Maryland State Fire Marshal
News Release Martin O’Malley Governor
William E. Barnard State Fire Marshal
MARYLAND ADOPTS LATEST EDITIONS OF KEY FIRE SAFETY CODES PIKESVILLE, MD (January 2, 2013) – Residents of Maryland are now protected by the most up-to-date editions of two key safety codes. The 2012 editions of NFPA 1, Fire Code™ and NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, both part of the National Fire Protection Association’s codes and standards, have been adopted by the State Fire Prevention Commission as part of the overall revision of the State Fire Prevention Code that became effective in Maryland on January 1, 2013. Both codes are widely used across the country to protect people and property in new and existing buildings. NFPA's Life Safety Code, used in all 50 states, mandates building design construction, operation, and maintenance requirements to protect building occupants from the dangers caused by fire, smoke, and toxic fumes. NFPA 1 integrates the two most widely adopted fire codes in the country, NFPA 1, Fire Prevention Code and the Uniform Fire Code. The latest edition of NFPA 1 provides requirements necessary to establish a reasonable level of fire safety and property protection from hazards created by fire and explosion. "Safety is our top priority," said State Fire Marshal William E. Barnard. "The latest editions of these widely used codes will allow us to provide the highest level of protection for the people of Maryland. When such substantial codes are updated with the latest safety advancements, our citizens deserve to have those protections." Code enforcers in Maryland participated in an NFPA training program that covers the code's requirements and ways it can be best utilized. NFPA made this training and the associated codebooks available free to the government code enforcement officials in the state. Free training and codebooks help to reduce costs for Maryland taxpayers. In addition, such training ensures that code enforcers have the latest reference materials.
### 1201 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is an agency of the Department of State Police dedicated to helping protect citizens from fire and explosion through a comprehensive program of education, inspection, investigation and fire protection engineering. For more information on fire safety call 1-800-525-3124, log onto our website at: www.mdsp.org/firemarshal and/or http://facebook.com/MarylandStateFireMarshal.
Media contact: Bruce D. Bouch, Deputy State Fire Marshal; 443-324-6876
1201 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208