Onward and Upward

NFPA 770 Hybrid Technical Committee Meets in Orlando March 8, 2017

The new NFPA technical committee on Hybrid (Water and Inert Gas) Fire Extinguishing Systems has gathered in Orlando, Florida for its fourth round of meeting beginning March 7 and concludes on March 9, 2017.

Looking to continue the development of  the new NFPA 770 Standard on Hybrid (Water and Inert Gas) Fire Extinguishing Systems, the committee welcomed principal and alternate members and several guests.  Chairman Jeff Harrington is leading the committee in the establishment of standards related to this fire-fighting technology that has been gaining marketplace acceptance for over the past 11 years.

At its December 2015  meeting, the NFPA Standards Council issued the following directive to the committee:

The Council considered the request of the Technical Committee on Hybrid (Water and Inert Gas) Fire Extinguishing Systems to revise the title and scope of the Technical Committee. After review of the material presented, the Council voted to deny the request of the Committee at this time. The Council notes the timing the request to change the scope of the Committee is premature and directs the Committee to continue drafting the document. Then, if necessary, the Committee can request Council revise the scope to reflect the drafted text of the document. The Council further cautions the Committee about removing the words “Fire Extinguishing” from the title of the Committee. The removal of these words will likely cause confusion as to what the Committee is authorized to address and were intentionally included to avoid this situation. In the present case, the Committee scope needs to address what the Committee does not cover to prevent overlap with other NFPA Committees’ responsibilities.

Standards Council Member James Golinveaux recused himself from the deliberations and vote on this issue.

The committee continues to work on its scope, and the standard at this meeting.  To learn more about the committee and its progress click here.