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History of the National Firefighters Protection Agency
I have tried to keep this one down to a "manageable" read but much like most of NFPA's reads it can get looonnnnggg. LOL Enjoy.
A century ago, several small groups of men had ideas that they pursued from concept to reality. Over the next hundred years, their ideas have grown into the organization we know today as the NFPA. Looking back in history when the NFPA was officially founded, we see that 1896 was a year that is unquestionably a cornerstone in the Association's history.
Where do we begin when sliding back in time to witness the birth of the NFPA? In the twilight of the 20th century, innovation and invention were propelling civilization to new dimensions. Amidst the struggles of the working class and a population being bolstered by newly arriving immigrants, the late 1890's in North America were a time of change, growth, and opportunity. New technology was erupting everywhere, and it was in the face of great technological advances, or more appropriately the lack of consistency thereof, that a need for standards and a standards writing organization like NFPA began to emerge.
This is a story that focuses on two essentials of our universe: water and electricity. Although by tradition it is generally considered wise to assure their separation, water and electricity are mixed in this story to tell the tale of NFPA's beginnings, from conception, to first breath, to those initial steps out of the cradle. Of course, the common thread for these strange bedfellows is another essential of our universe: fire. I don't mean the wonderful servant that serves us well, but rather the demonic flames that from time-to-time visit us as the destroyer of our property and assailant of our people.
Much like the sprinkler world that was saddled with numerous different standards, the electrical community also found itself dealing from a deck of available standards. By the end of 1895, there were five different recognized standards in the United States that addressed the safe use of electrical equipment.
Five different codes meant five different sets of rules for making an electrical installation. This, of course, created significant confusion and controversy. Something had to be done to produce a national code on a national scale. Yet even at this early point of envisionment, the thought of a national code would start-off based on international dimensions.
On a quest for solidarity, several national organizations held a meeting in New York on March 18, 1896, and named itself the "Joint Conference of Electrical and Allied Interests", to be chaired by W. J. Hammer. At this conference the five American Codes, together with the German Code, the Code of the British Board of Trade, and the Phoenix Rules of England, were discussed and referred to a committee with Professor Francis B. Crocker of Columbia University appointed as the chair.
The committee selected the most suitable criteria from all the various codes, and after printing a draft code, it was sent to 1,200 interested individuals in North America and Europe for comment. The conference met again in May and June of 1897 and established an electrical code that was unanimously approved at the June meeting as the "National Code." Because it was so fair and broad in its application, it was adopted without delay by the National Board of Fire Underwriters in lieu of its own, and then issued by them as the "National Electrical Code of 1897". And thus, the "NEC" was born.
Meanwhile, in other quarters, another meeting was held in New York City on March 18 and 19, 1896. But instead of electricity and fire and electrical safety, the topic was water and fire and sprinklers. Of true significance from this meeting was the release of sprinkler installation rules entitled: "Report of Committee on Automatic Sprinkler Protection". Eventually becoming "NFPA 13", the committee that created it was chaired by U. C. Crosby, with E. U. Crosby as the secretary, and a membership of Mssrs. Anderson, Bonner, Cabot, Grinnell, and Stratton. Also included as a topic of discussion, and of even greater significance, was the creation of an association to administrate sprinklers. A separate committee was thus appointed to outline the association discussed during the previous year's meetings.
A subsequent meeting was held in New York City on November 6, 1896 at the offices of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters. Eighteen men representing a variety of stock fire insurance organization were present, including Uberto Crosby, Everett Crosby, W. Stratton, and F. Cabot, all of whom were present at the earlier original meeting in March of 1895. The meeting was called to order by Uberto Crosby, and he was subsequently elected as chair of the meeting, while Everett Crosby was elected as secretary.
Aside from the sprinkler installation rules, the Articles for a new Association were reviewed. Of the twelve Articles of the Association, Articles 2, 4, 6, 9, and 10 were amended at the meeting, and the entire set was subsequently adopted as amended. Of these, Article No. 1 is worth repeating: "This organization shall be known as the National Fire Protection Association."3 So it was –– and so it is.
