The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) board of directors has appointed four new members to the Association’s Standards Council. They are: James W. Carpenter of Plano, TX; Ronald R. Farr of Otsego, MI; Roland J. Huggins of Dallas, TX ; and Fred M. Leber of Toronto, Canada. All appointments were effective Jan. 1, 2007.

Carpenter is the CEO and executive director of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors and is the chair of NFPA’s Technical Correlating Committee of the National Electrical Code®. He most recently served as chief electrical engineer and state electrical inspector for the North Carolina Department of Insurance where he has over 20 years experience as an electrical inspector in North Carolina during which he administered and consulted on the requirements of the state electrical code.

Huggins, vice president of engineering and technical services for the American Fire Sprinkler Association, directs a staff charged with providing technical support. His responsibilities include directing activities of over 30 AFSA representatives on 28 technical committees in the NFPA codes and standards process. National activities include: chair of NFPA’s Building Fire Safety Systems section, on the National Fire Protection Research Foundation Research Advisory Council for Suppression Systems and a variety of their research projects, the UL Standards Technical Panel responsible for eight UL test standards, and the SFPE task group that developed the Performance Based Design Guide. Huggins is a Vietnam-era veteran.

Leber is co-founder and chief executive officer of Leber/Rubes, Inc., a consulting engineering firm offering fire protection engineering services. During his 30 years in the fire protection and security industry, he gained expertise in large scale electronic and mechanical systems application, early warning fire detection systems and special hazard applications engineering. Leber chairs several technical committees, is a fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and Canadian Chair of ISO/TC21 and ISO/TC21/SC3.

Farr, fire chief/fire marshal in Kalamazoo Township, Michigan, has nearly 40 years of experience with the fire service and is chair of NFPA’s Technical Committee on Uniform Fire Code. In 2002, he served as deputy director of the Olympic Fire Marshals Task Group for the Winter Olympics in the Park City, Utah area. Farr is a past president of the International Fire Marshals Association, past president and current secretary/treasurer of Michigan Fire Inspectors Society and a former recipient of the NFPA President’s Award and the IFMA Percy Bugbee Award.

NFPA's Standards Councilis made up of 13 individuals appointed by the NFPA Board of Directors. The Council’s primary responsibility is to oversee the development activities of NFPA codes and standards, administer the rules and regulations, and serve as an appeals body.