NFPA AWARDS HOME 38 FIRE SPRINKLER GRANTS
MAY / JUN 2017
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SprinklerAge
Vol 36 / 03 May/June 2017
Features 10 | Flammable and Combustible Liquid Operations
It’s Not Always a Matter of Surround and Drown
18 | Hollywood Thinks They All Go Off at Once!
Fire Sprinkler Misrepresentations in the Media
20 | Is Your Company Tweeting?
AFSA Member Companies in the Age of Social Media
24 | CEUs, CPDs and Contacts
AFSA36 Offers a Winning Combination
33 | Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act Reintroduced
Contact Your Senate and House Representatives
34 | Protecting Paint Booths
Running the Criteria Gauntlet
38 | NFPA Awards Home Fire Sprinkler Grants
ON THE COVER AFSA’s ITM Inspector Development program is a hit! Read more about this much-needed training program on page 44 of this issue. Inset graphic credit: Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition.
Creative Ideas Help Foster Awareness and Acceptance
40 | ESFR Sprinklers and Obstructions
Research Continues on Larger Sizes
42 | Don’t Believe the Stereotypes
Look to the Next Generation When Recruiting
44 | ITM Program Celebrates Successful Inaugural Cycle
Training Helps Students Succeed and Companies Grow
6
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
52 | HFSC Expands Digital Outreach
8
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Coalition Reaches More Consumers and Fire Service
53 | Scholarships Help Students Succeed
Increasing Public Awareness of Fire Sprinklers
54 | What the Government Doesn’t Want You to Know...
... About Apprenticeship
56 | Questions About NFPA 30?
Informal Interpretations Help Douse Disagreements
60 | Thank You for Your Support!
Members Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries
64 AHJ PERSPECTIVE 66 AFSA NEWS 66 CALENDAR 68 CHAPTER NEWS 70 NEW MEMBERS 71 U.S. CONSTRUCTION 72 PRODUCT NEWS 74 PEOPLE IN THE NEWS 76 INDUSTRY NEWS 78
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
62 | Bolted Steel Tanks
The Right Fit for Fire Protection
SPRINKLER AGE, (ISSN 0896-2685) is published bimonthly for $33.95 per year by the American Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc., 12750 Merit Drive, Suite 350, Dallas, Texas 75251. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, Texas and additional mailing offices.
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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE EDITORIAL: 214 349 5965
BY MICHAEL F. MEEHAN AFSA Chairman of the Board
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Twenty-six years ago I was given the opportunity to run a division for my company. I was 31 years old and had six months of field experience, six years of design experience, and four years of estimating and project management. As is often the case, I was given the opportunity to move up to fix something that was broken. We had a division that was in bad shape and had all the classic symptoms of decline: lack of morale, exodus of talent, and indifference to outcome. Needless to say, the bottom line reflected the environment. The economy in 1991 did not help the situation. The turnaround came, but it took far longer than I had hoped. When I have a bad day I take some comfort from remembering those early days and realize it could be a lot worse. As I embarked on that journey and in theme with this month’s publication on education, I was sent to a FMI seminar that was designed for the new managers. The emphasis was to take an individual who was not historically a manager and teach them some basics, with a strong emphasis on learning to read financial statements and financial reporting. It was fabulous and I still carry that knowledge today. One of my favorite lessons, which I have repeated many times to associates and competitors, can be summed up with the phrase: “Contracting is a three-legged stool.” The first leg is getting the work, the second leg is doing the work, and the third leg is keeping score. Failure in any of these areas will cause your house to wobble and maybe collapse. Most of us are pretty good at getting the work. People don’t generally jump into these contracting waters without a strong sense of self and salesmanship, or at least some line to a source of work to get the endeavor going. My experience is that most contractors are actually pretty good at the second leg of “doing the work.” Many of us came up in the field or in the office on the operations side, so we are usually in our comfort zone here. My experience has been that it is the third leg that gives a lot of contractors their biggest headaches. There is no glamour in score keeping and it takes a skill set that most of us don’t have, must learn, or we must trust in others. It takes time away from getting the work and doing the work. It takes resources that to some appear as frivolous overhead. Ignore the third leg at your peril. The end of the year is not the time to figure out your cash flow is upside down and your jobs that you thought looked good are now in the gutter. Being a successful contractor is a combination of many things. Leadership, principles, and culture are all critical, but at the end of the day it is about people – good people applying good principles. You will never find a quality company that does not have people who reflect their own and their company’s values. Strong people hold up the legs of a successful house. Treat them well. n
AFSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MICHAEL F. MEEHAN, CHAIRMAN 757-213-3660 WAYNE WEISZ, FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN 209-334-9119 THEODORE C. WILLS, JR., SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN 610-754-7836 LINDA M. BIERNACKI, SECRETARY 318-841-0330 JACK A. MEDOVICH, TREASURER 410-787-0639 JOSEPH A. HEINRICH, IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN 785-825-7710 DONALD G. ALBARES, 504-837-0572 DWIGHT BATEMAN, 713-910-3242 PAUL DELORIE, 603-432-8221 ROD DIBONA, 605-348-2342 LYLE HALL, 858-513-4949 R. DONALD KAUFMAN, 505-884-2447 JEFF PHIFER, 803-438-2994 AFSA MANAGEMENT: 214 349 5965
FRANK MORTL III, CAE, President ROLAND J. HUGGINS, PE, Senior Vice President of Engineering & Technical Services, ext. 121 MARLENE M. GARRETT, CMP, Vice President of Meetings & Operations, ext. 118 BRADLEY ELLIOTT, Director of Member Services, ext. 135 LAVERNE DAVIS, Director of Financial & Administrative Services, ext. 112 NICOLE DUVALL, Director of Communications, ext. 126 LESLIE CLOUNTS, Director of Education Services, ext. 130 ROGER GRAGG, Director of Marketing & Information Technology, ext. 116 Sprinkler Age is devoted to the professional development of the Fire Sprinkler Industry. Deadline is 1st of the month preceding publication. Published by American Fire Sprinkler Association, 12750 Merit Drive, Suite 350, Dallas, Texas 75251. Call (214) 349-5965, FAX (214) 343-8898, or email
[email protected] for information. Copyright © American Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. All rights reserved. PRINTED IN USA. Unless expressly stated otherwise, all editorial and advertising material published is the opinion of the respective authors and/ or companies involved and should not be construed as official action by or approved by Publisher or the Association. Sprinkler Age is a membership benefit, provided free of charge to AFSA members. For information on non-member and/or foreign subscription rates, call (214) 349-5965. ABOUT AFSA MEMBERSHIP AFSA annual membership dues are a sliding scale for Contractors and Associates and a flat fee for Authorities Having Jurisdiction. (Members receive a free subscription to Sprinkler Age.) Write or call AFSA for membership information. See AFSA’s website at firesprinkler.org.
6 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT BY FRANK MORTL III, CAE AFSA President
Awareness. Prior to being hired as AFSA’s executive vice president in late 2014, I had been employed as the executive director of the Michigan Lupus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. We operated knowing that groups focused on socioeconomic or medically based causes often rely on awareness as a driving force of their mission. Upon my start date with AFSA, you can imagine how pleased I was to learn that our association has an invested pool of volunteers serving on our Fire Sprinkler Public Education & Awareness Committee. As I used to say to the lupus patients and family members in Michigan who looked to our Foundation for service and clinical trial achievements, fundraising is obviously critical, but awareness is just as important (if not more so) in the grand scheme of creating groundswells of support for your overall goals. Led by Committee Chair Jeff Phifer of Crawford Sprinkler Co. of South Carolina and Immediate Past Committee Chair Jack Medovich of Fire & Life Safety America, AFSA’s Fire Sprinkler Public Education & Awareness Committee (PE&A Committee) has taken on a number of ambitious projects this year. In addition to coordinating side-by-side burn demonstrations, rewarding individuals for exemplary service to the industry, developing the most impactful social media platforms for contractors, performing grassroots efforts to develop our vocational workforce, and supporting AFSA NextGen Initiative activities, the PE&A Committee broke its own record in April with 70,742 entries into their “High School Scholarship Contest.” In addition to highlighting the importance of residential fire sprinklers to so many future homebuyers, our PE&A Committee also manages a “Second Chance Scholarship” which awards multiple winners currently enrolled in a two- or four-year college, university, technical, career, or online school based in the United States. Nearly 40,000 entries were collected last year for this other scholarship program, setting a new record. With major coverage in Teen Vogue and the Penny Hoarder, TV coverage on the CW network, and internet coverage with the Krazy Coupon Lady blog and the Strategic Scholar podcast, we had a banner year for the scholarship program. Both contests totaled over 110,000 direct opportunities within the last 12 months aimed to heighten fire protection awareness. Phenomenal. 8 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
As a founding member and proud supporter/contributor to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), AFSA has had the pleasure of assigning members of our PE&A Committee to coordinate with HFSC on multiple side-by-side burn demonstrations. Take it from someone who had only watched online burn demos prior to a couple of years ago, there is nothing like experiencing first-hand the moment of flashover – the instance of a fire spreading very rapidly across a gap because of intense heat. For the schoolchildren, parents and members of the lay public who have attended AFSA side-by-sides in recent years, the education prior to and throughout the demonstration as well as the subsequent invaluable awareness witnessed by the devastating effect of a home fire is immeasurable. Kudos to AFSA’s PE&A Committee for spearheading these efforts and look for more burn demonstrations at local AFSA chapter meetings and future Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition gatherings. If you’re not already “following” AFSA on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, please consider doing so at your earliest convenience. There is an absolute wealth of quality information shared, every day, on each of those social media platforms. Whether you subscribe to any or all of the available outreach and awareness vehicles, even performing a quick search for recent posts on the “four majors” that AFSA populates many times each day will result in learning about industry-related stories geared to help contractors succeed. Additionally, the ever-popular printed edition of Sprinkler Age magazine has a supplemental online blog to further the PE&A Committee’s education and awareness benchmarks. SprinklerAge.com/ is another valuable resource to find the latest impactful fire sprinkler information in today’s digital world. AFSA leadership is so very proud of our Fire Sprinkler Public Education & Awareness Committee and their many awareness-driven initiatives that have and continue to be faithfully executed. Working to promote the fire sprinkler concept, organizing public outreach events, promoting favorable state and local legislation, and creating awareness programming for chapters is a daunting task. Fortunately, AFSA has the generosity, benevolence and brilliance of 16 dedicated volunteers laser focused to raise the level of educational advancement for members and promote the use of automatic fire sprinkler systems through synchronized awareness. n
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Flammable and Combustible Liquid Operations It’s Not Always a Matter of Surround and Drown Craig Prahl | CH2M
As one involved with industrial fire protection engineering for more than 25 years, you would expect very few surprises to cross your desk. However in the ever-changing, technology-enriched world in which we live, change is the only constant. One of the more challenging aspects of our trade lies in the protection of industrial chemical processing facilities and specifically those who use, store and create flammable and combustible liquids. I am often amazed and at times bewildered at the imagination of chemists. Who would have ever thought to mix a little of this and a little of that to come up with something that didn’t exist last month and will become a common household item sold on store shelves within the next year or less. The innovative imagination of those chemists and scientists is what creates for us the challenge of determining how to protect such facilities. As the fire protection engineer, where do we find the data and how do we put it all together to reach a result that meets codes and provides the level of protection appropriate for the hazard? As a contractor or AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) how do I know if the design I’m looking at is right? We’re going to be addressing this subject primarily from the engineer’s perspective but much of this information can also be used as a starting point by an AHJ to review the validity of the design. There are some basic steps and readily available information that can be used to determine how the fire protection systems for this facility should be designed. In contrast, there are also cavernous holes where there is nothing or very little information regarding this new innovation that has just come upon your desk, but do not despair. One point of clarification, naturally one article cannot delve into all aspects involved in this type of analysis since there are many factors to be analyzed to reach the final design criteria in these kinds of facilities. This discussion is limited to one facet in the vast overall topic of protection of flammable and combustible liquid operations. Where to Start 1. Get the list. If you are responsible for the engineering effort you should have received a chemical inventory list from a process engineer or owner. With that list you should also receive or request the Safety Data Sheets (SDS, formerly referred to as Material Safety Data Sheets) on everything on the inventory list. As an AHJ, if the engineer of record did not include the hazards on the engineering documents, request the chemical inventory list. A good engineer will document the basis of their design criteria by 10 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Figure 1. Example of mixed hazard storage arrangement. Photo credit: Craig Prahl.
stating for example that the design is based on the presence of Acetone as the primary hazard. As the EOR, the more info you provide on your documents, the fewer questions will arise with regard to the validity of the design. Just stating “protect per NFPA 30 [Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code]” is not sufficient nor does it provide any record of the basis of design should questions arise in the future. 2. Determine the classification of materials. If the chemicals haven’t been categorized by their classification such as flammable, combustibles, corrosives, water reactives, etc., that’s the first step. Then break them down into sub-groups like flammable Class IA, IB, Combustible Class II or IIIA or IIIB, etc. Then sort them once more into groups of miscible (water soluble) or non-miscibles. Be careful with the Class IA and IB materials when classifying them. Pay attention to that boiling point value. Class IA materials have some very specific requirements not required of Class IB materials. 3. Review Section 5 of the SDS, Firefighting Measures. Understand that these recommendations apply to the manual firefighting effort, but the types of methods recommended can correlate to the type of fixed, automatic systems that can be considered. Typically you’ll see a list such as, “Foam, water spray and water fog, do not use straight stream.” So what does that tell you? Well I now know that foam is a viable option and probably recommended for a reason, but water spray (sprinklers) may be acceptable as well. Often this is related to the quantity involved in the incident.
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Straight stream doesn’t mean anything in particular to me from a fire sprinkler design standpoint. One thing to note is that water fog doesn’t mean I can use a water mist system, remember, this is about manual firefighting. Not everything crosses over to sprinkler design. So now we keep digging. 4. Know what types of containers. You will need to know the type of container in which the material is stored or in process. Is it a pressure vessel, or 55-gallon drum or plastic tote or something else? As you examine different design schemes within NFPA 30, the type of the container is a critical piece of information. 5. Know the operating conditions. When it comes to chemical processing structures, additional information will be required regarding the temperature of the materials while in process and the pressure in which they appear in the process. These two factors can dramatically change the physical characteristics of the materials should there be a leak or spill. A leak in a pressurized system can result in an atomized discharge which can often be more easily ignited as opposed to a steady, solid stream at atmospheric pressure. The class of a material when heated above its flashpoint can be changed at times one or two categories. It is not uncommon for a Class IIIA or IIIB liquid to be considered the same as a class I flammable with regard to its flashpoint when the material is heated above its flashpoint. Understanding the process is often just as important as knowing what hazards are present. Also with regard to operations, when dealing with storage facilities you will need the rack arrangement, height, number
of rows, aisle widths, types of containers whether they are relieving type or not. 6. Find other resources. When SDS info is sketchy, another resource to consider is the U.S. Department of Transportation Emergency Response Guide. This can be downloaded for free from http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/outreach-training/erg. At the bottom of most SDS in section 14, Transportation Information, there is typically a UN number. Below is how you may see it indicated: DOT (Department of Transportation): PROPER SHIPPING NAME: Combustible Liquid Nos (Diesel #1, Diesel #2) HAZARD CLASS: Combustible Liquid IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: UN 1993 Go to the emergency response guide and if you download the PDF, you can search for the UN number and find a Guide Number. For this material the Guide Number is 128. Under that Guide, you will find more information on response and handling of the material. Just like the firefighting information on the SDS, the Guide provides often more detailed information on firefighting for the type of material listed. Other resources are of course Insurer Data Sheets and also industry-published guidelines. The latter are often easily found by simple online searches. Disclaimer: If you are not familiar with reading and interpreting SDS or chemical information, seek out the appropriate design professional to assist with this step. The Design Once all the information is in place, the next logical destination on this journey is NFPA 30. But once you’ve opened NFPA 30, there is often a decision to be made on the media to be used for fire control/suppression which is, do I use foam, foam-water, or is water alone going to be sufficient? The decision to use foam or just water is a design decision that can often not be as simple as it may sound. So how do you decide: to foam or not to foam? That is our question for this discussion. Back to the SDS.
