The International Code Council (ICC) Committee Action Hearings ended on May 4^th. The Committee Action Hearings lasted 21 days and took 200 total hours to complete. Around 1,162 proposals were heard and deliberated by 13 different code committees. The NFSA Code Development Team was there for every proposal to ensure the fire sprinkler industry was represented and the fire sprinkler concept was furthered. Long before the Committee Action Hearings started, the NFSA Code Development Team began writing, reviewing, commenting and working with our partners and others in the industry to ensure the next edition of the I-Codes provides the highest level of protection as possible.

NFSA Proposal Report

The NFSA submitted 20 proposals covering a wide variety of topics and supported and opposed many other proposals. For a thorough explanation of each proposal submitted you can click here. Below are the results of each individual proposal.

What’s Next?

The next step in the ICC Code Development Process is the Public Comment phase. This will occur September 19-28, in Pittsburgh, PA. The Code Development Team (CDT) is currently working on the proposals that the committees disapproved. We are developing our arguments, working with colleagues, and gathering additional data that will be presented before eligible voting enforcement individuals for consideration. Also, there were many proposals that we supported and opposed. The CDT is actively monitoring those proposals for input of public comments. We continue to work with our partners in the industry to help further the fire sprinkler concept.

Once the Public Comment Hearings are completed, the proposals that are approved will move onto the Online Governmental Consensus Vote (OGCV). This vote will occur approximately two weeks after the last day of the Public Comment Hearings. This is the final action that will occur during the Group A Code Development Cycle. Unfortunately, fire sprinkler contractors are no longer permitted to vote during this phase. Voting is only available to ICC governmental members who are validated at the public comment hearings and the online governmental consensus vote.

Next year, the Group B Code Development Cycle will follow a similar date schedule, however, the phases will be the same. Know that the NFSA team will keep you updated throughout this lengthy process.

For immediate help or questions, contact Vice President of Codes and Standards, Jeffrey M. Hugo at hugo@nfsa.org or Codes and Standards Specialist, Andrew Bevis at bevis@nfsa.org