NFPA 1005 gives land-based fire fighters the confidence to fight shipyard fires in a safe and effective manner.

Fire emergencies at harbors, seaports and marinas present unique challenges for land-based fire fighters. NFPA 1005: Standard for Professional Qualifications for Marine Fire Fighting for Land-Based Fire Fighters outlines the minimum job performance requirements (JPRs) for fires on vessels.

NFPA 1005 is an essential asset for land-based municipal, industrial and private fire departments that do not respond to shipboard fires on a regular basis. By helping to sharpen situational awareness, this marine firefighting standard improves safety of fire fighters.

The 2014 edition of NFPA 1005 features several significant changes. First, we've accounted for the fact that individuals must meet Fire Fighter I and II qualifications before qualifying for NFPA 1005. By deleting JPRs that are found in NFPA 1001: Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, we've narrowed the focus to those JPRs specifically associated with NFPA 1005 qualifications. We've also condensed JPRs from two levels into one.

Second, we've expanded the prerequisite requirement to also include personnel who have met the qualifications in Chapters 6 and 7 of NFPA 1081: Standard for Industrial Fire Brigade Member Professional Qualifications. This change allows fire fighters or industrial fire brigade personnel assigned to industrial sites with docking capabilities to achieve NFPA 1005 qualifications, too.

Finally, NFPA 1005 now has subsections covering general requirements, access, response, communications and fire control. Reorganizing the subsections has streamlined the JPRs for this standard.

With NFPA 1005, land-based fire fighters can answer questions like these:

• How do I qualify as a marine fire fighter?
• How do I remain current with marine firefighting technology and practices?
• Do I have to be a Fire Fighter I and II before qualifying for marine firefighting?
• Can I use my industrial fire brigade personnel qualifications as a prerequisite for marine firefighting?