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Let’s take a look at the firefighting portion of the SDS, does it list foam as one of the means for extinguishment? What is the specific gravity of the material? If it is less than 1.0 with 1.0 being equal to water, it will float on the water. Agitation may be required to achieve proper dilution to increase the material’s flashpoint temperature to where it cannot be ignited otherwise the material floats on the surface of the water and continues to evaporate producing potentially ignitable vapors. Is the material a polar solvent or hydrocarbon? Basically, for the purpose of our design decisions, flammable and combustible liquids are typically categorized as one of two basic groups: Polar Solvents or Hydrocarbons. Verification of this can in most cases be accomplished by reviewing the SDS information. In Section 9 – Physical and Chemical
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Properties look for the words “miscible” or “soluble.” If it says that the material is soluble in water, you have a polar solvent. The essential difference for our discussion being, polar solvents are soluble in water and typify such liquids as alcohols, ethanol, methanol. Polar solvents are typically the product of a distilling process. Hydrocarbons are typically non-miscible (will not mix with water) and examples are gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel. Hydrocarbons most often originate from petroleum based products. Since hydrocarbons will most often not mix with water it is best to pursue the use of foam especially if you have the potential of a pool fire scenario. If the material is listed as soluble in the SDS, look at the Solubility Factor. If the value for solubility is less than 0.1 g/100mL, the material will not mix well with water and is considered insoluble for our purposes. The closer the value to 0.1 g/mL, the less likely the material is to mix with water to achieve adequate dilution without extreme and continued agitation. So while it might be considered soluble for the sake of chemistry, for fire control/suppression purposes related to sprinkler systems, it is not. We’re not going to attempt an organic chemistry lesson here on polar versus non-polar and how molecular bonding works but suffice it to say that there are exceptions to the base rules and there are times when a deeper understanding of the molecular makeup of components is needed. Time to go find that guy in the lab coat…
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But it’s water soluble I have often heard the argument that if the material is soluble (able to be dissolved in water) that water soluble liquids can be diluted so you do not need a foam agent to achieve fire control in a pool fire situation. However this is not always the case. For example, Ethylene Oxide (EO) is a flammable, explosible gas at atmospheric pressures and ambient temperatures over 50° F. At temperatures below 50° F, the material can be held in a liquid state. To maintain liquid state in storage, the material is kept at 23° F under a nitrogen pad. The material in liquid state is considered a Class IA flammable liquid with a flash point of -4° F and a boiling point of approximately 51° F. It is completely miscible in water but may not mix thoroughly without agitation due to the differences in density. The material has a specific gravity of .875 (water = 1.0) and a vapor density of 1.5 (air – 1.0). The flammability limits of vapor are between 3-100 percent with the ability to burn in an oxygen deficient atmosphere due to the material’s ability to generate its own oxygen. Extinguishment of EO is difficult without sufficient dilution. In closed systems or areas, a dilution ratio of 100:1 water to EO is required to produce a mixture whereby the vapor will not support ignition. In open areas, a ratio of greater than 22:1 water to EO is considered sufficient to reduce the likelihood of ignition of liquid EO. However, in open areas the water to EO ratio of anything less than 22 (some sources use 24):1 water to EO can still generate sufficient vapors to support combustion. So while EO is water miscible, it is going to take a considerable water supply to dilute the mixture even to the point of minimizing vapor release let alone achieve a sufficient dilution to render it unignitable. Also don’t forget that in order to dilute EO there has to be agitation. Agitation and foam blanketing are not compatible since agitation will result in destruction of the foam blanket. EO is one extreme example of soluble materials that pose a higher than average firefighting challenge. Sound like fun yet? Moral to the story – do not assume that just because a material is water soluble that water alone can achieve the desired fire control or extinguishment from your sprinkler system. Generally, for fixed fire protection systems, foam is suitable and often preferred/recommended for areas where a pool fire scenario of flammables and/or combustibles are considered a possibility. Foam is also common and highly recommended when dealing with fires where hydrocarbons are involved. Foam is of little use where your primary hazard will be a three-dimensional or pressurized discharge “jet” fire. Foam can aid in providing an insulating layer on vessels to create a minimal heat barrier but it is not an automatic equal to passive fire rated coatings when fire resistance ratings are required for vessels and or structures.
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Water-only sprinkler systems can be effective when the fuel loading is minimal. What “minimal” means is subjective. That really depends on the material. For some liquids a gallon is not considered minimal as some 1A liquids are highly volatile and can present a significant fire challenge. What is minimal is up to the discretion of the design professional and at times may require input from the owner’s risk management or underwriter based on historical loss data related to the process or materials present.
have foam in your system. There are times when the hazardous material may only require 0.16 but other conditions such as an open building may require you to use a higher discharge values due to weather conditions or the presence of pressurized systems where a jet-fire conditions could occur. Low discharge rates are often inadequate against these types of conditions. Other determining factors related to density can be whether the system is a closed head sprinkler system or open head deluge system.
When areas are handling or storing large quantities of flammables and combustibles, secondary containment may be required to contain or control spills. You must know whet`her the secondary containment scheme is to contain spills within the space or to use remote impounding where all spills from vessels and discharge of fire sprinklers are evacuated from the space to an external holding area. When the containment system is designed to evacuate the spill, using foam may not be of any advantage since it could also be quickly evacuated from the area and not allowed to blanket the floor area. If there is no spill to blanket, there may not be any advantage to using foam in your system design.
For industrial chemical projects, an understanding of the operation and the chemicals that go into the process is essential in selecting the proper design criteria. Sometimes it’s pretty easy and straight forward, other times not. The fire protection professional has to be aggressive in their desire to constantly expand their knowledge of science and technology as it relates to our discipline and especially in the world of special hazards. For some projects, the chapter hasn’t even been written yet that addresses the “how to” regarding design. Maybe you’ll be the one to write it. n
One caution when choosing foam as a firefighting additive, always consult with your foam vendor and use the discharge criteria they provide based on the specific hazardous material. Do not automatically assume you can use the minimum 0.16 gpm/ft2 you find within NFPA standards as that is just the minimum acceptable value. It is not the automatic “go to” value just because you
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Craig Prahl is currently the fire protection group lead and subject matter expert (SME) for CH2M SE Regional Design Center. CH2M is a global engineering, construction management, design-build, multi-faceted firm employing over 26,000 employees. Prahl has been involved in fire protection engineering and construction since 1989 with a primary focus on domestic and international special hazards industrial fire protection projects.
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Hollywood Thinks They All Go Off at Once! Fire Sprinkler Misrepresentations in the Media CHARLOTTE JOHNSON | American Fire Sprinkler Association
It seems that everyone who works in the fire sprinkler industry inevitably develops a very specific pet peeve: the blatant misrepresentation of fire sprinklers in the media. Think about it. Can you remember the last time you saw fire sprinklers all go off at once in a movie or television show? Of course you can! Because it happens all the time. It’s a common trope that Hollywood loves: one sprinkler is activated, and suddenly they all are. In the 2002 film Changing Lanes, Ben Affleck holds a burning piece of paper under a sprinkler head, which activates the entire system and creates a deluge in his office building, causing office workers to run screaming from their desks, immediately drenched. In the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus, the teenage hero holds a lighter up to a single sprinkler head, and all of them activate immediately, raining water down on the witches chasing him. And in the Veronica Mars movie (2014), in an attempt to end a bar fight, Kristen Bell holds her lighter under a fire sprinkler head, and all the heads in the bar go off. Clearly, it’s a plot device that Hollywood relies on, and one that would not have the wow-factor the movies love if the sprinklers worked as they do in real life. Even when sprinklers are not set off on purpose, the myth that all heads are triggered at once is consistently played out on screen. It’s not just movies – television shows are just as guilty. In the NBC comedy The Office, when Michael Scott proposes to his girlfriend by filling a room full of candles, it causes every sprinkler in the office to activate and douses the office workers in water. In the long-running sitcom Frasier, a cooking fire at the Crane brothers’ new restaurant causes every sprinkler in the establishment to activate, ruining everyone’s meal. It’s great for 18 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Photo credit: Pixabay user “annca.”
comedic effect, but if you know how fire sprinklers actually work, it will just make you roll your eyes. Another common misconception perpetuated in film is that there is some sort of special button that can activate all the heads in a sprinkler system. In the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, the villain breaks the glass on a box labeled “Emergency Sprinkler Override,” turns a key in the box, and all the sprinklers in an airport are activated. Similarly, in the 1995 crime drama Hackers, students use their internethacking skills to access a sprinkler system remotely and discharge the sprinklers while school is in session. Perhaps even more common than these is the misconception that activating a fire alarm will in turn activate all the sprinklers in a building. In the 1998 film Lethal Weapon 4, Mel Gibson lifts an umbrella over his head and gleefully pulls a fire alarm, which instantaneously sets off every sprinkler in the building, dousing an entire restaurant. In Mean Girls (2004), Tim
Meadows sets off a fire alarm with a baseball bat, and every fire sprinkler head in the high school activates, drenching high school girls in the middle of a brawl. This phenomenon is so troubling to so many that one man decided to do something to track it. A few years ago, Patrick Smith, a doctoral candidate studying Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, noticed the problem in the movies and shows he was watching. “I thought that it would be interesting to document in one location where all of these occurred,” says Smith, “with the hope that it might be a good resource for someone to use in the classroom.” So Smith launched the website Films on Fire (filmsonfire.wixsite.com/sprinklersense) where he maintains a running list of the films and television shows he finds where sprinklers are misrepresented. Currently, the list is over 50 entries long, and tracks media from 1937 up to present day. It also provides links to YouTube clips
for each entry, so that you can see for yourself where the filmmakers got it wrong. Just like Smith, the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is not content to just sit back and let sprinklers be maligned this way. In 1996, faced with ongoing misconceptions about the industry, a group of AFSA members focused their energy in an effort to promote their craft and educate the public about these life saving devices. Recognizing the benefits of greater awareness, AFSA founded its Fire Sprinkler Public Education and Awareness (PE&A) committee to promote greater understanding of fire sprinklers and increase public awareness of the importance of this life safety technology.
fiction and the incorrect representation is important to the story. But movies and television shows have a considerable effect on our perceptions of the world. When sprinklers are represented incorrectly, it can be detrimental to public awareness and legislation. For example, in the 2004 animated film The Incredibles, a small explosion causes a lot of smoke, a fire alarm activation, and then the immediate activation of every sprinkler in the house. While it is nice that the home was equipped with sprinklers, scenes like that don’t do much to recommend home fire sprinklers to the general public.
Sprinklers, as we know, are only activated by the heat from a fire, not smoke. If you would like to get involved in advocating that Hollywood better portray fire sprinklers, you can. Write letters! Let the studio executives know why it’s so important that such an influential industry portray these life-saving devices correctly. If you see a fire sprinkler misrepresentation that you want to correct, contact PE&A Committee Liaison Nicole Duvall at
[email protected], or visit firesprinkler.org. n
“AFSA devotes a great deal of time and money to fire sprinkler education, including the ongoing battle to dispel false perceptions about the technology,” says PE&A Staff Liaison Nicole Duvall, director of communications at AFSA. “The perpetuation of these myths and misrepresentations make it much more difficult for AFSA and other safety advocates to get the public to understand the real life safety and property protection benefits of automatic fire sprinklers.” For every Hollywood inconsistency that PE&A is made aware of, AFSA will draft a letter to the studio that produced the film, explaining what was done incorrectly and asking them to be more diligent in the future. The letters include detailed descriptions of the scenes in which sprinklers are misrepresented, as well as clear explanations of what was wrong with the scene, and why it matters. Often the letters will include the phone number of the studio head’s local fire official, encouraging them to contact that person and further educate themselves.
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“Hollywood takes great pains in making sure the set is authentic to the period and subject matter it is filming,” says PE&A Committee Chair Jeff Phifer of Crawford Sprinkler Co. in Lugoff, South Carolina. “Why should they not give the same care and attention to detail to all the content that makes the show?” Some might argue that it’s not important that Hollywood represent sprinklers accurately, especially if the film is clearly Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 19
Is Your Company Tweeting? AFSA Member Companies in the Age of Social Media CHARLOTTE JOHNSON | American Fire Sprinkler Association
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has some of the best and brightest in the industry. Our members are forward-thinking individuals looking to connect with their fellow AFSA members, their customers, and their friends. In this digital age, one of the very best ways to stay connected to anyone is through social media. Far more than just a place to post photos of your latest vacation, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn can be invaluable tools that help you grow your customer base and stay in the minds of those customers with whom you have already connected. If you are an AFSA member company that is just starting to build a social
ABCO Fire Protection’s social media strategy includes posts like the one above published on Facebook.
media presence, it can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. Start by taking a look at companies like yours around the country that are already using social media to connect with their customer base. ABCO Fire Protection in Cleveland, Ohio is one contractor member company that has harnessed social media to its advantage. Alex Garrote, marketing and special projects manager at ABCO, runs the company’s social presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. He sees social media as the perfect way to give ABCO a voice. “[It] helps form part of our brand identity, which plays a role in setting us apart from our competition,” says Garrote. “Our voice is primarily used to inform our social media followers of what is going on at ABCO, news about our industry, and news stories that relate to what we do.” Often the first question that is asked when a company is first starting out on social media is: “How often should I post?” You want to connect with your community and customers, but you don’t want to overwhelm them. While the general wisdom states that a maximum of three posts on Facebook per day and a minimum of five tweets on Twitter per day are recommended, Garrote has found that posting just a few times a week
20 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
allows ABCO to maintain a consistent voice while also providing timely, valuable content. “We purposefully try to avoid posting things just to keep our feed going,” says Garrote. “ABCO’s Twitter exists primarily as another way for people to find us, and a way to distribute our content in a bite-sized form.” This is the generally accepted view regarding Instagram and LinkedIn, as well; a few posts a week is fine, as long as you are providing relevant content that engages your followers. Which begs the next question: What content should I post? This is another opportunity to learn from your peers. Notice the kind of content that companies like yours are posting, and who is interacting with those posts – does one photo get more likes, shares, comments or retweets than another? Why might that be? Think about the photos, knowledge and tips that you have to share that your friends, family, customers, and the fire protection community might appreciate seeing. Colonial Fire Protection Systems, Inc. in Rochester, New York is another AFSA contractor member company that is active on social
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Colonial Fire Protection Systems regularly posts photos of the sprinkler installations the company does, along with hashtags specific to its work.
