FOREWORD
The term resiliency has been used with increasing frequency in the context of how we build for, plan for, and respond to the variety of events that could interrupt the desired normalcy. Often these disruptive events are characterized as disasters, so disaster resiliency is a common pairing of terms for discussing and defining the concept. In response to the growing use of the term, the Fire Protection Research Foundation requested a review of its codes and standards and appropriate outside literature to identify how the terms and concepts apply to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) activities. The title selected for that initiative was Disaster Resiliency and NFPA Codes and Standards. Since its formation, the NFPA has addressed fire as the disruptive event. The objective of this project is to include other disruptive events (disasters) in addition to, or in place, of fires. This review is intended to identify those provisions in NFPA codes and standards that embody the concepts of resiliency and compile available information to serve as a technical reference for those documents. This review is also intended to identify key gaps in knowledge necessary to support the integration of resiliency concepts into NFPA codes and standards. The specific tasks identified in the scope of work include:
Literature Review
Codes and Standards Mapping and Gap Assessment, and Report on all Findings
The Research Foundation expresses gratitude to the report author Kenneth W. Dungan, P.E., who is with Performance Design Technologies located in Knoxville, Tennessee The Research Foundation appreciates the guidance provided by the Project Technical Panelists and all others that contributed to this research effort. Thanks are also expressed to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for providing the project funding through the NFPA Annual Code Fund.
The content, opinions, and conclusions contained in this report are solely those of the authors.
About the Fire Protection Research Foundation
The Fire Protection Research Foundation plans, manages, and communicates research on a broad range of fire safety issues in collaboration with scientists and laboratories around the world. The Foundation is an affiliate of NFPA.