The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a United States trade associa

tion, albeit with some international members, that creates and maintains private
, copyrighted, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments.
This includes publications from model building codes to the many on equipment ut
ilized by firefighters while engaging in hazardous material (hazmat) response, r
escue response, and some firefighting
The NFPA was formed in 1896[1] by a group of insurance firms with the stated pur
pose of standardizing the new and burgeoning market of fire sprinkler systems. T
he scope of the NFPA's influence grew from sprinklers and fire extinguishers to
include building electrical systems (another new technology), and then into almo
st all aspects of building design and construction.
Its original membership was limited to insurance underwriting firms and there wa
s no representation from the industries the NFPA sought to control. This changed
in 1904 to allow other industries and individuals to participate in the develop
ment of the standards to be promulgated by the NFPA. The first fire department t
o be represented in the NFPA was the New York City Fire Department in 1905, thou
gh their participation has declined steadily since then. Today, the NFPA include
s representatives from some fire departments, many fire insurance companies, man
y manufacturing associations, some trade unions, many trade associations, and en
gineering associations.