Overview of Changes: NFPA 1033 and NFPA 921, 2014 Editions
Proceedings of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel 2014 Winter Meeting (FDCC, March 2014)
10 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2014
Date Written: March 26, 2014
Abstract
This article highlights the changes in two National Fire Codes published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): the 2014 edition of NFPA 1033 Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator and the 2014 edition of NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. These documents are used in civil and criminal fire litigation to test the qualifications of fire investigation experts, and to evaluate the reliability and weight of their opinions. In court, these documents are regularly used as tools in Daubert challenges and in the direct or cross examination of experts. Therefore, it is important for attorneys, experts, and others involved in fire cases to become familiar with the 2014 editions. By providing an overview of the most significant changes in the 2014 editions of NFPA 921 and NFPA 1033, this work helps its readers with this learning curve. It assumes that readers are familiar with the previous edition of each document. If not, detailed instructions are included for accessing the current and previous editions of each document online, free of charge courtesy of the NFPA. This article is based on columns the author wrote for the “FISC Bulletin Board,” a regular column in the Fire & Arson Investigator Journal, which is a publication of the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), and is published with thanks to the IAAI.
Keywords: NFPA 921 Guide to Fire and Explosion Investigations, 2014 ed., NFPA 1033 Standard for Fire Investigator Professional Qualifications, 2014 ed., Fire Investigation, Fire Law
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