media. Inspections & Marketing Manager Justine VanNostran runs social media for the company, and she regularly posts photos of the sprinkler installations the company does, along with hashtags specific to its work, such as #ColonialFire and #FireProtection. “We want to provide more insight into the world of fire sprinklers,” says VanNostran, “so we share pictures and stories to help people recognize the importance of fire sprinkler systems.” VanNostran also posts fire sprinkler advocacy tools, and participates in larger hashtag campaigns such as #SprinklerGeek. The #SprinklerGeek hashtag is a great way for AFSA member companies to get involved in social media. It’s easy to participate – whenever you see an interesting sprinkler head, or a unique system installation, or if you’re ever out on a job and see something sprinkler related that you feel is worth sharing, snap a photo and post it to your favorite social media platform with the hashtag #SprinklerGeek. That way, other members of the fire sprinkler industry are sure to see it, and AFSA might even share it on its main pages. Both ABCO and Colonial have found that social media has been a tool that has helped to grow their business. Garrote has seen ABCO’s social media presence become a differentiator in how its customers, 22 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
competitors, and prospects see them, and found that it has helped them to connect with companies that they have partnered with in the past. VanNostran has found it has increased conversations about their company and their work, and has made raising awareness about life and fire safety easier. It’s perfectly acceptable to start out slow. “You can always begin by sharing posts from other reputable, industry specific pages so you can stay active on your page and start conversations,” advises VanNostran. “But be sure to share their post, not copy, paste and tag them…that will hurt clicks to their pages. Then integrate posts about what your business specializes in, team shots, vehicles, etc.” “Focus on providing great content,” suggests Garrote. “Also, don’t be afraid to let your voice show through and have a little fun with it. People want to feel they can relate to a company, to its values, and one way they do that is through a voice.” As you get more involved in social media, don’t forget to follow AFSA! You can find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/firesprinkler.org, on Twitter at @AFSA, and on Instagram at @firesprinklerorg. Start engaging with your community today! n
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CEUs, CPDs and Contacts AFSA36 Offers a Winning Combination Don’t miss the fire sprinkler industry event of the year, AFSA36: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition! To be held September 24-27 at Bellagio Las Vegas, this year’s event will feature technical and managerial seminars, the National Apprentice Competition, fun-filled optional tours, and exciting social events. Three days with 600-plus decision makers, representing 200-plus contractor companies at AFSA36 will be time extremely well spent. This is the nation’s largest gathering of fire sprinkler professionals, and offers unparalleled professional development opportunities. “We have noticed a trend in individuals who attend seminars for credits,” says AFSA’s Vice President of Meetings & Operations Marlene Garrett. “This trend shows more employers are sending more people from their company to gain knowledge in both the technical side and/or management side of their business. For this reason we, are responding to the demand for training in all fields and will offer more seminar topics than ever before which equates to more CEUs and CPDs.” AFSA36 will offer 45 technical and managerial seminars in Vegas. Following is
a brief description of topics to expect at the convention, many offering attendees the opportunity to earn CEUs or CPDs. Ambiguities in NFPA 13 Roland Huggins, P.E., AFSA – There are criteria within NFPA 13 that leaves many wondering what is actually required. Whether it’s a tortured sentence or simply poor directions, the contractor has to figure it out. For example, when the aisles between racks are too narrow, we are to treat it as a multiple row rack. What does that tell us regarding the placement of in-rack sprinklers? Some of the other installation topics will include obstruction rules for CMSA, concealed spaces with TJIs, and floating clouds. A discussion on design topics will include when the definitions for commodity classification do not apply, going up the design curves, and the owner’s certificate. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Automated Inspection and Testing and Distance Monitoring Terry Victor, SimplexGrinnell – NFPA codes and standards are recognizing the need to keep up with technology including the use of the internet and other data transmission and collection sources to accomplish tasks historically performed by an individual. The concepts of automated inspection and
Seminars Spotlight: AHJ Exclusives Rough-In Inspections & Final Acceptance Test Kenneth Wagoner, Parsley Consulting & Steven Scandaliato, SDG, LLC – This free seminar will explain the synergy required in the design and installation process exposing the critical areas of each needed to ensure that lives and property will be saved. A detailed discussion regarding the activities included in this inspection and the importance they play will be presented. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) Fire Sprinkler Systems Plan Review for AHJs Kenneth Wagoner & Steven Scandaliato – The free seminar will guide attendees in a discussion of the requirements for plans and calculations contained in Chapter 23, and will include an exercise in hands-on review of a sample fire sprinkler system plan, including the overall design concept, hydraulic calculations, and the underground supply system. (0.4 CEUs | 4.0 CPDs) 24 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
testing and distance monitoring are already in use in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, for fire alarm systems but can they be applied to water based fire protection systems? NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, anticipated the use of this technology by adding a new section to Chapter 4 in the 2017 edition titled Automated Inspection and Testing. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Building a Successful Design Team Ray Lambert, Western Fire Protection, Inc. – Help implement a plan to improve your design department. Identify actions that can be taken to enhance the quality of design. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Building a Successful ITM Team Bob Caputo, C.F.P.S., C.E.T., Fire & Life Safety America; Russ Leavitt, C.F.P.S., S.E.T., Telgian Corp.; & Jason Williams, C.E.T., AFSA – This seminar will cover a brief description of the AFSA ITM (Inspection, Testing and Maintenance) Inspector Development program and the reasons why the program was created. The main thrust of this seminar would be to educate the companies/owners/managers on what the company, its managers and the mentor inspector needs to do to provide the right atmosphere, mentoring, record keeping, additional training and support to these students so that the student excels in this Program. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) Change the Conversation to Win More Sales Billy Marshall, ServiceTrade – The value and success of your business can be measured by three questions about your customers: How many, how much, and how long? As competitors try to lure customers away – and undercut the true value you offer with their rock-bottom prices – how can you change the conversation to keep the customers that you have today, increase their total lifetime value, and attract new customers for tomorrow? (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs)
Campbell
Caputo
Contractors & Third Party Designers Steve Leyton, Protection Design & Consulting – This seminar will discuss changing attitudes in the Architectural and Engineering (A&E) and owner/developer communities that are driving alternative delivery methods for fixed fire protection systems. Other topics will be the differences between deferred design/build and A&E design development practices, roles and expectations of contractors, engineers and designers, and ways to optimize these relationships. (0.2 CEUS | 2 CPDs) CPVC Fire Sprinkler Piping Systems Overview Donald Townley, P.E., Lubrizol – Developed specifically for fire protection engineers as well as system installers, this seminar provides attendees with an overview of CPVC and answers common questions in the fire protection industry. The CPVC systems overview will explain the performance characteristics along with the listings, approvals, and standards. Answering common questions includes the use of CPVC in special circumstances such as basements, attics, and air plenums with an update on chemical compatibility. (0.2 CEUS | 2 CPDs) Customer Service and Sales Skills for Technical and Support Staff Joe Siderowicz, AfterMarket Consulting – Attendees will be able to compare how they and their staff currently interact with customers. Best practices will be reviewed. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Design Management: The Least Expensive Profit Enhancement Jason Gill, Fire & Life Safety America – This seminar will enhance the understanding of the relationship between project success/ profit, and strong, efficient design management. Topics covered include: the evolution of the sprinkler design technician and the modern design department; scheduling and planning designer manpower; recruiting, training and retaining good designers;
Durso, Jr.
Elliott
improving design quality, accuracy, precision and efficiency with strategic oversight; documentation and communication; and keeping a balanced workload with varying designer skill sets or experience. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) Electrical Safety and NFPA 25 Russ Leavitt – NFPA 25 requires that legally required precautions are to be taken when working with controllers for electric motor driven fire pumps. This seminar addresses the risks associated with the inspections and tests required to be conducted with these controllers. The requirements for marking controllers and the use of personal protective equipment as required by NFPA 70E is also discussed. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Eliminating the Use of Density/ Area Curves for the Future of Fire Sprinkler Designs James Golinveaux, Viking Corporation – Density/area method of hydraulically calculating a sprinkler system has served us well for many years, but it is time for it to go. Attendees will learn the history of the density curve development and assumptions. New research has identified that the operating pressure and sprinkler type is more important than the theoretical density delivered. (0.2 CEUS | 2 CPDs) Fire Sprinkler Protection Challenges for Architectural Features Tom Wellen, P.E., AFSA – The current building trends are outpacing the guidance of NFPA 13 and listings of sprinklers. This seminar addresses these challenges such as high ceilings, cloud ceilings, slatted ceilings, integrated HVAC ceiling panels, concealed spaces, etc. NFPA 13 cannot be expected to address all so there are some methods, approaches, and resources that can be deployed to keep the project on track. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Fire Sprinklers in the IBC and IFC Tom Wellen – The codes are an important
Fantauzzi
Fessenden
part of your library in addition to the NFPA standards. Knowing what the codes require can have a detrimental affect on your daily operations. This seminar will address the requirements for sprinklers by the codes, rated separations, and conflicts. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Hiring and Retaining the Right People Randy Stutzman, FMI Corporation – The goal of most organizations is to have a robust workforce that supports the right people in the right positions and a set of systems and culture that keeps them excited to be there. However, the current reality for the fire protection industry is that there is not only an insufficient quantity of craft workers, supervisors, managers and staff for available positions, but also that the industry may not be appealing enough to attract and retain the younger Millennials or the upcoming Generation Z. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) How to Succeed & Thrive as a Contractor in Today’s Market Randy Stutzman – Numerous contractors, from small to large, struggle to keep existing clients and maintain a foothold. However, others gain traction, build backlogs, run profitably and penetrate new areas of specialization. So what is their secret? Why do some companies do well while others just barely survive? .15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs NFPA 13: Installation Changes to the 2016 Edition Bob Caputo – This program will address significant technical changes in the 2016 edition of NFPA 13 (from the 2013 edition) with explanation of the reason for each change. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) NFPA 13, 2019 Edition: A New Approach to the Protection of Storage Russ Leavitt – The 2019 edition of NFPA 13 reorganizes the requirements for the protection of storage in a completely new way. This seminar reviews the new Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 25
Gray
Golinveaux
format which has a new chapter with general storage protection requirements and organizes ceiling protection in to chapters by sprinkler type: CMDA, CMSA, and ESFR. A thorough review of the new chapter dealing with in-rack sprinkler protection is also provided. This seminar will demonstrate how the user uses the new format to locate and apply the requirements for the protection of storage. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) NFPA 13, 2019 Update David Hague, P.E., C.F.P.S., NFPA – During the last revision cycle, the NFPA 13 Technical Committee noted the need to restructure NFPA 13 and address inconsistent redundancies throughout the standard. A Task Group was formed with the objective to review the standard for the correct flow from chapter to chapter including whether to combine or split certain chapters. This,
Hadwin
Hague
in addition to technical changes has resulted in a completely reorganized NFPA 13 for the 2019 edition. This presentation will outline the new organization of the standard in addition to discussing the more significant technical changes. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) NFPA 13 Obstruction Rules Explained Roland Huggins – This session will look at the various obstruction rules in Chapter 8 of NFPA 13 and outline the application of the rules based on the type of sprinkler being installed. The program will outline where the various sprinkler rules should be applied, including the three and four times rules; and also define types of obstructions to better apply the standard. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) NFPA 13, Storage: 2016 Edition Changes James Golinveaux – This
Seminars Spotlight: Field Supervisor Training Presented by Bob Caputo, C.F.P.S., C.E.T. Field Supervisor Training, Part 1: Improving Productivity This first segment will address the need for sharp focus on field productivity, providing specifics on why and how to improve field performance, measuring productivity, smart use of field resources and manpower, and building better teams to drive toward positive outcomes. (0.2 CEUS | 2 CPDs) Field Supervisor Training, Part 2: Planning for Success This second segment will focus on pre-game planning: anticipating and avoiding common mistakes, eliminate lost time, importance of pre-job start-up calls and meetings, using project estimate data and job conditions to create action plans, and recording progress using job cost reports and as-built progress plans. (.2 CEUs| 2.0 CPDs) Field Supervisor Training, Part 3: Leadership Skills The conclusion of this three-part series will focus on improving communication skills: motivating people, confronting and dealing with difficult people and situations, and team building. We will discuss how to identify contributions of project players in terms of successful startup and continuation of jobs in progress. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs 26 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Hudson
Huggins
seminar discusses the storage update on changes and the reason for these changes in the 2016 edition of NFPA 13. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) NFPA 13R, Changes to the 2016 Edition, Plus IBC Applications Pete Schwab, Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers – This seminar will explore the changes to the 2016 edition of NFPA 13R, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low-Rise Residential Occupancies. Included will be a discussion regarding the clarifications for sprinkler protection of buildings with residential and mixed occupancies as modified in the 2016 edition. Other important changes for corridors in conjunction with the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) will be presented. Finally, upcoming modifications to the 2018 edition of the IBC for protection of attics resulting from the spectacular conflagration of the AvalonBay apartment complex in Edgewater, New Jersey will be examined. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) NFPA 14 Standpipes, 2016 Edition Steve Leyton – This seminar presents a performance-based approach to standpipe design and enhances attendee understanding of the tactical and operational practices that are the basis of the prescriptive requirements of NFPA 14. The program will include updates to NFPA 14, 2016 edition and also to the applicable sections of NFPA 20, 2016 edition. There will also be discussion of the general basis of design for multi-zone standpipe systems in very tall buildings as defined in NFPA and the IBC. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) NFPA 25: Relationship Between the Contractor, AHJ and Building Owner Matt Klaus, P.E., NFPA – NFPA 25 is one of the most misapplied standards produced by NFPA. This session will look at the scope or the document and the expected roles that the owner, contractor, and AHJ play. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs)
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NFPA 25: Separating Fact from Fiction John Campbell, P.E., P. Eng., C.F.P.S., Global Fire Protection Group, LLC – This course will cover the basics of NFPA 25 and discuss the requirements for completing an inspection – what is in the scope of NFPA 25 and what is not. A review of responsibilities will also be covered. An additional focus of the course will be on reviewing deficiencies and what is within the scope of NFPA 25. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) NFPA 25: Update 2017 Edition James Fantauzzi, North East Fire Protection Systems, Inc. – The primary objective is to get an idea of what the standard’s individual sections mean and how the field inspector is to accomplish the intent of the standard. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) NFPA 25 vs. NFPA 72: System Integration and Who Owns What Matt Klaus – When it comes to sprinkler systems and fire alarm systems, there is often some confusion over roles and responsibilities. This session will look at the integration of sprinkler and fire alarm systems from both the installation and maintenance perspectives. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) Practical Applications of Research for the Fire Sprinkler Industry Andre Marshall, Ph.D., University of Maryland – Recent advancements in fire protection engineering research have yielded new tools that have the potential to revolutionize the design of fire sprinkler systems. At the same time, new research apparatus has been designed to develop answers to common sprinkler installation questions. These new tools and apparatus include the characterization of sprinkler spray patterns, the protection of storage occupancies with sloped ceilings, and the use of salt water tanks to model how heat and smoke travel through a building with a complex ceiling configuration. The presentation will consist 28 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Leavitt
Leonhardt
of a lecture and demonstration of the tools that have been developed and an open interaction with the audience to brainstorm how future solutions can be developed for problems they are currently experiencing in the field. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) Recruiting from Schools: How to Recruit Fitters into the Industry Jennifer Wilkerson, NCCER – There are a lot of questions when it comes to establishing connections with schools and the viability of those schools becoming talent pipelines. This seminar will present and explain the online tools that can assist industries in finding local schools that are interested in working with them. A collaboration guide that details the steps on how to make those connections will be provided. 0.15 CEUs |1.5 CPDs) Safety and OSHA Awareness for Supervisors Tracy Hadwin, Fire Tech Systems, Inc. – When it comes to training your employees on safety do you know what training your front-line supervisors need? They need to know how to spot the hazards that are often overlooked. They need to know how to recognize the employee who is always willing to take chances when he thinks no one is looking. Do they know what the company disciplinary policy says? Do they know what to do when OSHA shows up on the jobsite? Are they aware of your rights during an inspection? (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Safety, Insurance, & Retirement… AFSA Has You Covered John Baron, The Strange Group; Bradley Elliott, AFSA; Melissa Garrett, The Strange Group; Robert Leonhart, Blue River Underwriters – Attend this seminar to learn more about three great benefits of AFSA membership. Bradley Elliott will walk you through AFSA’s new Online Safety Portal, a virtual library that proactively delivers the accident-prevention and safety-related information you need to educate your staff, help prevent claims and
create a safe work environment. Robert Leonhart will speak about the AFSA Contractors Insurance Solution, the only AFSA-endorsed contractor insurance Leyton program. John Baron and Melissa Garrett will introduce AFSA’s new endorsed 401(k) program offering lower costs, better service to employers and employees, and improved operational efficiency. (0.2 CEUs | 2 CPDs) Seismic Bracing Layout Kenneth Wagoner, S.E.T., C.F.P.S., C.F.P.E., Parsley Consulting – Protection of fire sprinkler systems from damage due to seismic events (earthquakes) is mandated by building and structural codes for areas where seismic activity is likely. The protection detailed in NFPA 13 is intended to address those requirements, with the goal of maintaining the active status of the fire sprinkler system after an earthquake. A concise understanding of those requirements can be challenging, and the correct application of those rules must be adhered to if the required protection is to regarded as compliant. Layout of lateral and longitudinal braces, restraints, and the necessary calculations to support the selected layout will be addressed in this seminar. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) Solving America’s Home Fire Problem: Five Simple Steps to Become an Advocate for Home Fire Sprinklers Fred Durso, Jr., NFPA & Jeffery Hudson, NFPA – Every year, nearly 80 percent of America’s fire deaths happen at home. The solution to this problem – the home fire sprinkler – exists. However, many states face intense opposition for fire sprinklers, despite this technology being a model building code requirement for all new homes. Using effective tactics, the fire sprinkler industry can be a powerful voice in support of home fire sprinklers. This course will demonstrate (in five easy steps) how attendees can participate in a growing grassroots movement across North America in support of this technology. (0.15 CEUs |1.5 CPDs)
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Testing: Fire Pump Acceptance and NFPA 25 Bob Caputo & Matt Klaus – Fire pumps are a critical part of an automatic sprinkler system. NFPA 20 and NFPA 25 provide requirements on the initial acceptance testing and periodic testing of this vital system component. This session will look at the difference between the acceptance test and the “post-occupancy” periodic tests. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) The Untold Stories of New Product Developments James Golinveaux – New technologies are never a slam dunk success. There are many untold stories of the how and why new technologies come about. Most people do not realize that new and creative thinking is not readily accepted in the traditional prescriptive industry we participate in. Join this session and participate with your questions and thoughts. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs)
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The Use of Special Sprinklers in Combustible Concealed Attic Spaces Mark Fessenden, Tyco Fire Protection Product – Fire sprinkler protection for attic spaces represents a unique challenge – both in sprinkler placement and fire control. Quite often unique challenges are best addressed by the use of specific application sprinklers. This program is intended to familiarize a participant with these challenges and present information on protection option using both standard spray and specific application sprinklers. (0.4 CEUs | 4.0 CPDs) Twelve Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business or Transitioning Ownership Kristofer Gray, C.F.P.®, Integrity – The goal of succession planning is to help you identify, plan for, and achieve your personal, business, and financial goals while transitioning out of your business. For most
Seminars Spotlight: NextGen Day NextGen Luncheon Come meet and visit with fellow NextGen members in special reserved seating during the networking luncheon on September 25. Leading Across the Generations Workshop Tru Pettigrew, Tru Access – Millennials have ushered in a new era, with new expressions and new expectations. This session helps attendees understand how to be more effective 21st-century leaders by leveraging the power of insight, influence, and inclusion. Guests walk away with a proven cross-generational leadership model that can be applied right away! (0.4 CEUs | 4 CPDs) NextGen Reception Those age 40 and under looking to prepare for management positions or to get more involved in AFSA national or chapter activities should plan to join other emerging leaders for this dynamic and productive networking event – some of the industry’s top leaders from the AFSA Board of Directors. Share your insights and chat with leadership, while building your network with the AFSA’s NextGen Initiative. The relationships you make here could last a business lifetime!
