For the last century, local, state, and federal governments have relied on private non-profit organizations like NFPA to develop the codes that are adopted into law to protect public safety. The cost of developing the codes is covered not by taxpayers but by the standards organizations themselves, who recover those costs through their ownership of the copyrights in the codes and standards. “Even though we own those copyrights, NFPA strives to make its documents as accessible as possible, because we believe this is the best way to accomplish our mission,” says NFPA President Jim Shannon. NFPA is proud to have been the first organization to have taken the bold step of creating free public access to privately developed codes and standards.
