Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/842358
othing is more important to members of the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA) than the safety of their employees, the people who live near their facilities, and first responders. That's why the NWPCA members take great care to make sure their facilities are operated safely. The people who work at the facilities we represent live and work in the neighboring community. Many of them, in fact, are involved in firefighting and other public safety efforts. Model safety codes are stronger when they accurately reflect proven best practices. NWPCA worked with fire safety experts to develop a section of the fire code on outdoor pallet storage that applies specifically to the wood packaging industry to mandate the use of effective safeguarding procedures. To assist in the adoption process, later this fall, an NWPCA code compliance manual will be available. The manual will outline specific steps that each facility will need to take to comply with the new fire codes, for both the NFPA and ICC code regulations. Each facility should work with their local fire code official to identify any unique circumstances that may require special attention to ensure compliance. To prepare for the upcoming fire code changes, the following is a compilation of Q&A that the NWPCA has received during this fire code development process. These Q&A will be updated regularly at PalletCentral.com/FireCodeFAQ. What are the fire codes? There are two separate bodies that administer building code regulations for the external storage of wood pallets, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Code Council (ICC). Codes are published in the NFPA 1 document for NFPA and the International Fire Code (IFC) for ICC. N NWPCA recommends that each facility work with their local fire code official to identify any unique circumstances that may require special attention to ensure compliance. 12 PalletCentral • May-June 2017 palletcentral.com SAFETY Safeguarding iStockphoto.com/Riddy