30 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
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people, exiting their business is a once-in-alifetime event. It can be exciting and rewarding, but it can also be scary, frustrating, and even painful. By using a well-structured succession planning process you can attain your vision of your life after business. (0.2 CEUs | 2.0 CPDs) What’s Eating Your Pipes? How Corrosion Can Cause Your Sprinkler System to Fail and How to Fight It Doug Nadeau, M.S.F.P.E., P.E., C.F.P.S., L.E.E.D. A.P., truVUE Inspection Technologies – The focus of this presentation is to outline the steps that contractors, architects, engineers, building owners and managers can take in combating the corrosion problem. Information on the various type of corrosion that can take place in fire protection systems shall be presented. Highlights of the presentation will also include ways to size up your corrosion problem, overview of NFPA 25 specified maintenance requirements and techniques to mitigate corrosion. (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Your Rights When OSHA Comes Calling Tracy Hadwin – Everyone working in the construction industry has heard of OHSA. The question is do you know the five reasons why OSHA chooses a job-site to inspect? Do you know what forms the Inspector will be asking to see? Who do you have designated as your company representative during the inspection process? Does this person know what your rights and responsibilities are before, during, and after the inspection? (.15 CEUs | 1.5 CPDs) Benefits at Bellagio Convention attendees book your stay at this year’s convention headquarter hotel – Bellagio Las Vegas – and be transported to an elegant European resort. Take one step onto the fountain-fronted property and you will instantly find yourself amid lavish rooms, award-winning restaurants, and a luxurious spa, all the while surrounded by works from the world’s most renowned
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32 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
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With an “all access” convention registration, attendees receive one breakfast and one lunch voucher up to three nights for each night you have a reservation at Bellagio Las Vegas – a perfect time to enjoy a full meal while you network with contractors from across the country. In addition, the entire AFSA room block is located just steps away from all meeting spaces. AFSA’s group rate for Bellagio Las Vegas is $249 per night plus tax for a deluxe city view and $279 per night plus tax for a deluxe fountain view (limited availability). Reservations may be made by calling (888) 987-6667. Group rates are available September 21-30, 2017, but reservations must be made by August 25, 2017, to ensure AFSA convention rates. After August 25, 2017, room rates are based on availability. Be sure to ask booking agent to confirm your reservation includes both the resort fee and complimentary internet. A Winning Combination: AFSA + Vegas Online registration is open at firesprinkler.org/convention. Be sure to register by the earlybird deadline, July 7, 2017, to secure the best rates before regular registration prices go into effect. For more information on this year’s event, visit firesprinkler.org/convention. You won’t want to miss this year’s sure bet! n HOTEL RESERVATION ALERT! AFSA has been made aware of third-party vendors soliciting AFSA exhibitors and attendees posing as our housing vendor. These companies mislead you to think they are working on our behalf. Companies that use this tactic include Exhibitor Hotel Reservation Services (EHR), Global Housing, and National Travel Associates. They are not endorsed by or affiliated with AFSA or its show and entering into financial agreements with such companies can have costly consequences such as no hotel reservations and no free networking meals nor complimentary internet access. To receive full AFSA hotel benefits, you must book directly with the hotel by phone or using the link found on AFSA’s convention website at firesprinkler.org/convention.
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act Reintroduced Contact Your Senate and House Representatives If there is one thing that is easy to agree upon, it is that fire sprinklers save lives and property. Those in the fire sprinkler industry have always known this. So why are there still homes and commercial structures without sprinkler systems? And so many without fully up-to-date systems? A select group of astute lawmakers recently asked themselves that same question. And then they decided to do something about it. On March 9, Senator Susan Collins (RMaine) and Senator Thomas Carper (D-Delaware) reintroduced Senate Bill S.602, the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act. At the same time, Rep. Tom Reed (R-New York) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island) reintroduced H.R. 1481, the companion House legislation. As introduced, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include automated fire sprinkler system retrofits as Section 179 property, which would allow small and medium-sized businesses to deduct up to $125,000 of the cost of retrofitting a building with an automatic sprinkler system. The act also reclassifies fire sprinkler retrofits as 15-year depreciable property. As it currently stands, commercial building owners must depreciate fire sprinkler retrofits over a period of 39 years and residential building owners over 27.5 years. Therefore, with this new legislation, businesses will be able to receive tax benefits much more quickly. The goal of the legislation is to encourage building owners to invest in life-saving fire safety upgrades by strengthening tax incentives. In a previous interview with Sprinkler Age, Ted Wills of Anchor Fire Protection in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, who serves as the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) Legislative Committee Chair, said: “As a fire protection
contractor it is encouraging to see the fire sprinkler incentive act reintroduced. The fact that this bill will allow for 15-year depreciation and allow bonus depreciation under section 179 property could be just the prescription for property owners who are on the fence when it comes to upgrading their life safety systems.” This legislation was first introduced in 2003, after a nightclub fire at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island left 100 people dead and over 200 injured. An investigation later determined that had the nightclub been equipped with a fire sprinkler system, the system would have contained the fire and given everyone time to escape. “The Station Nightclub Fire was one of the worst tragedies in Rhode Island history, and I will never stop fighting for precautions that have the potential to save lives and avert a disaster like the one we saw on that horrific night in West Warwick,” says Rep. Langevin, one of the congressmen working to get this bill passed in the House. “Fire sprinklers save lives, but cost considerations have prevented too many property owners from making this important investment. We need to make it easier and more cost-effective to install these life-saving systems.” According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in 2015, there were 1,345,500 fires reported in the United States, leading to 3,280 civilian fire deaths, 15,700 civilian injuries, and $14.3 billion in property damage. Studies by NFPA have concluded that buildings outfitted with sprinklers reduce the death rate per fire by at least 57 percent and decrease the property damage by up to 68 percent.
Congressman Jim Langevin has long been an advocate for the installation and upkeep of fire sprinklers, and in 2007 he was the AFSA Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year. When he received that honor, he was working toward getting this bill through the Ways and Means Committee the first time around. At the time, he was still pushing hard for the legislation, and was quoted as saying: “The benefits of this bill are twofold. First and foremost, it will help save lives. Secondly, it will help businesses who want to do the right thing but may simply not be able to afford it.” Despite being introduced again in 2015 and garnering much bipartisan support, the legislation has yet to become law. The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act will save lives and property by encouraging the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems. Presently these systems are rarely installed in older buildings because of the significant cost involved. Therefore, this legislation will also benefit the economy by encouraging investment in the installation of lifesafety systems. As one of its top legislative priorities, AFSA urges all industry members to write their representative asking for their support of this legislation and thanking them if they have already pledged their support of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act. “As the chairman of the AFSA Legislative Committee it is encouraging to see bipartisan sponsorship in both the house and senate,” said Wills. “I would urge our membership to contact their local legislators and urge their support also.” Find your representative at house.gov/ representatives/find/ or senators at senate.gov. n Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 33
Protecting Paint Booths Running the Criteria Gauntlet JARED VAN GAMMEREN | Midwestern Mechanical, Inc.
The first time I was presented with someone in need of an estimate to protect a paint booth was many years ago. I looked to others in the office for guidance, but I seemed to mostly get answers that involved “I think,” “I’m pretty sure,” or “Hmmm.” None of these responses made me feel very confident about providing a price estimate to properly sprinkler a paint booth. I figured the next step would be to check NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, for some answers, as normally a little code reading would at least point me in the right direction. My thought at the time was: “It’s just a little 20 ft x 30 ft box on a floor plan that says ‘paint booth here’ – it can’t be too hard, right?” I found out several hours later this was not the case and my thought became, “Man, I’m glad I didn’t just slap six sprinklers in this thing off the overhead system and send it out!” The first place to start, like always, is to determine the appropriate hazard classification. That pointed me to section A.5.4.2 (2) Flammable liquid spraying as an Extra Hazard (Group 2), 0.40 gpm/2500 ft2. Wow, that’s a lot of water! At the time, I hadn’t really dealt with much outside the ordinary hazard section of the standard so back to the book I went for some more research. The first thought I had was: “How do I determine if this is indeed ‘flammable liquid’ that they are spraying inside this booth? What qualifies something as a flammable liquid?” I looked up flammable liquids in the back of the book which guided me to Section 22.2, which didn’t prove to be very helpful. The reading up to this point in my investigation pointed me to NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, and it seemed to me that I might need a Ph.D. to figure this out with words like “closed-cup flash point” and “boiling points.” I’m not sure about any of you, but I ended up in this career field, 34 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
first in the field for seven years and then in the office, at least partially due to my lack of interest in attaining a Ph.D. and learning chemistry. At this point I called time out and got on the phone with some people I knew who had far more experience than I did. They were at least helpful in cutting out some time in the research process by telling me that if it’s a commercial paint booth, it’s probably a safe bet that it is a flammable liquid being sprayed and pointed me to the next section, 22.4, which classified paint booths as extra hazard (Group 2). On a side note, I did learn later in my career that finding these crazy scientific terms wasn’t as hard as it appeared at the time I first read them. It turns out that if you find an MSDS sheet (or now what’s called an SDS sheet) on the product, the “scientific name” is usually listed. However, finding it the first time on a product can feel kind of like a game of “Where’s Waldo” for some products. With my hazard classification determined, I moved on to sprinkler selection, which led me to K-factor of K-11.2 sprinkler because the design density was greater than 0.34 gpm/ft2 (although it’s guidance from Chapter 12 for storage). I thought I was almost home after the hour or so detour, getting a quick reminder of why I didn’t opt for advanced chemistry classes in college. Now off to spotting sprinklers on my dashed line indicating “paint booth here,” I decided I had better do a little more reading on these booths now that I saw that section 22.4 proved to be helpful on the last problem I ran into. Upon reading more in this section it seemed that NFPA 33, Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials, was referenced quite often so I had better figure out what the heck that was. I looked it up
and came to find out that there is an entire standard for these things! By this time, I’m sure I was beating my head on my desk as whatever else I had planned for the rest of my day was clearly not getting done. I decided I had better finish reading this section in NFPA 13 before moving onto another standard entirely. I quickly gained some new insight reading the rest of Section 22.4.1.5 by learning that I needed to have the sprinklers protecting the booth controlled by a control valve. It also appeared that sprinklers needed to be installed in ductwork per Section 22.4.2.1, but which ductwork was still a mystery to me. I continued digging through NFPA 13 to find out exactly which ductwork needed coverage. All that Section 22.4.2.1 alluded to was what to do when I needed to cover ductwork – nothing about which ducts needed to be covered. Intake ductwork? Exhaust ductwork? Plenum spaces? I couldn’t find the answer in NFPA 13, so I quickly put that thought on hold as perhaps my upcoming NFPA 33 research could help answer that question. I continued my NFPA 13 research and determined the sprinklers installed in these areas would need to be readily accessible, and if they were exposed to freezing conditions, needed to be dry- type sprinklers per the subsequent subsections. All sprinklers also needed to be protected from overspray by paper or cellophane bags. I learned a few things through this research but I figured I better look into NFPA 33 to see what that was all about. I was expecting hours of reading, but to my surprise, it was short – and upon looking through it – I found that there was very little information there regarding installing sprinklers in a paint booth. So little in fact, that it wasn’t helpful. It seemed to be a reprint of what I had found in NFPA 13. This shouldn’t have been a surprise since the information was
brought into NFPA 13 from NFPA 33 using NFPA’s extract policy. At this point I still had several questions, but I thought I had most things figured out as far as coverage goes. The remaining high point I needed to cover was what ductwork needed coverage. From where do I determine that? I decided at that time to make some calls again to the people I talked to early in the game about the flammable liquid definition to try to get this thing moving again. Everyone I talked to pointed me in the same direction: that all exhaust ductwork needed coverage, but intake air shouldn’t need coverage if the air was not getting recirculated from the exhaust air. I asked each of them where exactly they got this information, and the response from each was very similar and something in line with, “Heck I don’t know man, that’s just what you do!” usually followed by, “You ask too many questions!” In writing this article, I am reminding myself that there is still very limited information on paint booths anywhere out there. When I decided to write this article, my thought process led me to a fear of making sure that anything I wrote was 100 percent correct and accurate. In that process, I pulled out all my paint booth stuff so I could point everyone to exactly where this stuff came from. Unfortunately for me, that just isn’t possible. This is a good reminder to myself of some of the questions I wanted to help clear up when I was appointed to the NFPA 33 committee last year, representing the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). After that short detour, let’s get back to the situation at hand. I had a paint booth to try to sprinkler after coming up with my overall scheme of how I thought this needed to be done. I had an extra hazard (Group 2), K-11.2 or larger sprinklers, an isolation valve for this system, sprinklers in the spray area needed to be accessible for the reason of placing removable overspray protection on them periodically, and I needed to protect the booth area and the exhaust ductwork. Hard part over, back to my paint booth! Wait a minute, back to my dashed line where the paint booth goes, darn it! At
least I knew how to sprinkler it once I found out what the booth looks like. After digging through the plans, it became apparent that no plans existed of this “mystery booth” in the plan set I received. I was fortunate on this project as I was dealing directly with one general contractor (GC) working directly with the owner. After a call to the GC, I was pointed to the owner as the paint booth was an “ownersupplied piece of equipment” so I would need to contact them. A call to the owner in this scenario yielded a pretty detailed plan of the paint booth. This information provided a big relief that I didn’t fully appreciate until a later date when I bidding on a “paint booth here” dashedline scenario in the plans and specifications for another project. I had very limited time to price it, and often times had no knowledge about the paint booth that was getting purchased. I still needed pricing for the sprinkler system installation within it. With plans in hand on the booth and a manufacturer to call if I had questions, I found that the dashed line wasn’t one 20 ft x 30 ft rectangle; that was just one part of it. Adjacent to it was also a small mixing room that was 10 ft x 12 ft with a bunch of equipment on the side of it that didn’t make a whole lot of sense from looking through the plans. I made some calls to the manufacturer and got an education in paint booths that helped me understand the basic operations of two styles of paint booths, which has proven very helpful in the years to come. The booth that the owner had selected was a “down draft booth” in lieu of an “up draft booth.” I learned that the intake air came in through the ceiling of the booths after passing through a set of filters in the ceilings. The air passed through the booth downward into an exhaust tunnel that was to be constructed by forming a pit with concrete that routed the air to the edge of the booth where a fan and filter box would pull the air up from underneath the booth, through a series of filters, and into exhaust ductwork that would take the air out of the building. In this booth, that meant I would need to protect the booth itself – which was 20 ft x 30 ft – the paint mixing room, the tunnel under the booth through the filter box and on the discharge side of the exhaust fan until the air terminated the building through the wall or ceiling.
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The first challenge I faced was with the entire 20 ft x 30 ft ceiling space being essentially a large duct plenum that was 18 inches deep. My options were to install the piping on top of the booth with drop pendants penetrating through both the top and the bottom of the plenum space, install the piping inside the duct plenum (therefore eliminating penetration through the top side of the plenum) or install the piping exposed in the room. In working with the owner, we determined that installing piping in the plenum space would work as there were large banks of removable filter boxes that would prove to provide access to installing the piping after the booth was erected. The next challenge we faced was sprinkler placement. With such large filter boxes taking up about 25 percent of the ceiling space, and the abundance of lights placed pretty much everywhere else in the ceiling, finding spots to install pendent sprinklers was extremely difficult, especially with the 100-ft2 maximum spacing requirement. Due to these issues, the booth itself had eight sprinklers! Another thing we needed to determine was where this intake air was coming from, after reminding myself of the section I read about protecting the sprinklers from freezing conditions. On this project, we determined that they were simply taking air from the plant and we shouldn’t have concerns with cold air presenting us with a freezing scenario.
in the tunnel and one sprinkler at the top of the filter box.
