Fire commission subcommittee moves to remove enumerated NFPA citations from chapters 3 and 4

The Tennessee Commission on Firefighting Personnel and Standards rule subcommittee reviewed and preliminarily approved language to remove enumerated references to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in chapters 3 and 4 of the draft rules and replace them with directory language pointing readers to chapter 6 and the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Vice Chairman Bill Scott said the draft redline removes specific NFPA citations and instead directs users to chapter 6, which will list the NFPA performance standards; the change mirrors wording used in prior rule changes. Subcommittee members repeatedly asked staff to use a directory or cross-reference to chapter 6 and to avoid embedding long enumerations of standards in each chapter.

The subcommittee discussed whether removing the explicit NFPA enumerations would create contradictions elsewhere in the draft rules. Staff said the cross-reference approach is intended to reduce inconsistent references when standards are updated and to keep chapter text shorter and clearer. Committee members instructed staff to remove enumerated NFPA references where they appear and use the directory language instead; Heather (staff) and Todd (regional coordinator) agreed to implement the redline edits.

The change is procedural: it does not alter which NFPA standards the commission expects providers to follow, but where the standards are enumerated in the code text. Members flagged timing concerns because some NFPA standards (for example NFPA 1403 on live fire training) are in the process of being revised; the cross-reference will make it easier to update a single chapter later.

Next steps: staff will replace enumerated NFPA citations in chapters 3 and 4 with the agreed directory language pointing to chapter 6 and the Tennessee Code Annotated, circulate updated redlines to the subcommittee, and include the edits in the rulemaking packet for the full commission to consider.