Based on the report of a nominating committee that was quickly assembled for the purpose, the original officers were elected as follows: President – C.C. Little, Chair of Underwriters Bureau of Middle and Southern States; Vice President – S.F. Lawton, Inspector for the South-Eastern Tariff Association; Secretary and Treasurer – E.U. Crosby, Manager of Underwriters Bureau of New England; and Chair of the Executive Committee – U.C. Crosby, Chair of the Factory Improvement Committee of the New England Insurance Exchange.
The Association Steps from the Cradle
In 1900, two developments occurred of notable importance. First, the National Board of Fire Underwriters (now the American Insurance Association) became a member of the Association, and furthermore the NBFU voted: "to adopt the standards formulated by the National Fire Protection Association, and assume the expense of publishing the same in suitable form, and further, that matters relative to protective measures be referred to NFPA for investigation and report to the Executive Committee of the Board." This publishing relationship would continue for a number of decades henceforth.
The other occurrence in 1900 was the membership of William H. Merrill of the Underwriters Bureau of Fire Protection Engineering, which was previously the Underwriters Electrical Bureau, and would soon be renamed Underwriters Laboratories. Whereas Underwriters Laboratories focused on testing, the NFPA focused on codes and standards, and the strong relationship enjoyed at the turn of the century continues today. The involvement of Mr. Merrill was more than just as a member. He would serve the Association as its Secretary-Treasurer from 1903 to 1908, and as President from 1910 to 1911.
Despite the term "National" in NFPA always seeming to imply the lack of international involvement, the first overseas members joined the Association in 1903. They were John Smith of the Sun Insurance office in London, and George Smith from an insurance office in Sydney, Australia. They were soon followed by Nicolas Sergowsky, an insurance engineer in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as a growing list of others who were awakening to the virtues of the organization.
In its history, the NFPA was about to reach the proverbial "path-less-traveled" in the eighth year of its existence, and a critical change would occur regarding membership. With the considerable interest expressed by non-insurance groups toward the Association, the Articles of the Association addressing membership were revised in 1904 at the Eighth Annual Meeting. At the time, the active membership was comprised of 38 stock fire insurance boards, and 417 individuals, most of whom were related to the stock fire insurance organizations.
The resulting changes in the rules for membership opened up the NFPA to numerous groups. The first organizations to join in 1904 as active members under the new rules were the Associated Factory Mutual Insurance Companies, the Factory Mutual Laboratories, and the National Electrical Contractors Association of the United States. They were soon followed by the American Water Works Association, the International Association of Fire Engineers (Fire Chiefs), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Institute of Architects. With regard to individuals joining in 1904, Russell Grinnell and a variety of other sprinkler manufacturers and installers would join, as well as Captain J. S. Sewell of the Corps of Engineers in Washington, DC, who appears to be the first Federal Government representative. The first fire department officer was Battalion Chief W. T. Beggin of the New York City Fire Department, who joined NFPA in March, 1905. In the same month, H. D. Davis, the State Fire Marshal of Ohio, joined as the first State Fire Marshal.
We started this story of the birth of NFPA based on the excursions of several individuals and their involvement with water, electricity and fire. If we allow this story to follow its own circle, much like the circle of life, it would be inappropriate to conclude without acknowledging two other events in the history of NFPA. First, one of the individuals who was involved in the Associations conception and who has been under the random spotlight of the story on these pages, would become a member when the opportunity finally presented itself. In January, 1907, John R. Freeman, President of the Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, became a member of the National Fire Protection Association.
