly established that the document meets the requirements for a "standard of care"!
James G. Munger, PhD, FIFireE, CFPS
www.qdotengineering.com
W3NFA