Editorial standards
Fire code content on the internet is mostly wrong in small ways: the wrong edition, a requirement a state amended out years ago, a table copied from a copy. This page is the set of rules plaw.io holds itself to so that does not happen here. The short version: every claim is cited, a second person checks the citation, the review date printed on the page is real, and your AHJ always has the final word.
Every claim carries its source
Every fire-code claim on this site names the standard, the edition year, and the section it rests on. Not "NFPA 25 requires," but which edition of NFPA 25 and which section, because editions differ and most states are not on the newest one. Where a claim rests on a state statute, an adopted fire code, or a document from an authority having jurisdiction, the citation names that document instead. A claim we cannot pin to a source this way does not get published.
Paraphrase, never reproduce
NFPA standards are copyrighted, and we treat that as a hard rule, not a technicality. This site states obligations in its own words. It never reproduces a table, a clause, or an official form, in whole or in part. When a page cites NFPA 25 or NFPA 72, it links to the official host at nfpa.org rather than mirroring the document. If you need the exact text, read it there. That is better practice for you anyway: our paraphrase tells you what the obligation is, but the standard's own text is what the inspector holds you to.
A second reviewer checks every citation
No citation goes live on one person's word. Before a page publishes, a second reviewer who did not write it checks every citation against the source document: right standard, right edition, right section, and a paraphrase that says what the section actually says. The date that check was completed is printed on the page. If a page says "verified June 12, 2026," a person had the source open on June 12, 2026 and confirmed it.
Review cadence
- Jurisdiction and AHJ pages
- Re-verified against current adoptions and local amendments at least every 180 days.
- Code and standard pages
- Re-verified against the cited editions at least every 365 days.
The "last reviewed" date on each page is the date a person actually reviewed it. We do not bump dates to look fresh. A new date means a new verification, nothing less. And a page that cannot meet the standards on this page does not get published at all. There is no lower tier.
What "verify with your AHJ" means here
Many pages here end with some version of "verify with your AHJ." On this site that sentence is load-bearing, not a reflex. The authority having jurisdiction, usually your fire marshal or fire prevention bureau, has final say on what applies to a given property. Local amendments override anything a national standard says, and adopted editions vary by state and by city. A national standard gives you the baseline. Your AHJ tells you what is enforced.
Corrections
If you find an error, email yaz@plaw.io with the page and the source you are looking at. Material errors are corrected and the page is re-dated to the date of the corrected verification. We would rather be corrected by a reader than be quietly wrong.
What this site does not do
Three things are off the table on purpose. This site does not give legal advice; Plaw is not a law firm. It does not offer engineering judgment about a specific building; that takes a licensed professional who has stood in the building. And it does not reproduce official forms or inspection documents; those belong to their issuers, and you should get them from the issuer, not from a copy.
Nothing on this site is legal advice. For any requirement that carries legal consequence, read the code as adopted in your jurisdiction and confirm it with your AHJ.
Effective August 7, 2026.