The other event that has become a part of this story pertains to the National Electrical Code. The organization that had established the code in 1896 and 1897 was inherently wise enough to recognize its own limitations. The "National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules" still administered the document, but the pioneering work for which they were created was finished, and the diversified opinions of insurance companies, manufacturers, and electrical organizations were relatively stable. When the National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules met on March 24, 1911, they indicated that their purpose had been achieved, and it was thus dissolved. At this point in time, the work of periodically revising the National Electrical Code was transferred to the Electrical Committee of the National Fire Protection Association.
Dreams For a Safer Tomorrow
In their own unique way, all who were involved in the birth of NFPA played an important role and each deserves their own dedicated story. But as was stated earlier, the stories are endless, but the pages and the ink are not.
How can we ever pay the proper homage to all the visionaries that worked to create the NFPA? For instance, the NFPA owes a great deal of its solid foundation to the Crosbys, father and son. Uberto C. Crosby served as chair of the Executive Committee during 1896 and 1897, and as second President from 1897 to 1900. Everett Crosby was the Association's first Secretary, serving from 1896 to 1903, and chair of the Executive Committee from 1903 to 1907. Both were involved in the small meeting in March of 1895 when the first seedlings of our Association were sown. The similarities are striking when compared on a grander scale with the second and sixth Presidents of the United States, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. What a strange quirk of fate that NFPA Headquarters resides on a portion of the Adams' original farmland in Quincy, Massachusetts.
From the humblest of beginnings to the noblest of causes, the mission of the NFPA today, much like in its earliest days, is to reduce the burden of fire and related hazards on the quality of life.
Our mission today is accomplished by advocating scientifically-based consensus codes and standards, research, and education for fire and related safety issues. NFPA's National Fire Codes are developed by technical committees staffed by over 5,000 volunteers, and are adopted and enforced throughout the world. NFPA functions as a nonprofit membership organization with more than 65,000 members from around the globe, all working together to fulfill the Association's mission.
Today the NFPA is strong and ready for the future. Many other important documents have risen from the pain and suffering of innumerable fires to join NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems and NFPA 70, National Electrical Code. As voyagers in time on a journey not yet completed, we must all work together throughout the world to continue with the NFPA as the premier organization for reducing the burden of fire and related hazards.
A century ago, several small groups of men had ideas that they pursued from concept to reality. Over the next hundred years, their ideas have grown into the organization we know today as the NFPA. Looking back in history when the NFPA was officially founded, we see that 1896 was a year that is unquestionably a cornerstone in the Association's history.
Where do we begin when sliding back in time to witness the birth of the NFPA? In the twilight of the 20th century, innovation and invention were propelling civilization to new dimensions. Amidst the struggles of the working class and a population being bolstered by newly arriving immigrants, the late 1890's in North America were a time of change, growth, and opportunity. New technology was erupting everywhere, and it was in the face of great technological advances, or more appropriately the lack of consistency thereof, that a need for standards and a standards writing organization like NFPA began to emerge.
This is a story that focuses on two essentials of our universe: water and electricity. Although by tradition it is generally considered wise to assure their separation, water and electricity are mixed in this story to tell the tale of NFPA's beginnings, from conception, to first breath, to those initial steps out of the cradle. Of course, the common thread for these strange bedfellows is another essential of our universe: fire. I don't mean the wonderful servant that serves us well, but rather the demonic flames that from time-to-time visit us as the destroyer of our property and assailant of our people.
Much like the sprinkler world that was saddled with numerous different standards, the electrical community also found itself dealing from a deck of available standards. By the end of 1895, there were five different recognized standards in the United States that addressed the safe use of electrical equipment.
Five different codes meant five different sets of rules for making an electrical installation. This, of course, created significant confusion and controversy. Something had to be done to produce a national code on a national scale. Yet even at this early point of envisionment, the thought of a national code would start-off based on international dimensions.
On a quest for solidarity, several national organizations held a meeting in New York on March 18, 1896, and named itself the "Joint Conference of Electrical and Allied Interests", to be chaired by W. J. Hammer. At this conference the five American Codes, together with the German Code, the Code of the British Board of Trade, and the Phoenix Rules of England, were discussed and referred to a committee with Professor Francis B. Crocker of Columbia University appointed as the chair.
