Fire & Life Safety Code Trends in the Middle East

Drew C. Azzara Executive Director, Middle-East & Northern Africa NFPA Civil Defense Symposium & Expo Muscat, Oman March 4, 2014

Key Points: – NFPA Brief – Adopting fire & life safety codes, standards, and leadership

– Building code trends in the region – Effective conformity programs for implementation – Training & building a professional development plan – Enhancing safety and the quality of life for Oman

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1896.

The mission of NFPA is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

 More than 70,000 members

 Members from 100 countries  Over 300 employees

 HQ in the Boston area, USA

 Buildings

 Designs

 Processes

 Installations

 Services

 Maintenance

Industry standard for installation of sprinkler systems, which reduce injury, death, and property loss

The National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, the leading document for the installation of fire alarm systems

The Life Safety Code®, establishes minimum requirements for new and existing buildings to protect building occupants from fire

As part of its commitment to enhancing public safety, NFPA provides free access to its codes and standards. NFPA is committed to serving the public's increasing interest in technical information, and free access to these key codes is a valuable resource. To read a current edition of any NFPA code or standard, simply sign in at nfpa.org/freeaccess

Adopting Fire & Life Safety Codes and Standards  Highest quality technical information  Tested and validated  Globally recognized

 Locally adapted  Partnership for implementation

Leadership by the Authority  Setting a clear direction for the market

 Minimizing confusion & uncertainty  Maximizing consistency & certainty

 Leveraging a global partner  Implementing intelligently & effectively

Building Codes & Standards Trends in the Region  Expanding building and infrastructure projects  Establishing clear direction  Removing conflicting technical requirements  The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)  Regional, by country, and local

 Qatar • Civil Defence • Private Sector

 UAE • Civil Defence • Private Sector

 KSA • Jeddah/Mecca CD • MoH • Private Sector

 Engineering firms  

Design Architectural

 Financial Institutions 



Insurance Banking

 Manufacturing/Suppliers 



Products Systems & Services

Conformity Programs  Implementation plan  People educated and informed  Programs in place and functioning  Products validated by recognized standards  Enforcement & laws  Operations and maintenance

Without Conformity Programs  Lack of educated professionals  Lack of capacity building  Lack of career development  Lack of consistency and direction  Low quality products and services  Confusion & conflict in the market

Training & Building a Professional Development Plan

 NFPA offers certification programs such

as: Certified Fire Protection Specialist, Certified Fire Inspector, and Certified Fire Plans Examiner  NFPA offers a comprehensive fire protection & life safety certificate program  NFPA offers seminars by NFPA employees and other globally recognized experts on the most widely-used codes

 Creates tests, guides, and other materials for firefighters and other responders

Career Development Path:

Enhancing Safety for Oman’s Citizens and Visitors

• Leadership from the authority • Selection of fire and life safety codes & standards • Implementation of conformity programs • Enforcement • Maintenance • Constant quality improvements

• Enhanced safety and quality of life for Oman!

For more information, please visit www.nfpa.org Drew C. Azzara Executive Director, Middle East & Northern Africa NFPA Dubai, UAE [email protected] +971 55 6556 104