Following Jim Pauley as President and CEO of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was always going to be a tall order for the person tasked with taking up the mantle.
While it would be easy to initially focus solely on the achievements of his 12-year tenure, Pauley’s association with NFPA extends much further, spanning more than 35 years as a member, technical committee member and Chair of the Standards Council.
That longstanding involvement culminated in Pauley’s appointment as NFPA President and CEO in 2014. Over the next 12 years, he would oversee one of the most transformative periods in the organization’s history, delivering a series of significant achievements that reshaped both NFPA and its global reach.
He oversaw the launch of the transformative NFPA Link® digital platform, which now serves more than 100,000 users worldwide and has recently been enhanced with the AI-powered Codes and Standards Intelligence (CASI) assistant.
He also spearheaded the creation of NFPA Global Solutions, the organization’s first for profit subsidiary, expanded NFPA’s global reach through digital innovation, introduced the Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem framework and guided the association through the COVID-19 pandemic while transitioning it to a fully remote workforce.
His leadership has been widely credited, both internally and externally, with modernizing NFPA, diversifying its revenue streams and positioning it for its next phase of growth.
Having officially retired at the end of July, the responsibility for the next phase of growth falls on the shoulders of Ross Ashley, a more than capable successor.
Ashley brings more than 30 years of experience spanning corporate leadership, public safety, intelligence and emergency management. Before joining NFPA, he served as Senior Director of Emergency Management at KPMG LLP, where he led programs supporting state and local emergency management agencies across preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.
Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), overseeing more than $10 billion annually in financial assistance programs for disaster preparedness and relief.
A retired Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves officer with 20 years of combined military service, Ashley is also recognized for his work in digital innovation, collaborative partnerships, organizational growth and public policy.
He takes over at a time when NFPA is building on a strategy centered on becoming more digital, more global, more connected and more diversified, with the aim of continuing the organization’s mission to advance fire, life and electrical safety worldwide.
In this FSJA exclusive with Managing Editor Lewis Tyler, Ashley outlines his immediate priorities, the important role NFPA plays in helping the fire safety community respond to challenges and what his long-term ambitions are.
NFPA’s mission has never been more relevant. We are living in a time when technology is moving quickly, communities are facing new and more complex risks and the need for trusted, independent safety guidance is only growing. My immediate priority is to listen and learn from the people who know this organization and this field best—our staff, volunteers, members, customers and the broader fire and life safety community around the world.
NFPA is a strong organization with deep technical expertise, a remarkable history and an earned reputation for excellence, so my first responsibility is to understand what makes it work so well and where we can extend our impact.
At the same time, we need to stay focused on the fundamentals: prevention, preparedness, strong codes and standards, professional training, public education, research and advocacy. Innovation is important, but it has to be innovation with purpose. Whether we are addressing lithium ion batteries, energy storage, electric vehicles, wildfire risk, electrical safety or emerging technologies we have not yet fully defined, NFPA’s role is to help communities understand risk and reduce loss before tragedies occur.
Across every role I have held, the common thread has been helping people and communities prepare for risk, respond to emergencies and recover from disasters. That experience gives me a deep appreciation for the value of prevention. When safety systems work well, tragedy and loss are reduced—and that is exactly where NFPA has always played such a powerful role.
Emergency management taught me that resilience depends on planning, coordination and clear roles before a crisis occurs. My work with FEMA reinforced the importance of investing in safety and strong relationships across government, the private sector, nonprofits and local communities.
My work in intelligence emphasized the need to understand evolving threats and make decisions based on credible information. My private sector experience underscored the importance of execution, innovation and focusing on the customer. Together, those experiences shape how I approach things: listening carefully, building strong relationships, relying on solid evidence and research. I aim to keep NFPA centered on practical solutions that help people apply safety in the real world.
Jim Pauley and the leadership team have strengthened an extraordinary organization. NFPA has talented people, world-class technical expertise, trusted relationships and a reputation for excellence that has been built over more than 130 years. That is a tremendous foundation to inherit and I am grateful for it.
My goal is not to change for the sake of change. It is to build on NFPA’s strengths while preparing the organization for the future. That begins with listening—to staff, technical committee volunteers, NFPA members and the many people that rely on NFPA. It also means continued collaboration, supporting the consensus-based process, encouraging good ideas from across the organization and embracing innovation thoughtfully when it helps us advance the mission.
My vision is for NFPA to remain the trusted global leader in fire, electrical and life safety while becoming even more agile, connected and responsive to the risks communities face today and will face tomorrow.
NFPA is uniquely positioned because we bring together the full fire and life safety ecosystem. We develop independent, consensus-based codes and standards; conduct research; provide training and certification; educate the public; and work with policymakers, the fire service, industry and community leaders. Emerging risks cannot be addressed by one group alone. They require the entire system.
That approach is essential especially as we talk about issues every part of the world is grappling with such as lithium ion batteries, energy storage systems, renewable energy technologies, wildfire risk, responder health and safety and resilient construction.
NFPA’s biggest role is to provide trusted guidance that helps people move from concern or problem to action. We equip professionals and the public with the knowledge they need to make safer choices.
NFPA is a global organization. Our standards are used and recognized around the world and our members, volunteers, customers and partners represent a broad international safety community. Strengthening global engagement starts with listening to and understanding the challenges professionals face around the world.
We must continue to support fire, electrical and life safety professionals with trusted resources that can be delivered in different ways. Just as important, we need to continue to grow relationships with global entities, governments, the fire service, industry and technical experts so that safety knowledge flows in both directions.
I would hope people say that NFPA remains the most trusted organization to help advance global safety.
Most of all, I would like NFPA to be seen as an organization that helped make prevention more central to how communities think about safety. If we can help communities become more resilient before disasters happen, then we will have honored the legacy we’ve inherited over 130 years and prepared NFPA to serve the next generation against future challenges.