The committee selected the most suitable criteria from all the various codes, and after printing a draft code, it was sent to 1,200 interested individuals in North America and Europe for comment. The conference met again in May and June of 1897 and established an electrical code that was unanimously approved at the June meeting as the "National Code." Because it was so fair and broad in its application, it was adopted without delay by the National Board of Fire Underwriters in lieu of its own, and then issued by them as the "National Electrical Code of 1897". And thus, the "NEC" was born.
Meanwhile, in other quarters, another meeting was held in New York City on March 18 and 19, 1896. But instead of electricity and fire and electrical safety, the topic was water and fire and sprinklers. Of true significance from this meeting was the release of sprinkler installation rules entitled: "Report of Committee on Automatic Sprinkler Protection". Eventually becoming "NFPA 13", the committee that created it was chaired by U. C. Crosby, with E. U. Crosby as the secretary, and a membership of Mssrs. Anderson, Bonner, Cabot, Grinnell, and Stratton. Also included as a topic of discussion, and of even greater significance, was the creation of an association to administrate sprinklers. A separate committee was thus appointed to outline the association discussed during the previous year's meetings.
A subsequent meeting was held in New York City on November 6, 1896 at the offices of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters. Eighteen men representing a variety of stock fire insurance organization were present, including Uberto Crosby, Everett Crosby, W. Stratton, and F. Cabot, all of whom were present at the earlier original meeting in March of 1895. The meeting was called to order by Uberto Crosby, and he was subsequently elected as chair of the meeting, while Everett Crosby was elected as secretary.
Aside from the sprinkler installation rules, the Articles for a new Association were reviewed. Of the twelve Articles of the Association, Articles 2, 4, 6, 9, and 10 were amended at the meeting, and the entire set was subsequently adopted as amended. Of these, Article No. 1 is worth repeating: "This organization shall be known as the National Fire Protection Association."3 So it was –– and so it is.
Based on the report of a nominating committee that was quickly assembled for the purpose, the original officers were elected as follows: President – C.C. Little, Chair of Underwriters Bureau of Middle and Southern States; Vice President – S.F. Lawton, Inspector for the South-Eastern Tariff Association; Secretary and Treasurer – E.U. Crosby, Manager of Underwriters Bureau of New England; and Chair of the Executive Committee – U.C. Crosby, Chair of the Factory Improvement Committee of the New England Insurance Exchange.
The Association Steps from the Cradle
In 1900, two developments occurred of notable importance. First, the National Board of Fire Underwriters (now the American Insurance Association) became a member of the Association, and furthermore the NBFU voted: "to adopt the standards formulated by the National Fire Protection Association, and assume the expense of publishing the same in suitable form, and further, that matters relative to protective measures be referred to NFPA for investigation and report to the Executive Committee of the Board." This publishing relationship would continue for a number of decades henceforth.
The other occurrence in 1900 was the membership of William H. Merrill of the Underwriters Bureau of Fire Protection Engineering, which was previously the Underwriters Electrical Bureau, and would soon be renamed Underwriters Laboratories. Whereas Underwriters Laboratories focused on testing, the NFPA focused on codes and standards, and the strong relationship enjoyed at the turn of the century continues today. The involvement of Mr. Merrill was more than just as a member. He would serve the Association as its Secretary-Treasurer from 1903 to 1908, and as President from 1910 to 1911.
Despite the term "National" in NFPA always seeming to imply the lack of international involvement, the first overseas members joined the Association in 1903. They were John Smith of the Sun Insurance office in London, and George Smith from an insurance office in Sydney, Australia. They were soon followed by Nicolas Sergowsky, an insurance engineer in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as a growing list of others who were awakening to the virtues of the organization.
