When I joined the fire service in the early 1970s, we were firemen. Then, with the advent of women joining our ranks, we became firefighters. Later, as we became more involved in emergency medical, technical rescue, hazmat and other services, we joined the ranks of first responders.

Most recently, we have seen an increased focus on firefighter safety, through fire prevention, primarily through messages and programs from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), Vision 20/20, and similar coalitions interested in public and firefighter safety. In support of this mission, many in the fire service have recognized and embraced the benefits of fire and building codes, along with public education, in preventing fires or reducing fire consequences. These fire officials along with building inspectors, and similar professionals make up the group now recognized as "first preventers."

The International Code Council (ICC), www.iccsafe.org, is an organization of first preventers dedicated to ensuring safety in the built environment. Some may recognize the ICC name or be familiar with the family of International Codes (I-Codes), the predominant building and fire regulations in the U.S. Others are unfamiliar with ICC and give little thought to the importance of fire and building codes to firefighter safety. To ensure fire service issues are given appropriate attention, the ICC has engaged fire service organizations in many ways to encourage and support their participation in the code-development process and other initiatives.

The ICC code-development process is designed to provide a public forum for any interested person to submit a code proposal and the opportunity for all interested parties to provide information or share expertise or technical knowledge relative to the proposal. An important distinction of the ICC code-development process is that it gives the final decision on all changes to governmental members â?? public safety officials that administer fire and building codes as their profession. While industry representatives are encouraged to provide input, they are not permitted to vote on the final decisions regarding the content of the I-Codes. This process is intended to prevent any special-interest group with a proprietary interest from controlling the outcome.