Since its first edition more than a century ago, the Fire Protection Handbook has endeavored to fulfill the needs of the fire protection community for a single source handbook on the state of the art in fire protection and fire prevention practices. It was originally known as the Handbook of the Underwriters Bureau of New England and was first published in 1896, the same year that the National Fire Protection Association was founded. The original author, Everett U. Crosby, was manager of the Underwriters Bureau of New England, and one of the stock fire insurance company executives who came together to develop a consistent set of sprinkler rules in 1895 that led to the formation of NFPA. He also became the first secretary of NFPA, serving from 1896 to 1903, and chairman of the NFPA executive committee from 1903 to 1907. His father, Umberto C. Crosby, was the first chairman of the NFPA executive committee, serving in 1896 and 1897, and the second president of NFPA, serving from 1897 to