NFPA Weighs Modifications to Fireworks Standard - NFPA 1124

February 25, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

In 1999, the NFPA Board of Directors revised the organization's fireworks policy in the interest of public safety and permitted the Technical Committee on Pyrotechnics to develop standards for the retail sale and storage of consumer fireworks.

Since then, NFPA 1124 was expanded and revised with a new section (Chapter 7) to address the sale of fireworks to the general public including minimum fire and life safety requirements.

An FPRF report, Fire Safety in Consumer Fireworks Storage and Retail Facilities - Hazard Assessment, documents data on the hazards associated with retail sale of consumer fireworks and identifies research needed to develop appropriate facility fire safety provisions.

In reviewing the report as it relates to NFPA 1124, the NFPA Standards Council determined that the report raises "serious" concerns about the technical basis for the requirements outlined in Chapter 7 and calls into question whether sufficient research and other technical substantiation exist to support standards development in this area.

The council is weighing the following actions:

• Revising the scope of the Technical Committee on Pyrotechnics, which is responsible for NFPA 1124 so that it no longer covers the retail sale of consumer fireworks.
• Taking steps to revise the scope of NFPA 1124 to exclude the retail sales of consumer fireworks and to delete Chapter 7 from NFPA 1124.

Before making a final decision, the NFPA Standards Council seeks public input on its proposed course of action:

Public Comment Period - until May 9, 2008
Written submissions for the council's consideration may be sent to the attention of the Secretary of the NFPA Standards Council at Codes and Standards Administration, NFPA, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169 or via e-mail to stds_admin@nfpa.org.

Submissions must be identified as regarding the standards council hearing on consumer fireworks retail sales provisions and should contain the name, affiliation and address of the submitter(s). Parties are not required to attend or speak at the hearing in order to have their written submissions reviewed and considered by the council. Regardless of whether or not parties wish to appear at the hearing, all written submissions must be received by the NFPA no later than May 9, 2008.

Public Hearing - June 2, 2008
The council will hold a public hearing on June 2, 2008 in conjunction with the NFPA's World Safety Conference and Exposition (WSCE) in Las Vegas. Those wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the NFPA at Codes and Standards Administration c/o NFPA, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169 or via e-mail to stds_admin@nfpa.org by May 26, 2008. Registration for the WSCE is not necessary in order to attend the hearing.

Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI).