Manufacture Equipment Used in Central Stations? Support TMA’s Appeal of NFPA-72 Vote Immediately

Dear SIA Member,

On Aug. 14, our industry colleagues at The Monitoring Association (TMA)  will present an official appeal to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council of the recent Technical Committee vote that did not ratify the June 14 technical meeting floor vote in Las Vegas. NFPA 72 revisions include language that minimize the tried-and-true role nationally recognized testing laboratories (NRTLs) have had in security and life safety providers producing and installing tested, certified products. The Security Industry Association (SIA) supports this appeal fully; equipment supplied by SIA member companies is vigorously tested in order to meet standards of trustworthiness. Access the full appeal.

We ask all SIA members who are NFPA members to write to the NFPA Standards Council in support of this appeal.

Time is of the essence! Your letter must be received by close of business on Monday, Aug. 13. Please compose and send a letter or email to:

Ms. Dawn Michele Bellis
Secretary, Standards Council
National Fire Protection Association
1 Batterymarch Park
Quincy, MA 02169-7471
dbellis@nfpa.org

Ref: Council Agenda Item 18-8-3-e-1

For this effort to have maximum impact, letters should be in the sender’s own words, not form letters. For that reason we are not including sample language here. You can highlight or reinforce any section of the appeal that you choose. Here are some suggested topics you could elaborate on:

• The subject language ignores the long-standing minimum code language philosophy.
• Disregarding NRTL testing is unprecedented.
• UL-listed central stations significantly exceed remote station requirements.
• That every successful certified amending motion (CAM) from the technical meeting failed to be ratified by the Technical Committee calls the fairness of the entire process into question.
• That no central station company is a primary member on the committee that is charged with the portion of the standard that deals with central stations is remarkable.
• Authority having jurisdictions are not using this language to single out central stations that are allegedly not performing. That is not factual. They are using it to deny an entire class of NRTL-listed service providers.

Pick a topic or two that you believe in, and send your letter as soon as possible! More than one letter can come from a company; if you have more than one NFPA member at your company, please have each member send a letter. And make sure to note if you were present at the technical meeting!

SIA  staff is available to review or assist you with your letter; for assistance, contact Joe Gittens, director of SIA standards, at jgittens@securityindustry.org.

We have one last chance to change the language in NFPA-72 that is harmful to our industry’s ability to provide the security service customers depend on. Please write your letter immediately and send a copy to Joe at the email address above so that we can track our association’s action prior to the Aug. 14 appeal.

Thank you again for your participation and support.