On December 10 and 11, 2008, the Public Fire Protection Division hosted the first PFP Technical Committee Chair Forum at NFPA Headquarters in Quincy. Thirty-two of the 45 PFP chairs attended the event. The forum was an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and best practices among the leaders of the technical committees that develop standards for the fire service.
On December 10 and 11, 2008, the Public Fire Protection Division hosted the first PFP Technical Committee Chair Forum at NFPA Headquarters in Quincy. Thirty-two of the 45 PFP chairs attended the event. The forum was an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and best practices among the leaders of the technical committees that develop standards for the fire service.
The program consisted of presentations and discussions on a variety of important topics, including meeting management, legal concerns related to standards development, resources available to committees for research, and new technology for web based meetings.
The forum was the idea of Carl Peterson, who served as master of ceremonies. Throughout the proceedings four themes were emphasized:
• Work together to develop standards that are consistent and complementary
• Utilize technology to work smarter not harder
• Recognize problems early and get support
• Use hard data and research to drive standards
The state of the economy came to predominate several discussions, as many pondered the impact that the recession may have on committee meeting attendance. Presentations were made by Vice President and Chief Engineer Chris Dubay, Secretary to the Standards Council Amy Spencer, General Counsel Maureen Brodoff, Casey Grant of the Fire Protection Research Foundation, Rita Fahey of NFPAs data analysis division, Sue Marsh from the NFPA Library, and Rick Sterling and Cathy Brown from the NFPA IT division.
The feedback from the sessions made it clear that the attendees gained much from the forum, and believed that similar forums should be held every second or third year.
We continue to receive positive feedback on the Forum. We know it is a hectic time of year and we'd like to thank all the attendees for their time and participation.
Stacey
Posted by: Stacey VanZandt | December 17, 2008 at 12:24 PM