Next, we moved on to protecting the tunnel under the booth. At the time, to be honest, it seemed a bit ridiculous to be installing sprinklers in a cement tunnel under the booth, but it did at least make sense due the nature of the use of the booth. The tunnel under the booth was 24-in. wide in the shape of an L headed to the corner of the booth where the exhaust fan was. The overall length of the tunnel was about 40-ft long before it terminated under the filter box. Getting piping into this tunnel proved to be another challenge, as we determined we would need to penetrate the side of the booth’s HVAC equipment near the filter box to get piping into the tunnel in order to install our sprinklers there. By that time, we were done figuring what needed to be in the pit and up to the filter box. We ended up with four more sprinklers
After all of this, we priced up the work the way I originally determined. We had good water supply in the area, a 6-in. main into the building, a close feed main to tie into, and we still easily ended up in the five-digit price range for a very small room. Before I did my research, I thought it was as simple as slapping some sprinklers in a booth. I was thinking the maximum needed would have been six fed from an overhead system, a couple of days of service work, and easy money! I’m very glad I didn’t learn a very expensive lesson on that project and did the extra code research that day before sending a price out the door. After some sticker shock, the owner moved forward with the project and we learned just what protecting a paint booth took and could turn into on just a small booth like this. Since then, we have determined that booths seem to
36 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Next, we needed to cover the remaining ductwork that routed the exhaust air out of the building, as this wasn’t shown anywhere on the drawings. Another call to the GC resulted in a call to the HVAC contractor they were working with. The ductwork on this project was to go up to the deck above, which was about 20-ft tall and offset out the adjacent wall about 10-ft away. From looking back to Section 22.4.2.1, I determined at least three sprinklers would be required due to the minimum spacing requirement of 12 feet between sprinklers. I also discussed access to these sprinklers with the HVAC contractor, to which I was told, “He had never heard of such a thing” followed very closely by “Who’s paying for that, not me I hope?!”. We also discussed that there was a potential for this ductwork to be cold, so we determined dry sprinklers would be best in this area. In all, we had eight sprinklers in the booth: two sprinklers in the paint mixing room, five sprinklers in the tunnel, and three dry sprinklers in the exhaust duct – with a grand total of 18 sprinklers for a 600 ft2 room. With some quick math, we determined that each sprinkler was going to discharge at least 30 gpm with a grand total of at least 540 gpm without hose demand. This tiny little paint booth was getting a little out of hand, if you ask me!
never be alike in one way or another, whether it be in the size of it, lighting obstructions, filter placement, direction of air flow, owner-preferred piping locations, etc. In what we learned from this small project, we were better able to prepare ourselves for other projects over the years, which lead us to protecting very large- and industrial-sized paint booth set-ups with several system types and arrangements including wet, dry, deluge, and foam – several of which required fire pumps just to supply them. One last thing I want to mention – even though I am a new member on the NFPA 33 committee, I still don’t know it all when it comes to paint booths and we are always learning on every one we protect. There is limited information available on properly protecting them, so our recommendation is to always consult the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for the projects you are proposing to see what they will require of you. But, hopefully, some of our lessons learned and code references will help properly prepare you for those conversations. After years of doing these, I am much more confident that the way were are proposing and installing these systems is the right way to do them – with submitting to many authorities over the years. Hopefully this article will help someone out there feel more comfortable with what they are proposing. n ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jared Van Gammeren is the fire protection director at Midwestern Mechanical Inc. He has been in the fire sprinkler industry over 15 years. Van Gammeren holds a NICET Level III certification in Water-Based Systems Layout and a NICET Level III certification in Inspections and Testing of Water-Based Systems. He is the Registered Managing Employee in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska; is an NFPA 33 committee member; and a volunteer fire fighter for his home town fire department in Inwood, Iowa. Van Gammeren’s professional training consists of courses of fire pump applications, inspection and testing, hydraulic calculation, and analysis & design of fire sprinkler offered by the Oklahoma State University, and the University of Wisconsin. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The article and its content is not a Formal Interpretation issued pursuant to NFPA Regulations. Any opinion expressed is the personal opinion of the author and presenter and does not necessarily present the official position of the NFPA and its Technical Committee.
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NFPA Awards Home Fire Sprinkler Grants Creative Ideas Help Foster Awareness and Acceptance FRED DURSO, JR. | National Fire Protection Asociation
In 2015, a Maryland delegate introduced legislation to weaken the statewide requirement to fire sprinkler Maryland’s new homes. Knowing this technology can significantly reduce fire deaths and injuries at home, the fire service there immediately cringed. Word of the bill spread, as did local media stories that seemed to side with sprinkler opponents. Some stated, rather inaccurately, that the sprinkler requirement would “price people out of the housing market” and place “the dream of building a new, affordable home... out of reach.” State safety advocates collaborated to fight the bill, and weren’t afraid to ask for help. The Maryland State Firemen’s Association applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Administered by NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative, the Bringing Safety Home grant accelerates
sprinkler-related advocacy and educational efforts across North America. As the media perpetuated misinformation on fire sprinklers, safety advocates countered the myths by initiating live burn/fire sprinkler demonstrations via two mobile trailers created by the grant. Members of the firemen’s association and Maryland Fire Sprinkler Coalition also produced educational materials that were disseminated to legislators during conversations about the necessity of fire sprinklers. Their efforts worked; the bill died in committee in 2016. “Every time we had a side-by-side demonstration, we not only invited the public but also all legislators,” says Richard Smith, vice chair of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association Legislative Committee. “Attendees were also given literature about home fire sprinklers. There is no question the grant
we received was a great help in defeating House Bill 19 last year.” Since it launched the Bringing Safety Home Grant in 2015, NFPA has awarded approximately $200,000 to 32 recipients in the U.S. and Canada. Priority went to applicants who were members of the 30 state-based fire sprinkler coalitions, who have been advocating locally for home fire sprinklers. Applicants were also tasked with flexing their creative muscle to develop something unique in their region. These efforts have helped advance the mission of the Fire Sprinkler Initiative: increase the use of home fire sprinklers via the adoption of sprinkler requirements across North America. In Connecticut, for example, the state coalition partially used a $5,000 grant to create a billboard ad at Dodd Stadium in
The Connecticut Fire Sprinkler Coalition partially used a $5,000 grant to create a billboard ad at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, home of the Connecticut Tigers. 38 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Norwich, home of the Connecticut Tigers. The banner (seen on page 38) compares the speed of today’s fires with the quick impact of home fire sprinklers. NFPA also assisted with creating a video announcement at the stadium supporting fire sprinklers. Both were viewed by more than 50,000 attendees at the stadium’s baseball games and other events. Also harnessing the power of ads was the Massachusetts Fire Sprinkler Coalition, which produced a 30-second TV spot urging potential homebuyers to “ask for home fire sprinklers.” Elsewhere, the Missouri Fire Sprinkler Coalition received a grant to convene all stakeholder groups with a vested interested in home fire sprinklers. At a local summit, home developers, water purveyors, the fire service, and others discussed reasons for installation cost disparities in the St. Louis area, compared the costs to the national average (NFPA’s research places this figure at $1.35 per sprinklered square foot), and identified methods to reduce that gap.
presentation for advocates summarizing the data, myths, and facts of home fire sprinklers, free webinars, and customizable letters to the editor and op-eds for local publications. NFPA recently released a downloadable, digital toolkit filled with the site’s popular resources. The new materials build on the messages and free resources created by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HomeFireSprinkler.org), a nonprofit that produces strictly educational material on home fire sprinklers. “Through grants and free resources, NFPA provides the necessary tools to
become an effective advocate for home fire sprinklers,” says Carli. “And as our army of advocates grows, so will the number of sprinklered homes.” n ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Fred Durso, Jr., is communications manager for NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative. Follow him on Twitter @FredDursoJr. For ways to advocate for home fire sprinklers in your region, visit NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative website at FireSprinklerInitiative.org.
Maximizing its $8,500 grant, the Wyoming Fire Sprinkler Coalition created side-by-side burn units underscoring the speed of today’s home fires and rapid response of fire sprinklers. For added effect, some of these events were held at night to intensify fire’s fierceness. The coalition also used its grant to secure booth space and produce localized resources for 10 public events throughout the state. “We asked fire sprinkler advocates to use some ingenuity in spending the grant, and they excelled,” says Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of outreach and advocacy and president of the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. “These grants have helped combat vocal opponents of fire sprinkler requirements and educated a new batch of North American homeowners on this important, life-saving technology.” While the Bringing Safety Home grant will not be offered this year, the Fire Sprinkler Initiative has released a detailed report on the grant (available for download at FireSprinklerInitiative.org/Grant) in the hopes of providing safety advocates with new ways to promote this technology. The Fire Sprinkler Initiative is also bolstering its free advocacy resources found on its site; currently in the works is a PowerPoint
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Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 39
OBSTRUCTION AND ESFR SPRINKLERS – PHASE 3 / 2016039-000
ESFR Sprinklers and Obstructions
Figures 3 through 6 show the discharge pattern of a K17 ESFR sprinkler at 52 psi with obstru positioned in various locations. Figure 3 shows a 6-inch wide obstruction offset horizontally f sprinkler 6 inches and positioned at various distances below the sprinkler. When located 8 in the sprinkler, the obstruction is in the region where sprinkler discharge is approximately 10% discharge5. This is true for the same obstruction 12 inches below the sprinkler. As the obstru vertically down, the sprinkler discharge pattern widens and therefore the obstruction moves t higher discharge region but still stays in a region where the discharge is approximately 10% GARNER A. PALENSKE, P.E. | Jensendischarge. Hughes Therefore, with a horizontal offset of 6 inches, the 6-inch obstruction is in a region discharge (10%) and should not significantly affect the key ADD regions6.
Research Continues on Larger Sizes The invent of early suppression fast response (ESFR) sprinklers in the 1980s revolutionized storage fire protection. No longer were rack sprinklers needed to protect high heat release rate commodities stored within tall racks. In addition, the ESFR sprinkler provides adequate protection for a range of commodities, a vital characteristic given the fluid nature of modern warehouses. ESFR sprinkler design is also a giant leap forward in sprinkler technology. Prior sprinkler design relied upon density/area criteria derived from a limited number of fire tests with no quantifiable performance objective. ESFR sprinkler design, on the other hand, has a scientifically based performance objective. The application of this new technology was met with a degree of caution and conservatism. One such example is the current obstruction rules found in the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standard, NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinklers. While these rules have stood the test of time, many believed they could be overly conservative. This issue is further complicated because there is no fire test data available in public domain to substantiate the requirements.
Fortunately, along came the Fire Protection Research Foundation Figure 1. ESFR K17 sprinkler spray pattern: 6-in. wide flat obstruction horizontally (FPRF), a division of NFPA, to the rescue. The FPRF, along with a Figure 3 – ESFR K17 Sprinkler Spray Pattern: offset 6 inches.1 consortium of stake holders, organized a multi-year research project 6-Inch Wide Flat Obstruction Horizontally Offset 6 Inches7 to obtain answers to the ESFR obstruction issue. Scott A. Futrell’s In provided Figure 4, 1.5-inch wide obstruction is shown positioned at various article in the previous edition of Sprinkler Age anain-depth members concurrently also provided acceptable results.distances This data directly belo Theonobstruction is be located center of the pattern where 50 look at the research completed to date. Thissprinkler. article focuses the will used asinthethe substantiation for asprinkler proposeddischarge revision to the discharge occurs. The sprinkler discharge pattern widens as the obstruction moves vertically path forward as we begin to plan for the fourth, and likely final 2019 edition of NFPA 13. results in a lower percentage of the pattern affected the farther the obstruction moves vertica phase of the project. Additionally, an overview of the concepts sprinkler. This relationship is confirmed in the Mammoser and McCormick ADD derived from the initial work is provided. The effect miscellaneous obstructions have on ESFR sprinkler testing (K14 sprinkler). At 8-12 inches below the sprinkler, a large amount of discharge is obstructed beca performance was the next issue explored. Various arrangements of relatively narrow discharge pattern in that region. Beyond 12 inches below the sprinkler, the The project goal is to ultimately develop a tool that could be used to obstruction widths and shapes were tested to measure the change in be less affected. provide the reliable analysis of the impact of obstructions on ESFR ADD from the baseline condition (unobstructed sprinkler). The sprinkler performance. To achieve this goal,The Phases 1-3 focused on obstructions ranged in width 12 inches. Both round and obstruction is widened in Figures 5 and 6, to from 3 and3 to 6 inches respectively. At 8-inches ve developing an understanding of the effect various obstruction flat shapes were used. To better understand the results the sprinkler, the 3 and 6-inch obstructions block approximately 100% of of the theADD discharge in the scenarios have on ESFR sprinkler performance. Eight full-scale the obstruction scenarios were plotted against ESFR This sprinkler discharge region,and which work, accounts for 50% of the total sprinkler discharge. is a significan approximately 40 Actual Delivered DensityEven (ADD)with teststhe have been discharge patterns. (See the Figure 1.) This analysis showed that for a significant o widening of the spray pattern, 3-inch wide obstruction is still sprinkler discharge 16 inches below.located The 6-inch affects the disc completed to date. obstructions directly wide belowobstruction the sprinkler significantly the ADD decreases pattern until the obstruction is vertical 30 inches below the sprinkler. as the distance between the sprinkler and the obstruction The initial focus was to understand the effect of bar joist and decreases. For obstructions horizontally offset from the sprinkler, the bridging member location on the performance of ESFR sprinklers. inverse is true. The ADD decreases as the vertically distance between (90%-70%) ⁄ 2 identi= 10% of the discharge pattern. From survey work, coordination of bridging5 members was the sprinkler and the obstruction increases. 6 This holds true for obstructions located 0-36 inches below the sprinkler. fied as the most problematic obstruction issue. The testing results 7 The ESFR K17 sprinkler spray pattern shown in the figure was developed as part of the “Investigation of ESFR K1 showed that a bar joist 22 to 36 inches in depth located 6 inches Various obstruction scenarios were tested in full scale based upon Spray Profile,” provided by Tyco Engineering on May 25, 2016 investigation by Eric Gagnon. horizontally from the sprinkler did not decrease the ESFR sprinkler the information gathered in the ADD testing and sprinkler performance to an unacceptable level. Also, that bridging members discharge pattern analysis. From this work, it is hypothesized that 1½ x 1½ inches in size located 12 inches below and directly under a although ADD testing may be used to gain insight into full-scale sprinkler did not did not decrease the ESFR sprinkler performance fire test performance, other variables are involved. For example, two to an unacceptable level. The testing of both bar joist and bridging flat obstructions, 6 and 12 inches wide, located 6 inches horizon40 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
tally from the sprinkler and 20 inches below have very similar ADD testing results. One might even suggest that the ADD for the 6-in.-wide obstruction is worst. However, when both scenarios were tested in full scale, only one sprinkler activated in the 6-in.-wide obstruction test and 10 sprinklers activated in the 12-in.-wide obstruction test. The test results of the 12-in.-wide obstruction showed at least three sprinklers skipped (did not operate). One explanation is that the larger width of the 12-in.-wide obstruction caused a larger disruption of sprinkler droplets and thus allowed the fire plume to transport the droplets to adjacent sprinklers, cooling the sprinkler such that operation did not occur. Without examination of this variable, the understanding of the effect miscellaneous obstructions has on ESFR sprinkler performance will be limited. For the final phase, additional ADD and full-scale tests will be conducted. These tests will be used to fill in data gaps for 12-in.-wide obstructions, where only two points were tested, 16 and 20 inches below the sprinkler. Additionally, using the ADD testing to predict sprinkler skipping will be researched. It is thought that visual observation or other methods may allow the use of ADD testing to provide an indication of the potential for sprinkler skipping. The findings of the ADD testing will then be verified in full scale. The magnitude of this testing effort is projected to be 20-30 ADD tests and three to five full-scale tests. The findings of this research effort will be used as the substantiation for proposed revisions to NFPA 13. The first proposed revision will include the reduction of the present horizontal separation of bar
joist to ESFR sprinkler from 12 inches to 6 inches. Also, the location of the bridging members, and similarly sized obstructions, (11/2 x 11/2 inches in size) from 24 inches to 12 inches below the sprinkler. More revisions are anticipated based upon the findings of Phase 4 of the project. Regarding the development of the tool discussed in the project objective, much thought has been given to this concept. Given this is a three-dimensional problem, the presentation of the tool in a two-dimensional format, such as in a hard copy version of NFPA 13, is challenging. However, it is thought a diagram showing various zones within which will be obstruction restrictions can be created. More work on this concept is underway now. n REFERENCES: 1. Kung, H.C., Numerous publications: Actual Delivered Density > Required Delivered Density = Fire Suppression. 2. Palenske and Fletcher. “Obstructions and ESFR Sprinklers – Phase 3 “Fire Protection Research Foundation Report, December 9, 2016, Fig. 3, Pg. 5. EDITOR’S NOTE: A related article on smaller obstructions appeared in the March/April 2017 issue of Sprinkler Age, page 10. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Garner A. Palenske, P.E. is vice president of Jensen Hughes in San Diego, California. He has over 30 years’ experience in a broad range of fire protection engineering disciplines, including fire research, sprinkler design, and code consulting. Palenske is also a member of the NFPA 13 committee.
