To date, NFPA has published more than 300 consensus codes and standards on a wide range of fire and electrical safety subjects. They are best known for the NFPA diamond, which is used as a way to quickly identify the types of hazardous materials in an area. In addition to this, however, they create many other codes that are used by millions of people around the world. Many of these codes are also used in creating safety regulations by OSHA and other regulatory agencies.
NFPA Code Numbers
When NFPA creates a safety standard they assign it a number so that it can be easily referenced. The code is in the format of “NFPA ####.” As of this writing, the codes go from NFPA 1 all the way up to NFPA 8506. Their naming convention, however, does not use every number. If a code is phased out or updated, for example, the number is eliminated from the list. It is also important to note, however, that some of the numbers have sub-sections, marked with a letter. NFPA 70, for example, has NFPA 70, NFPA 70A, NFPA 70B, and NFPA 70E.
There are currently 384 separate NFPA codes that cover a wide range of different safety standards. Having this list available to reference can be very helpful for companies that are looking to remain in line with the latest NFPA safety standards.
What Do the NFPA Codes Cover?
When scrolling through the list of NFPA codes it is easy to see that they cover a long list of different topics. This is often surprising to people who assumed that the NFPA only offered fire related safety recommendations. For example, NFPA 35 is the ‘Standard for Manufacture of Organic Coatings.’ NFPA 70 is the ‘National Electrical Code,’ which does have some fire-related information but is more focused on the electrical safety standards.