In its history, the NFPA was about to reach the proverbial "path-less-traveled" in the eighth year of its existence, and a critical change would occur regarding membership. With the considerable interest expressed by non-insurance groups toward the Association, the Articles of the Association addressing membership were revised in 1904 at the Eighth Annual Meeting. At the time, the active membership was comprised of 38 stock fire insurance boards, and 417 individuals, most of whom were related to the stock fire insurance organizations.
The resulting changes in the rules for membership opened up the NFPA to numerous groups. The first organizations to join in 1904 as active members under the new rules were the Associated Factory Mutual Insurance Companies, the Factory Mutual Laboratories, and the National Electrical Contractors Association of the United States. They were soon followed by the American Water Works Association, the International Association of Fire Engineers (Fire Chiefs), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Institute of Architects. With regard to individuals joining in 1904, Russell Grinnell and a variety of other sprinkler manufacturers and installers would join, as well as Captain J. S. Sewell of the Corps of Engineers in Washington, DC, who appears to be the first Federal Government representative. The first fire department officer was Battalion Chief W. T. Beggin of the New York City Fire Department, who joined NFPA in March, 1905. In the same month, H. D. Davis, the State Fire Marshal of Ohio, joined as the first State Fire Marshal.
We started this story of the birth of NFPA based on the excursions of several individuals and their involvement with water, electricity and fire. If we allow this story to follow its own circle, much like the circle of life, it would be inappropriate to conclude without acknowledging two other events in the history of NFPA. First, one of the individuals who was involved in the Associations conception and who has been under the random spotlight of the story on these pages, would become a member when the opportunity finally presented itself. In January, 1907, John R. Freeman, President of the Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, became a member of the National Fire Protection Association.
The other event that has become a part of this story pertains to the National Electrical Code. The organization that had established the code in 1896 and 1897 was inherently wise enough to recognize its own limitations. The "National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules" still administered the document, but the pioneering work for which they were created was finished, and the diversified opinions of insurance companies, manufacturers, and electrical organizations were relatively stable. When the National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules met on March 24, 1911, they indicated that their purpose had been achieved, and it was thus dissolved. At this point in time, the work of periodically revising the National Electrical Code was transferred to the Electrical Committee of the National Fire Protection Association.
Dreams For a Safer Tomorrow
In their own unique way, all who were involved in the birth of NFPA played an important role and each deserves their own dedicated story. But as was stated earlier, the stories are endless, but the pages and the ink are not.
How can we ever pay the proper homage to all the visionaries that worked to create the NFPA? For instance, the NFPA owes a great deal of its solid foundation to the Crosbys, father and son. Uberto C. Crosby served as chair of the Executive Committee during 1896 and 1897, and as second President from 1897 to 1900. Everett Crosby was the Association's first Secretary, serving from 1896 to 1903, and chair of the Executive Committee from 1903 to 1907. Both were involved in the small meeting in March of 1895 when the first seedlings of our Association were sown. The similarities are striking when compared on a grander scale with the second and sixth Presidents of the United States, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. What a strange quirk of fate that NFPA Headquarters resides on a portion of the Adams' original farmland in Quincy, Massachusetts.
From the humblest of beginnings to the noblest of causes, the mission of the NFPA today, much like in its earliest days, is to reduce the burden of fire and related hazards on the quality of life.
Our mission today is accomplished by advocating scientifically-based consensus codes and standards, research, and education for fire and related safety issues. NFPA's National Fire Codes are developed by technical committees staffed by over 5,000 volunteers, and are adopted and enforced throughout the world. NFPA functions as a nonprofit membership organization with more than 65,000 members from around the globe, all working together to fulfill the Association's mission.
Today the NFPA is strong and ready for the future. Many other important documents have risen from the pain and suffering of innumerable fires to join NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems and NFPA 70, National Electrical Code. As voyagers in time on a journey not yet completed, we must all work together throughout the world to continue with the NFPA as the premier organization for reducing the burden of fire and related hazards.
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