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Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 41
Don’t Believe the Stereotypes Look to the Next Generation When Recruiting AMANDA REHKER | BlazeMaster Fire Sprinkler Systems
Millennials are taking over the United States, and if you have seen the stereotypes that exist about our generation, this might make you a bit uneasy – but try to not judge us by our generational labels. The Millennials follow Generation X, born between 1982 and 2004, and there’s 75.4 million of us living in the U.S. making it the largest generation in our country, so you better learn to love us, if you don’t already! Let’s discuss these stereotypes, how they might be untrue but also how you could potentially use them to your advantage. 1. Millennials are lazy. This is by far the most troubling for myself to understand and we millennials have a hard time grasping…. Can’t the same be said for all generations? According to a study by Bentley University: To achieve career success, most millennials are willing or somewhat willing to work long hours and weekends (53 percent), or to take a lower-paying or unpaid job or internship for
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2. Millennials want to change the world. As an industry that centers itself on saving lives, you should embrace this about our generation. If you’re struggling to reach us, you may want to consider highlighting that fire sprinklers save lives in your job descriptions. Eighty-four percent (84 percent) say that, “Knowing I am helping to make a positive difference in the world is more important to me than professional recognition.” According to the “Millennial Impact Report” 55 percent of millennials are influenced to accept a job if a company is involved with a cause. Fire sprinklers save lives; what greater cause is there? 3. Millennials are addicted to technology. Technology is an important part of our lives, most definitely... but that doesn’t mean that all we do is take selfies and tweet all day. We use it to be more efficient too, and you might learn something from us. The other day I taught my mom how to deposit a check from her smartphone. It was pure fascination and saved her a trip to the bank and a solid 30 minutes of her day. Additionally, at our last NextGen Initiative meeting we had a video conference meeting to connect with our peers who couldn’t make the trip to Puerto Rico. Engage the millennials in your company because you might learn how to work smarter and connect differently. As a member of AFSA’s NextGen Initiative, we are working hard to help bridge the gap between the generations in the fire sprinkler industry and recruit young talent. It is important that we work hard to understand each other and recruit millennials into our work force. Do you belong to a generation that has its own stereotypes? I invite you to discuss them with the NextGen so we can address it in the next issue. To learn more about the NextGen Initiative, please visit us at firesprinkler.org/ nextgen/! n
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experience/connection (53 percent). Additionally a survey by Alamo found that 34 percent of millennials reported that they worked every day of their vacations! There are hard working millennials out there. I am one of them, I work with them… and I encourage you to find them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amanda Rehker is market segment manager for BlazeMaster Fire Sprinkler Systems at Lubrizol in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with bachelor’s degree in marketing and business management. Rehker has eight years of marketing experience and is a member of AFSA’s NextGen Initiative.
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ITM Program Celebrates Successful Inaugural Cycle Training Helps Students Succeed and Companies Grow D’ARCY MONTALVO | American Fire Sprinkler Association GEORGE WAGNER | AFSA Virginia Chapter
Are you looking to grow your business? Do you have employees seeking advancement opportunities within your company? Do you believe in the value of training? If so, then look no further than the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) ITM (Inspection, Testing and Maintenance) Inspector Development Program. With Group 1 completing the first half of the program, AFSA looks back on the program’s creation, current content, and what the future holds for this much-needed training. “The industry has really moved into ITM as a primary profit center in their businesses and to do that you need specifically trained people,” comments Bob Caputo, Fire & Life Safety America, Richmond, Virginia, one of the program’s writers. “This is a solid, cradle-to-grave career. This is a path to formal training for people new to the industry and people who have worked in the field and want to spend their last 10 years doing something else like ITM.” The Need for ITM Training It all began in 2009 when AFSA’s Apprenticeship & Education Committee met to discuss the need for an inspection-training program. A sub-committee was created to explore developing an ITM program to teach inspection using online training. In 2012, Allison Rees of Sunland Fire Protection, High Point, North Carolina, was appointed chair of the ITM Development sub-committee. That sub-committee surveyed AFSA contractor members to determine the need and interest in an ITM program. “The survey was sent out in late 2012 and 99.4 percent of sprinkler contractors said they did inspections and 83.3 percent said they needed a means to train their ITM staff,” remembers George Wagner, a member of the ITM sub-committee. “This initial survey set the basis for the development of the ITM program. Follow-up surveys to industry experts and to AFSA chapter leaders overwhelmingly supported the development of a formal program similar to AFSA’s apprenticeship program.” While conducting an exhaustive and comprehensive search on current ITM programs training available and what was needed to serve the needs of AFSA members, AFSA At-Large Director and Treasurer Jack Medovich, P.E., Fire & Life Safety America, Hanover, Maryland, shared an outline based on the ITM training program at his company. The ITM Development 44 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
In-depth instruction and hands-on classwork allow students to interact and enhance their learning experience during the program’s classroom sessions.
Committee adopted this outline as a proposed starting point. In early 2015, the outline was finalized and approved. Volunteering to serve as the program’s facilitator, Wagner developed a four-person ITM Review Committee and a schedule for the full ITM program development. The committee recruited Caputo and Russ Leavitt, Telgian Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona, to be the industry expert writers of the program. “This program is really geared towards taking the role of inspector and making it a true profession,” says Leavitt. “We teach about different types of systems, calculations to determine flows, and the theory behind it. We teach them not just the mechanical part, but what hydraulics is and how does that play into the job. It also teaches about dealing with customers, written and verbal communications skills, and how to handle difficult customers and things that they’re going to encounter.” “Russ and I were seeking to not only create the industry’s most comprehensive training program for ITM, we were also intent on creating a new breed of professional people within our industry,” comments Caputo. “In addition to teaching only existing field people, we’re also hoping to create a whole new category of people in the industry who are just inspectors, solely dedicated to the craft of ITM functions, which we think is an ongoing critical factor of fire sprinkler systems.”
The Group 2 ITM Inspector Development program class recently convened at AFSA’s Training Center for live classroom training.
The initial program development was completed prior to the original deadline of December 31, 2016, and dedicated to its initial leader Allison Rees. “Allison worked diligently for the development of this program for the sprinkler industry and pushed for surveys to confirm the need and worked on the early drafts of the program outline,” comments Wagner. “When we lost Allison in late 2014, the Apprenticeship & Education Committee requested that the ITM program be dedicated in the memory of Allison and this was approved by the AFSA Board of Directors.”
program puts the sprinkler contractor in a position to hire more educated personnel and give them a true career path resulting in increased responsibility and higher compensation in several years’ period of time. “This program is very detailed in NFPA 25 [Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems] requirements, but also understanding NFPA 13 [Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems] and other
Program Objectives The ITM Development Committee believes this training program benefits the fire sprinkler industry by professionalizing the inspector role and better educating personnel. “These inspectors will truly represent their employers as a professional. We spend time on that aspect in the program’s second year as students role-play, dealing with customers in different scenarios,” states Leavitt. Wagner adds: “In eight to 10 years many of these employees could become leaders in their company and in the fire sprinkler industry. The primary objective of the ITM program was to develop a comprehensive training program to take a green employee and train them to a level where they receive a NICET Level II certification in ITM in less than two years. This would give sprinkler contractors a new path to hire employees for ITM positions and develop professional ITM inspectors in a very detailed, consistent and verifiable manner. This would also give sprinkler contractors the opportunity to hire from recruitment sources not previously available on a large scale.” The ITM Development sub-committee suggests to contractor members that they hire two-year Associate of Science degree or four-year Bachelor of Science degree graduates. This Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 45
AFSA Inspection, Testing & Maintenance General Program Timeline MONTHS 1-6 MODULE 1: Core Curriculum – Introduction to the Trade • Roles of Inspector, fire science, water-based and non waterbased systems, water supplies, NFPA 25, safety, fall protection, PPE, ladders, electrical safety
MONTH 7 MODULE 2: NICET Level I Exam and Preparation • Practice exams, procedures, forms, inspection and testing fundamentals MODULE 3: Fire Protection Systems and Inspection/Testing Procedures • Inspection and testing procedures for fire pumps, standpipes, hose systems, private fire service mains, obstructions, valve interiors, sprinklers, gauges, dry systems, waterflow and supervisory devices, no-flow pumps, antifreeze solutions • Includes 6.5 days of live training at AFSA HQ in Dallas, Texas
MONTHS 8-10 MODULE 4: Water Supplies and Fire Pumps Hydraulic basics, calculating water flow, flow testing for hydrants, standpipes, and fire pumps, performance criteria
MONTHS 11-19 MODULE 5: Advanced Inspection and Testing Procedures • Preplanning, professionalism, safety, liability, documentation • Advanced inspection and testing training on sprinkler systems, standpipes, private fire service mains, water storage tanks, obstructions, and fire pump performance
MONTH 20 MODULE 6: Inspection and Testing Review and Field Work • Includes hands-on inspection and testing applications including system components, valves, signage, pump room, controllers, diesel engine components, water storage tanks, hydrants, private fire service mains, check valves, obstructions, FDCs, main drains, water flow alarms, supervisory devices, control valves, pressure gauges, no-flow fire pumps, dry systems, dry valves, antifreeze solutions MODULE 7: NICET Level II Exam and Preparation • Practice exams, work management, documentation, and report • Complete required work experience to meet NICET’s Level II certification requirements. Includes 8.5 days of live lab and classroom training *AFSA makes no implied or expressed warranty that studying these materials or passing the assessments or exams will ensure passage of the related NICET test elements or certification by NICET.
46 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
installation documents so there is a core understanding of how fire sprinkler systems are designed and their intended function when initially installed,” comments Caputo. Volunteers’ Time and Talent This program couldn’t have been developed without the time and expertise of its committee members: George Wagner, member of AFSA’s Apprenticeship & Education Committee and executive director of the AFSA Virginia Chapter; Lyle Hall, AFSA Region 1 Director, Western Fire Protection, Poway, California; Tom McKinnon, Aegis Fire Systems, Inc., Pleasanton, California; Jack Medovich, P.E., Fire & Life Safety America; and Chris Stason, Victaulic, Temecula, California. The ITM Review sub-committee consists of Jeff Lewis, VSC Fire & Security, Ashland, Virginia; Jack Medovich; AFSA Past Chairman of the Board Jack Viola, P.E., JFV Engineering, LLC, South Hadley, Massachusetts; and AFSA First Vice Chairman of the Board and At-Large Director Wayne Weisz, Cen-Cal Fire Systems, Inc., Lodi, California. AFSA’s Director of Education Services Leslie Clounts serves as staff liaison to the sub-committee. Wagner commends everyone’s hard work. “This program wouldn’t have been developed without everyone’s commitment and dedication. In addition, Leslie Clounts and other AFSA staff who have worked on the finalization of this program should be highly commended for the detailed and professional job they did preparing it for the students,” he says. Program Set Up AFSA’s ITM Inspector Development Program utilizes on-demand and live training courses combined with a robustly structured on-the-job training (OJT) and mentoring program with the goal of candidates passing NICET Level II water-based inspection certification exams in less than two years. This comprehensive program provides recommendations for implementation at every level and the need for a successful, ongoing program right from the start, including: • Hiring recommendations, • Applicant screening tips, • Training record keeping, • Trainer tips, • Pay scale suggestions, • Progressive training guidelines, • OJT guide, • Candidate sample promissory note, and • Training and development program developed by seasoned industry experts with 65-plus years of combined industry experience and 50-plus years of teaching the fire protection community around the globe. AFSA delivers a blended learning environment with this program, which includes: • Fifty-six hours of on-demand courses; • Twenty-one hours of live, interactive web instruction; • Seven days of live in-class lecture; • Three-and-a-half days of hands-on field testing and inspections; • Limited class size to maximize student learning outcomes; • Encouraging and fostering character-building traits: honesty,
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integrity, confidence, professionalism, neat appearance, organization, reliability, accountability, credibility; and • Strengthening communication skills, both written (for noting inspections and testing observations) and verbal (communicating with your customers). “The program is rigorous,” comments Leavitt. “The module examinations are more difficult than the NICET exams and that is part of the goal. We’re working on a true education on inspections, testing and maintenance. We want them to think about what they’re doing and why. So it’s not just about the right answer, but why it’s correct and not something else.” Dwight Green, Accredited Training Solutions, San Antonio, Texas, is a classroom trainer and webinar instructor for AFSA’s ITM program. “This is one of the most comprehensive programs I’ve delivered and I’ve done a lot of teaching throughout the years,” he says. “It takes the neophyte from the very basics through inspections and yet it does so without boring the more experienced person. People who have lots of experience and are taking it just to get certified will learn something new and yet it’s not over the head of someone who’s just starting out. The information has been put together so that it all builds on each other. Even the most experienced person will glean something out of it, in addition to being able to prepare for the test,” Green adds. AFSA recently completely renovated and updated its training center to better suit the needs of its ITM and other training programs and now provides a state-of-the-art venue for live classroom training. “The live classroom time allows for personal experience injections,” Green notes. “As an instructor, it’s nice to not have to read the material verbatim. That fosters classroom discussion and sharing and we all get the benefit of others’ experiences. The webinars are a great learning tool, but the classroom part is excellent for students to receive more than their company or personal perspective.” Howard Clay, VSC Fire & Security, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, also serves as an instructor for the program. “There is absolutely a need for this program in the fire sprinkler industry,” he says. “This program shines a light on this facet of the trade. AFSA offers a great base platform for disseminating the information through the ITM program. Having a multitude of instructors, students receive a more well-rounded view of the material since it comes from multiple instructors’ experiences. The way the program is formatted, having recorded webinars, live webinars, and classroom instruction, is well thought out. The combination, especially with class interaction, generates a lot of discussion with students’ different experiences and feedback. It’s an invaluable way of learning. Structuring in-class time is an excellent way to run this program,” Clay adds. Group 1 students are also weighing in on the program on evaluation forms. “I feel that this program will help me 48 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
become a professional in my field. [This] has been an excellent career choice for me,” says one student. Another student comments: “Before this course, I had no idea of what the fire protection field could provide, not only for the employee/employer, but how beneficial it is for the outside world. To be an inspector, one needs integrity and respect to be able to assure that a fire system is beneficial for the quality of life. Fire sprinklers saves lives and to be the key person to inspect that system is a great responsibility. I respect the fire protection field and I am proud to be in this industry. I do believe this is a great career choice for anyone that has respect for life safety.” Clay also notes that VSC has an employee in the program who has enjoyed it and says he’s learning a lot. “We are pleased to have a program that will develop industry skills. We are vested in the program’s success and are excitedly anticipating the graduation of the first class to see what they have learned and how they will positively impact the industry.” Who’s the right student for this program? Ideal candidates may include existing staff members, local community college fire protection or firefighter program graduates, aging installers, military service veterans, and others with the aptitude and attitude needed to become a professional inspector. There are numerous responsibilities for both the student and employer during this program. The student is expected to: • Commit approximately three hours a week to program studies. Much is online and on-demand. • Keep pace with program activities, including OJT tasks lead by your supervisor as recommended in the program. This helps to ensure your readiness for pre-scheduled NICET exams. • Pursue studies to attain passing scores of 70-plus on each assessment and exam. • Maintain professional appearance and demeanor. Employer responsibilities include: • Vet/recruit the right candidates for this program. Consider a probationary period and use of a promissory note (template included in the program) before enrollment. • Designate an in-house supervisor/instructor to the student to oversee student’s ITM training. • Be someone the student can approach with questions. • Adhere to the activities and related timeline with regards to OJT tasks as recommended in the program. This involves documenting and verifying work experience as required by NICET as part of their certification process. This also ensures the student keeps pace within the program cycle and is duly prepared as each new phase of this comprehensive program begins. Leavitt adds: “Students won’t succeed in this program without the direct involvement of someone in their employer’s realm. They need a mentor and someone to help guide them through
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this. It’s fascinating that when these students complete the coursework portion and as they’re working we find out they often become the teachers, because others in the company aren’t as well versed in what NFPA 25 requires or the best practices. These students’ mentors are needed for the hands-on learning in the field, but students often become teachers on what is right procedure and what needs to be done when. This program will elevate everyone in the company if they will allow it,” he concludes. Why should employers take advantage of this training? “Investing in this ITM training program will result in an actual increase in sales dollars and, better yet, lessen the chance of having a water damage/insurance claim,” comments Wagner. “The cost of tuition is probably less than the deductible on one claim.” “This formalized training program touches the trainee visually, conversationally and tactilely and that is our goal. It’s an opportunity for businesses to expand in a planned way with a program that not only trains participants, but steers the company towards success and away from liability,” adds Caputo. Jeff Bridges, JB Fire Protection, Inc., Fullerton, California, currently has an employee enrolled in AFSA’s ITM program. “Our employee’s knowledge of NFPA 25, as well as his confidence, has clearly been elevated to the next level, and this is only four months into his training!” “I’ve always run an in-house training program, so this was a difficult decision to turn over some training to another source. I’ve been extremely pleased and look forward to enrolling additional employees in the AFSA ITM program in the future,” Bridges concludes. Ed Cook, Performance Fire Protection, Mooresville, North Carolina, has two employees in the program. He says: “When we’re looking to hire qualified inspectors, there is a general lack of people qualified out there for us to hire. We also prefer to hire and train from within. We were excited when this program first was introduced because it was an avenue to enable us to put some of our younger people through and be trained the right way on how to fill our growing inspection service department. We couldn’t have done this training on our own.” David DeSear oversees the inspection department for Performance Fire Protection concurs. “We’ve always found it difficult to fill a position when we’ve needed to and we’ve always seen a need for ITM training. There really wasn’t anything out there in the past for inspectors. This program helps us promote within and receive that additional training that we don’t normally have time to do internally.” Cook notes that ITM is the fastest growing part of Performance’s business. “If we can train a couple of inspectors each year, it could be our pipeline to help accommodate our 50 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
growth and enable us to continue this very vital service to our industry.” Looking Forward “Using feedback from the participants, trainers and others who are involved, we will continue to tweak this program to improve it,” says Wagner. Leavitt concurs. “This program will constantly be evolving. It will have to be continuously upgraded as new standards are issued, as NICET revises its requirements, and as new best practices are identified. The intent is that we stay on top of that so that each succeeding class is coming out with the most current and best practices,” he says. Clounts commends the volunteers who have worked so hard on this program. “It has been a real privilege to collaborate with the incredible team of writers, development and review committees, instructors, and staff – everyone working to achieve the same goal: to professionalize the role of the inspector. Initial development of all program learning content has been completed thanks to these focused individuals. “Seeing the AFSA members respond by enrolling and entrusting their trainees to this new program, while hearing the positive feedback from both student and employer, reinforces our drive to continue improving upon this successful training journey.” Caputo agrees that AFSA is dedicated to training and the fire sprinkler industry. “This program should prove to members and non-members that AFSA exists to further and benefit the interests of the fire sprinkler industry and AFSA membership,” he concludes. “AFSA is responding to the direction the fire sprinkler industry has taken for members to avail themselves of the growing ITM segment.” Register for Fall Session AFSA is now accepting enrollment for the Fall 2017 session, which begins with a live webinar on October 16, 2017. A special introductory registration price is currently being offered: $3,600 for AFSA members (payment 1: $2,500; payment 2: $550; payment 3: $550) or $7,200 for non-members. Registration is open to AFSA members only until six weeks prior to the first class. For more information visit AFSA’s ITM webpage at firesprinkler.org/itm. “This alone should be the reason that non-members join AFSA,” concludes Caputo. “Apprenticeship training is enough, but this program should be a great motivator if that wasn’t. This program will help build the service side of your business and help you stay clear of the negative impacts of legal actions or liability issues. If contractors are looking to grow business and personnel in a professional way, this is the place – the only place – this type of program is provided.” n
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HFSC Expands Digital Outreach Coalition Reaches More Consumers and Fire Service ERIK HOFFER | Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition
In 2016, the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) completely renovated its website, HomeFireSprinkler.org, better optimizing it for today’s digital age and making it easier for target audiences to find the free home fire sprinkler education resources they need. Now, HFSC is taking the next step with digital media advertising to further promote the website and its vast library of resources.
