IAFC Volunteer Chief Officers Section opposes draft of NFPA 1915
The Volunteer Chief Officers Section (VCOS) of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) opposes the current draft of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1915, Standard for Fire Apparatus Preventative Maintenance, on the basis that establishing NFPA 1915 as a minimum standard will result in the document`s superceding the authority of the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). F. C. Windisch, VCOS chairman, explains that this overriding of AHJ authority would be “in direct conflict with VCOS beliefs.” He adds: “The proposed NFPA 1915 standard appears to override the concept of the AHJ responsibilities because it identifies some minor apparatus defects and prescribes a generic `out of service` order. This is unacceptable in many of the proposed sections of the standard.”
The VCOS points out that the draft does not provide enough information “to allow the AHJ to make value-based decision for a crack in the windshield, effective oil pressure gauge, or a damaged tire sidewall covering.” The VCOS adds: “The AHJ must have the opportunity to have management systems in place to properly evaluate a defect prior to a standard requiring [that] a valuable and needed apparatus be placed out of service.”
The VCOS is proposing that the draft proposal be modified to incorporate “sufficient local AHJ oversight to allow value-based decisions for removing apparatus from service.”
