Adoption and Implementation of NFPA Codes and Standards in the Middle East
Bassem Khalil, Abu Dhabi Civil Defense GHQ
William Koffel, Koffel Associates

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Audio Compact Disc: $23

NFPA codes and standards are now widely used throughout the Middle East. However, there have been numerous challenges in their adoption and implementation. For the most part, the existing building stock was built to codes with protection strategies that may have been different from current NFPA codes/standards -- namely more reliance on passive protection and less emphasis on active protection. With respect to new construction, not only have there been some very challenging projects in the Middle East, but many of the design professionals lacked experience with NFPA codes/standards. Implementing new codes during a period of significant growth including challenging projects posed unusual demands for regulatory officials. The speakers will present existing and proposed strategies to address the various challenges to such implementation.