Help HFSC Create Portable Home Fire Sprinkler Displays for Fire Departments
HFSC is raising funds to offer a powerful new educational display to the fire service – at no cost. The fire sprinkler display box shows how home fire sprinklers work. It will be distributed to HFSC’s Built For Life Fire Departments so they can use it for their public education and media outreach efforts. Please visit homefiresprinkler.org/ donate-to-help-create-a-portable-firesprinkler-display and donate today to help HFSC meet its goal and get the boxes into production 52 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
HFSC recently expanded its online reach using paid search, display, and video advertising on Google, YouTube and other similar networks. The two primary target audiences are consumers who are looking to build new homes and the fire service. The major benefit of the digital advertising campaigns is that they are much more dynamic than traditional advertising and cost effective; HFSC can more closely monitor results and make regular adjustments to determine the best way to drive traffic to its resources.
Here Today” and “Building with Fire Sprinklers” informational guides. The “Future of Fire Safety Here Today” is a home fire sprinkler education piece intended for the consumers, while the “Building with Fire Sprinklers” guide is to help them educate their homebuilders, designers, architects, and others involved in the homebuilding industry. In order to download the guides, consumers must fill out a form with their name and email address, which HFSC can use to target and remarket to them at a later date.
The consumer campaign, which was launched in April with digital and video advertising, aims to make consumers aware that fire sprinklers are available for homes, persuading those who are building homes to consider installing fire sprinklers. Paid search advertising will target searches for subjects such as homebuilding, residential construction, and home plans, among others. Additionally, when consumers visit those types of websites and online forums, display ads will appear with messaging such as “Home Fire Sprinklers Protect Your Family, Pets, and Property” and “Fire Sprinklers: Build with Them. Protect What You Value Most.” Searches of homebuildingrelated subjects on YouTube and other websites will also lead to corresponding video advertising. Both the display and video ads prompt consumers to obtain free guides and provide a link to a landing page for the new campaign, MyHomeFireSprinkler.org.
Launched earlier in March, the fire service campaign is designed similarly to the consumer campaign, but with a limited amount of video assets. Also, traffic generated by the advertising will be linked to the fire service section of HFSC’s website. Secondary audiences for the campaign include code enforcement, building, and elected/appointed officials. HFSC’s paid search advertising with messages such as “Reduce Home Fire Deaths by 80%, Free Info Home Fire Sprinklers” and “Cut Fireground Death & Injury with Home Fire Sprinklers” will appear with search term phrases for “Fire Prevention,” “Fire Safety Programs,” “Firefighter Safety,” and “Live Fire Demo’” among others.
MyHomeFireSprinkler.org provides home fire sprinkler facts and costs, while also dispelling the myths about them. More importantly, it directs consumers to download the “Future of Fire Safety
Between the two digital media advertising campaigns, HFSC looks to more efficiently influence and educate its core audiences about home fire sprinklers, generate traffic to its website, and measure the impact of its messaging. n ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Erik Hoffer is a writer for Frankfort, Illinois-based Peg Paul & Associates, writing on behalf of fire sprinkler advocacy and fire safety organizations such as the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (homefiresprinkler.org).
Scholarships Help Students Succeed Increasing Public Awareness of Fire Sprinklers D’ARCY MONTALVO | American Fire Sprinkler Association
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is proud to offer financial assistance and public awareness of sprinklers through its online scholarship program, AFSAscholarship.org. A total of $25,000 is awarded through this public awareness campaign to 10 lucky graduating high school seniors and five college students as they pursue their higher education goals. Since its creation in 1996, the AFSA Scholarship Contest has sought to promote the scholarship outside of the fire sprinkler industry in the hope of reaching students who may otherwise never have recognized the importance of automatic fire protection. Now entering its 22nd year, the AFSA scholarship continues to grow, attracting over 185,000 unique visitors to its website during the contest dates. “AFSA and its Public Education & Awareness Committee created this program to increase the public’s knowledge that fire sprinklers save lives and property,” comments AFSA Region 5 Director Jeff Phifer, chairman of the committee. “It’s very rewarding to be reaching such a large number of people, all the while helping students fulfill their career aspirations.” Seniors & Scholarships For the high school senior contest, applicants must be a current high school senior planning to attend an accredited U.S. college, university or trade school in the fall after high school graduation. Applicants are required to read a passage about fire sprinklers – which describes their history, how they operate to save lives and property, and the types of careers that are available in the industry – and take a eight-question reading comprehen-
sion test. For each question answered correctly, the student receives one entry into a drawing for one of ten $2,000 scholarships. A total of eight entries per applicant into the drawing are possible. The winners were randomly selected from 70,742 students who entered to receive a one-time $2,000 AFSA scholarship payable to their respective college, university or trade school. The 10 national winners for 2017 are: Miljana Djurovic, Des Plaines, Illinois; Zachary Duncan, Okemah, Oklahoma; Karolina Madro, Roselle, Illinois; Kendall McCulty, Los Angeles, California; Emily Miller, Bluffton, Indiana; Angela Murillo, Coachella, California; Robert Nelson, Winslow, Arizona; Anna Newton, Oxford, North Carolina; Cameron Smith, Redlands, California; and Sarah Sutton, Sandwich, Massachusetts. Winner Zachary Duncan is planning to major in physics at Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas. “I learned about the scholarship through an online search and I didn’t know anything about fire sprinklers before entering this contest,” comments Duncan. “I [now] understand how important it is to have fire sprinklers installed. The impact fire sprinklers can have on the safety of people and the preservation of property is enormous.” Duncan is grateful for the scholarship as it will help with college costs. “The books for my major are very expensive, with just one of them costing over $400,” he notes. “So this scholarship will help tremendously to pay for my books.”
A Second Chance For students who entered the contest but didn’t win, there is a second chance – as well as a chance for those already enrolled in college – to win more scholarship funds. Those seeking to pursue a college undergraduate or graduate degree or trade school education – including returning military, parents returning to the workforce, etc. – are encouraged to enter. The contest offers five $1,000 scholarships. AFSA’s Second Chance contest is open now at afsascholarship.org/secondchance. Applicants for the contest must reside in the United States, hold a high school diploma, GED or equivalent, and be enrolled at or accepted to a college/ university or certified trade school. The winners of this scholarship will be randomly selected from students who entered to receive a one-time AFSA scholarship payable to their respective college, university or trade school. Second chance students follow the same rules and procedure as the high school senior students for entering. For each question answered correctly, the student receives one entry into a drawing for one of the scholarships. A total of eight entries per applicant into the drawing are possible. The Second Chance contest closes at 12:00 noon Central time on August 30, 2017. AFSA scholarships are open to U.S. citizens or legal residents and are not based on financial need. For details or to apply for either scholarship, visit AFSAscholarship.org. n
Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 53
What the Government Doesn’t Want You to Know... ... About Apprenticeship In 2008, the Department of Labor, Employment, & Training Administration (ETA) revised the Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs. Revisions to these standards are uncommon, but this time the ETA got it mostly right. The revisions were intended to promote quality control of training programs, and update current technology in training. The ETA wanted regulations that assured training providers were actually training their apprentices, therefore, the focuses on training providers were the completion rates of apprentices and the recordkeeping involved. The regulations are clear that if a training sponsor does not successfully complete the apprentice’s full training, the sponsor’s program could have its certification revoked. The ETA is looking for a long-term (four year) commitment from both the training sponsor and the apprentice. The biggest challenge is the number of apprentices who voluntarily drop out of the program. It is common to see at least 50 percent of first year apprentices drop out. Their reasons for dropping out vary widely, but the effect is significant to the program. Considering this challenge, the ETA’s new regulation allows for a probationary period of up to twelve months or 25 percent of the length of the program, whichever is shorter. 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(8) (2008). For example, a program that only lasted two years could have a maximum probationary period of six months, not a year. Any apprentices that drop out of the program during this period are not included in the program’s completion rate. §29 C.F.R. §29.6(d). The probationary period for apprentices should not include their employment probation. If your company has a sixty-day probation for new hires, then you do not want to begin apprenticeship training until that time is completed. So you could say that day sixty-one of employment is the time to register and start training new apprentices. This is the first day of their apprenticeship probation. Another significant revision in the new rules allows training sponsors to utilize modern technology, such as distance training, online training and correspondence training. 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(4). This is good news to AFSA members because most of the training is done outside a formal classroom. The recordkeeping and documentation, however, must be correct and relevant to apprentice’s actual learning. The only significant change to the apprentice’s On-the-Job-Training (OJT) is the 54 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
change in terminology to “on-the-job learning” (OJL). 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(2). AFSA receives several calls a year from training coordinators asking what is needed to start apprenticeship training. The best starting place to learn the process is AFSA’s publication Training Made Easy, which is available for download on our website firesprinkler.org. This up-todate manual will provide details of starting and maintaining an apprenticeship training program. When it is time to talk to the appropriate state or federal agency, the training coordinator will be familiar with the terminology and specifications required. Ultimately, the discussion will be about the Apprenticeship Agreement, which is defined in the Federal Register as such: §29.2 Definitions. Apprenticeship agreement means a written agreement, complying with §29.7, between an apprentice and either the apprentice’s program sponsor, or an apprenticeship committee acting as agent for the program sponsor(s), which contains the terms and conditions of the employment and training of the apprentice. Fortunately, the ETA or the State Apprenticeship Council (SAC) will provide a template for this agreement that requires no more than filling in the blanks. But don’t get too comfortable! There are still some things a training coordinator should know when filling in the blanks. In particular, four items sure be carefully considered before submitting the apprentice agreement to either the ETA or SAC. These four items are the probationary period, apprentice wage schedule, the ratio of apprentices, and On-the-Job-Learning. Probationary Period As discussed above, take advantage of the full twelve-month probationary period beginning at the signing of the apprentice agreement not the start of employment. Apprentice Wage Schedule An apprenticeship program is required to provide a wage schedule to reflect advancement in the program. 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(5). The wage schedule applies to all projects the apprentices work on, whether it is government prevailing wage work or private work. Typically, apprentice training begins at 50 percent of the journeymen’s wages. Do not start lower
than this because it will raise flags and slow down the approval. Wage schedules can be set up as an annual progression or semi-annual. An annual schedule could look like this: • Year 1: 50 percent of journeyman’s wage • Year 2: 65 percent of journeyman’s wage • Year 3: 75 percent of journeyman’s wage • Year 4: 90 percent of journeyman’s wage A semi-annual schedule could look like this: • First six months: 50 percent of journeyman’s wage • Second six months 55 percent of journeyman’s wage • Third six months 65 percent of journeyman’s wage • Fourth six months: 70 percent of journeyman’s wage • Fifth six months: 75 percent of journeyman’s wage • Sixth six months: 85 percent of journeyman’s wage • Seventh six months: 90 percent of journeyman’s wage • Eighth six months: 95 percent of journeyman’s wage Related Instruction and On-the-Job-Learning (OJL) Related instruction in technical subjects concerning the occupation is recommended to be not less than 144 hours per year. 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(4). The AFSA Apprenticeship Training Program for Fire Sprinkler Fitters curriculum is designed to meet or exceed this standard.
OJL is an organized record of training that applies to the number of hours spent by the apprentice in work on the job in a time-based program; or a description of the skill sets to be attained by completion of a competency-based program. The on-the-job learning component details the minimum number of hours to be spent by the apprentice and a description of the skill sets to be attained by completion the program. 29 C.F.R. § 29.5(b)(2)(i-iv). Ratio of apprentices to journeymen The apprentice agreement must define the numeric ratio of apprentices to journeyman consistent with proper supervision, training, safety, and continuity of employment. The ratio language must be specific, and clearly described as to its application to the job. 29 C.F.R. §29.5(b)(7). Although most fire sprinkler contractors work with one journeyman with one apprentice, the ratio typically approved by ETA is one journeyman to the first apprentice, and three journeymen to each apprentice thereafter. When submitting a new program, it is advisable to submit a one journeyman to one apprentice ratio and then negotiate to an agreeable ratio. AFSA has a long tradition of training fire sprinkler fitters, and offers the premier curriculum for training. If you have any questions about starting an apprenticeship training program within your company, or if you have any questions about apprenticeship call (214) 349-5965 or visit AFSA’s website at firesprinkler.org. n
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Questions About NFPA 30? Informal Interpretations Help Douse Disagreements The informal interpretations featured in this issue of Sprinkler Age address NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code. AFSA’s informal interpretations are provided to AFSA members by Senior Vice President of Engineering & Technical Services Roland Huggins, P.E. and Senior Manager of Fire Protection Engineering Tom Wellen, P.E. These opinions are provided for the benefit of the requesting party, and are provided with the understanding that AFSA assumes no liability for the opinions or actions taken on them. SUBJECT: Spill Containment Sizing QUESTION: “When using a foamwater system to protect a flammable liquid and spill containment that is
?
required, is the total duration of flow the foam supply duration or the water supply duration?” ANSWER: In response to your question we have reviewed NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 2015 edition that you indicated as the applicable code as well as the International Fire Code (IFC). Our informal interpretation is that the demand of the foam solution is used for the duration of 20 minutes. NFPA 30 does not specify the time for sizing of the containment area of the indoor system demand. If the containment area is sized for the system demand for the total duration specified by NFPA 30, the containment area could be rather large. As such, other references such as the IFC was used for guidance. The IFC states in 5004.2.2.3 for indoor AFSA recognizes individuals/ organizations for their dedication to enhancing education and awareness of fire sprinklers by awarding its “Fire Sprinklers Save Lives” award. Established in 1998, the “Fire Sprinklers Save Lives” award’s goal is to highlight individuals and organizations NOT involved in the fire sprinkler industry who are truly making a difference in their community by recognizing the importance of our life saving industry and promoting the use of fire sprinkler technology.
Do you know someone who deserves the
“Fire Sprinklers Save Lives” award? Send nominations to: AFSA - Public Education & Awareness Committee 12750 Merit Drive, Suite 350 Dallas, Texas 75251 Fax: 214-343-8898
56 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
To nominate someone outside of the fire sprinkler industry, please send your name and contact information, your nominee’s name, contact information and a brief description why this person/ organization is being nominated.
design, “Secondary containment for indoor storage areas shall be designed to contain a spill from the largest vessel plus the design flow volume of fire protection water calculated to discharge from the fire-extinguishing system over the minimum required system design area or area of the room or area in which the storage is located, whichever is smaller. The containment capacity shall be designed to contain the flow for a period of 20 minutes.” Secondary containment is only part of the other requirements of NFPA 30. The design approach should be coordinated with the engineer of record on the project including approval of the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). SUBJECT: Bourbon or Whiskey Barrel Storage QUESTION: “I need assistance on determining the design criteria for a very old warehouse built in 1900. It’s a typical wood framed building with brick exterior walls and concrete floors. The roof is pitch 4 in 12 where the peak is approximately 28 ft and the eave is approximately 22 ft. The storage is white oak barrels filled with bourbon stacked four high having a top elevation of 9 ft-6 in. What NFPA standard would apply?” ANSWER: In response to your question we have reviewed NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2016 edition that you indicated as the applicable standard as well as the 2015 edition of NFPA 30. Our informal interpretation is that design criteria for this application are outside the scope of NFPA standards. The issue is the wooden barrels containing distilled spirits. Section 22.2.1 indicates that sprinkler system discharge criteria for the protection of flammable and combustible liquids shall comply with NFPA 30. NFPA 30 in Section 1.3.2 refers to Chapters 9 through 12 for
the storage of flammable or combustible liquids in containers, portable tanks, and intermediate bulk containers in the occupancies covered by the scope of each chapter. Chapter 9 indicates this chapter does not apply to parenthesis (7) Distilled spirits and wines in wooden barrels or casks. The NFPA 30 Handbook commentary under this section states, “This exemption from the provisions of Chapter 9 acknowledges that even though distilled spirits and wines might be considered flammable liquids, the wooden barrels do not present the same rupture hazard as metal containers or the same spill hazards as plastic containers. When wooden barrels or casks are exposed to fire, they do not fail violently. Rather, the metal hoops on the barrels that secure the staves expand and allow loosening of the staves, which results in leaking distilled spirits adding fuel to the fire. However, sprinkler systems often control the fire before the metal hoops on the barrels are affected. Also, note that the distilled spirits industry and The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc. maintain their own guideline document entitled Recommended Fire Protection Practices for Distilled Spirits Beverage Facilities.” Since the application is outside the scope of NFPA 30, the industry document may have discharge protection criteria for storage of bourbon or whiskey in white oak barrels. The contents of the document above are not known but may allow sloped ceilings. If that document does not address sloped ceilings and references NFPA 13 criteria, Section 12.1.2 regarding ceiling slope would apply. The sprinkler system criteria specified in Chapter 12 and Chapters 14 through 20 is intended to apply to buildings with ceiling slopes not exceeding 2 in 12 (16.7 percent) unless modified by a specific section in Chapter 12 and Chapters 14 through 20. The exception would be if the storage were qualified to fall within Chapter 13 for Miscellaneous Storage. SUBJECT: Palletized Class IIIB Liquids in Containers QUESTION: “Class IIIB liquids (flash point of 485.6°F) are stored in 21/2-gal-
lon plastic jugs in cardboard boxes stacked two high. Each pallet contains approximately 272 gallons. What criteria do I apply?” ANSWER: In response to your question we have reviewed NFPA 30, 2015 edition as the applicable code. Our informal interpretation is that NFPA 30 does not provide criteria for palletized storage of Class IIIB liquids in plastic containers. Section 16.4.1.2 indicates to use Figure 16.4.1(b) for miscible and nonmiscible flammable and combustible liquids in nonmetallic containers and in nonmetallic intermediate bulk containers. The decision tree in this figure says to use Tables 16.5.2.5, 16.5.2.9 or 15.5.2.10, if applicable. Table 16.5.2.5 is applicable for rack storage that does not apply for this application. Tables 16.5.2.9 and 16.5.2.10 apply for intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). As such, it appears that NFPA 30 is not allowing this material to be stored palletized. The FM Global Data Sheet 7-29 dated April 2012 (Interim Revision July 2014) was referenced that does provide criteria for palletized storage of Class IIIB liquids in plastic containers. Section 2.4.7.2 addresses storage of liquids with flash points at or above 200°F per Tables 15 or 17, as applicable, based on storage arrangement, roof/ceiling height, and storage height. Table 17 is for palletized/solid pile storage of liquids with closed-cup flash points at or above 200°F in plastic containers. This table provides the number of design sprinklers at pressures in psi for various K-factors. The use of this standard as an alternative to NFPA 30 should be approved by the AHJ.
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SUBJECT: NFPA 30 for Flammable Liquid Storage Warehouse QUESTION: “We have a flammable liquid storage warehouse that is requiring protection for Class IB and IC flammable liquids in plastic containers ranging from under 1 gallon up to 53 gallons in size. These will be stored on single- or double-row racks up to 16 feet and 20 feet in height. What protection criteria should be used?”
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Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 57
ANSWER: In response to your question we have reviewed NFPA 30, 2015 edition as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that protection will require an engineered design. Section 16.4.1.2 refers to figure 16.4.1(b) for miscible and nonmiscible flammable and combustible liquids in nonmetallic containers and in nonmetallic intermediate bulk containers. The referenced figure is a decision tree to lead to the appropriate table for protection criteria where the decisions lead to the storage as unprotected and to see Table 12.6.2.2. The table limits the quantity per pile or rack and
specifies maximum storage heights per the liquid class. The handbook commentary under Section 12.6.2.2 says that the table applies to unprotected storage areas that might not survive a fire. Thus no protection criteria are available from NFPA 30 for this liquid class in nonmetallic containers. There are many fire protection issues that must be addressed such as containment, electrical, fire suppression. As such, a registered professional engineer may be needed to determine the criteria for the storage located indoors. FM Global may address some of this storage in Data Sheet 7-29
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58 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
dated April 2012 (Interim Revision July 2014) in Section 2.4.7.1 as an alternative. The limitation of this section are containers less than or equal to 1 gallon. The other source that should be considered is the local fire code. For instance, the 2015 edition of the IFC has considerations to be addressed in Chapters 50 and 57. SUBJECT: Flammable Liquids QUESTIONS: “We have a project with a storage room identified as S-1 storage inside a building with B and M occupancies. The architectural plans and Owners Information Certificate have called out the use of NFPA 30; 12.8.1 and 12.8.2 for the general storage of Class IB and IIIB liquids not exceeding the Maximum Allowable Quantities (MAQ) allowing for shelf storage to 8 ft. The information has not been provided for the container type, size, and if its cartoned or uncartoned. They have also referenced NFPA 13 for the design criteria of Class IV commodities up to 20 ft. Does NFPA 30 in 12.8.2 (2) and (5), which has no option for storage of Class IB or IIIB liquids on solid shelves and limits Class IB to 5 ft storage, apply to 12.8.1(1), or does 12.8.1 (1) divert directly to NFPA 13 for 20 ft high storage of Class IV commodities based on storage configuration of the liquids? For example, Class IB and IIIB liquids can be stored on back-to-back shelves to 8 ft, and the remainder of NFPA 30 Chapter 12 no longer applies? Does NFPA 30 in 12.8.2 still apply to the storage arrangement for the liquids being stored? In reference to NFPA 30 in 12.8.1, the annex indicates that the provisions of sprinklers designed to protect Class IV commodities to a height of 20 ft for the liquid storage quantities and arrangements allowed in a general-purpose warehouse should not be construed as providing adequate protection. Is utilizing NFPA 30 in 12.8.1 (1) still applicable, and if a fire sprinkler contractor utilizes this section have they now assumed some legal liability for this building and the occupants after a fire event?” ANSWER: In response to your questions, we have reviewed NFPA
13, 2016 edition and NFPA 30, 2015 edition as the applicable standard and code. Our informal interpretations for your questions are below. It’s interesting that although you have a mixed occupancy building (B and M occupancies), they are assigning a storage room (assume it is a normalsized room) as an S-1 occupancy. Even more interesting is that they are applying criteria for a normal everyday warehouse (general purpose) to the one room. Having said that, they are responsible for determining these factors. They have also defined the sprinkler criteria (mostly) so they are also liable for that decision. Having said that, as a team member, if something appears wrong, you should raise a red flag so they can decide how to proceed. You are not designing this project, but simply laying out the sprinklers in accordance with their design. How to properly address flammable liquids is not an easy task. In looking at the referenced NFPA 30 criteria, it’s a bit ambiguous. I talked with the NFPA liaison assigned to this committee to shed a little light on it. The annex text was added because the technical committee defined these criteria based on engineering judgment. The same is true for most of the density/area curves for storage but NFPA 13 annex didn’t add a similar statement. The criteria is applicable and since it has been in place for over 20 years we can be confident their judgment was pretty solid. In applying their criteria, NFPA 30 in 12.8.1 does three things: 1) It tells you that this criteria can be used for general warehouses, 2) It identifies the maximum allowed size of the container for each flammable liquid class, and 3) It identifies the sprinkler design basis is to follow NFPA 13 for a 20-ft high Class IV commodities based on the storage configuration of the liquids. Thus, the Class IB can be in containers no larger than 1.3 gallon and the Class IIIB no larger than 275 gallon. The actual allowed storage heights are lower than 20 ft (as dictated by 12.8.2), but the density and area is that from the curves for 20 ft. The reference to base
on storage configuration just means to use NFPA 13, Chapter 14 if the liquids are stored as a solid pile and Chapter 16 if stored on racks. Moving on to NFPA 30 in 12.8.2, it also tells us: 1) the maximum combined amount of liquids (by class) that are allowed in the entire warehouse (or in your case, the room) and 2) the maximum height of storage of Class III by the allowed storage configuration. Thus, there can be no more than 660 gallons of Class IB, it can be stored no higher than 5 ft, and can only be high piled stored on floor. To me the latter portion is also the most ambiguous item. The easy part is that it excludes storage on racks. The tough part is whether or not it applies to solid shelf storage. This is old text that came about when NFPA 231, Standard for General Storage, and NFPA 231C, Standard for Rack Storage of Material, still existed. The reference to high pile was casually meant to be storage greater than 12 ft. The real purpose was to drive you to one of those two documents. NFPA 13 now covers this in Chapters 14 and 16. The
appropriate interpretation of on the floor is that you use Chapter 14. This chapter addresses palletized, solid piled, bin box, and shelf storage. All of these are treated the same (with some differences in allowed storage heights) whereby the same density is applied for the same storage height. If anything, solid shelving presents less of a hazard than solid piled but they are treated the same. There is no need to raise a red flag on that part of the owner’s certificate. I would raise a red flag regarding exceeding 5 ft on the Class IB liquids. As you know, if an exchange of questions and answers is not in writing, it never happened. n EDITOR’S NOTE: These interpretations were prepared by AFSA’s Technical Services Department in answer to specific questions from contractors and/or AHJs. These opinions are provided for the benefit of the requesting party, and are provided with the understanding that AFSA assumes no liability for the opinions or actions taken on them. AFSA members can access over 4,400 informal interpretations online. Visit firesprinkler.org.
Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 59
Thank You for Your Support! Members Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries As the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) celebrates its 36th anniversary, we recognize those members who are also celebrating milestone membership anniversaries. These member companies have belonged to AFSA for 15 or more years of continuous membership. “On behalf of AFSA’s elected leadership team, we congratulate members celebrating milestone anniversaries with our association this spring,” notes AFSA President Frank Mortl III, CAE. “It’s truly an honor to have so many long-standing members exhibit their loyal dedication to AFSA. Our hope is that by maximizing their membership benefits over the years, these extraordinary companies have found value in their AFSA participation that’s helped prolong and advance business successes along the way.” Several members are celebrating milestone anniversaries in May and June 2017, including Contractor Member Treasure Valley Fire Protection, Boise, Idaho. Current owners Brodie and Nathan Stenquist were pleased to have President Ron Stenquist, and Vice President of Sales R. Greg Patrick, S.E.T., walk down memory lane and share what they’ve experienced and learned over past 30 years with AFSA. How did you get involved in the fire sprinkler industry? Stenquist: My career in the fire sprinkler industry AFSA Milestone Membership Anniversaries May and June 2017
30-Year Anniversary Contractor Members American Automatic Sprinkler, Fort Worth, TX Bamford, Inc., Kearney, NE Treasure Valley Fire Protection, Boise, ID Associate Members Pentair CADDY, Solon, OH
25-Year Anniversary Contractor Members Fire & Safety Systems Co., Ocean, NJ P & L Fire Protection, inc., Tuttle, OK
15-Year Anniversary Contractor Members Advantage Fire & Safety, Inc., Jsaper, IN Marco Protection Systems, LLC, Downington, PA Norred Fire Systems, LLC, Monroe, LA Associate Members BuildingReports.com, Suwanee, GA Gateway Tubing, Rolla, MD 60 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
began accidentally nearly 50 years ago when I answered a call for summer help to install sprinklers at a senior high job site. I showed up carrying a shovel, thinking I would be installing lawn irrigation sprinklers. I became a fire sprinkler apprentice, indentured to Local 669, eventually a journeyman sprinkler fitter, foremen, and manager. Then I created Treasure Valley Fire Protection (TVFP) in September 1979. The first TVFP office was in my residence garage. Patrick: I was attending school, studying architecture and answered a help wanted ad for a drafting position in a sprinkler contractor’s office. I knew absolutely nothing about sprinklers but they hired me as a draftsman and the rest is history. How did you get involved with AFSA? Stenquist: Shortly after forming TVFP, I realized the importance of being involved in the fire sprinkler contractors’ trade organization. NAS&FCA (now NFSA) was the only available access to an apprenticeship program. It was soon discovered by me and my business associate that the only access or entry for potential apprentices was for them to become a union member. In Idaho (a Right-to-Work state) and for interstate commerce, this is illegal. When the founders of AFSA made clear that they were aware of the need for training, TVFP became a member of AFSA. Patrick: I became involved in AFSA through my employer, Treasure Valley Fire Protection, and attended my first convention in 1991. What is your favorite or most used AFSA benefit? Stenquist: AFSA quickly proved that it was to become the leader in fire sprinkler technology and training. AFSA is by far the best place for relationships with the industry’s experts, who incidentally are the members. No matter if it is by participating in webinars, attending seminars at the annual convention, or watching the growth of a sprinkler fitter who successfully completed AFSA’s apprenticeship program, the greatest benefit is the people who manage, work with or for, consult with or for, learn from and belong to and lead AFSA. Patrick: The education and convenience value of the webinars is excellent, but the overall education and networking experience at convention makes that my favorite. What was your AFSA convention memory? Stenquist: Although there have been many, many conventions with my wife Peggy, the 2016 convention in Nashville was the first with both of our sons, who will continue to lead TVFP. Brodie and Nathan Stenquist were with me in
Nashville and we will hopefully all attend next year’s Washington, D.C. convention. That convention will probably be my last and will follow my 50th year in the fire sprinkler industry. Patrick: Wow, where do you even start? I guess if I had to pick, I would say the 2006 convention in Dallas. A golf course with a football theme – does it get any better than that? And I’m not even a Cowboys fan! New Orleans in 1999 is probably a close second. Coincidentally, it was right next to the Superdome, another football stadium. One thing is for sure, my absolute favorite part of AFSA is all of the amazing and dedicated people that make it all happen. What is the most significant change you’ve seen in AFSA or the industry over the past 30 years? Stenquist: The people, the technology, the training. Patrick: I think the most significant change is how technical our industry has become. When I started in the industry, NFPA 13 fit in your back pocket and there were a small handful of different types of sprinklers. With all of the actual fire testing data and in-depth engineering that have in today’s environment, we have become very specialized. Our designs have become very intricate and the design options are nearly infinite. What’s the key ingredient to your success? Stenquist: Strive for integrity. Develop lasting relationships
From left to right: Celebrating TVFP’s 30-year anniversary with AFSA are Greg Patrick Ron Stenquist, Brodie Stenquist, and Nathan Stenquist.
with people who have integrity. Never ask anyone to do a job that you wouldn’t also do. Regardless of the cost, do the right thing. Learn from the people who know. Patrick: Align yourself with good people, work hard, don’t cut corners, provide a great product, and stay humble. Cheers! AFSA congratulates the members celebrating these anniversary milestones and looks forward to celebrating with more members in the future. Recognition in Sprinkler Age will be done in five-year anniversary increments and is available to all membership types. Happy Anniversary! n
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THE FIRE SPRINKLER CONTRACTING WORLD CAN BE A TOUGH CLIMB
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LET US HELP YOU CONQUER THAT MOUNTAIN. Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 61
Bolted Steel Tanks The Right Fit for Fire Protection BRANDON ALEXANDER | Superior Tank Co., Inc.
Over the last 100 years, the methods to store water for fire protection have evolved and become more sophisticated, resulting in superior fire suppression. Modern tanks that store water used for fire protection are very specific and are governed by NFPA 22, Standard for Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection. The size of the tank is determined by the amount of water required, based on fire suppression calculations. For greater efficiency, potable water storage can also be combined with fire protection requirements as one larger tank replaces two smaller tanks. In addition, as water is continuously drawn from the tank for domestic use, the water in the tank does not become stagnant as it would if the tank was used for fire protection alone. However, when a tank is used for dual purposes, the
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ES TI M AT IN G, BI DD IN G, SE LL IN G, CO NT RACT IN G A guide for
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Selling is a noble profession, but... you don’t make money unless you make the sale. The American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) “Estimating, Bidding, Selling, and Contracting for Fire Sprinkler Systems” is an essential guide to help the expert – or novice – fire sprinkler professional successfully estimate, bid, sell and contract jobs. This book gives you the tools that you need to be a profitable fire sprinkler sales representative. With over 300 pages of industry insight, this guide walks through every step of the process – from receiving a set of drawings to the post-bid review.
On sale nOw www.firesprinkler.org 62 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Bolted steel tanks provide fire protection with minimum environmental impact.
tank must include considerations to ensure sufficient fire suppression water is always available. For example, the tank will usually include two outlets: one at a higher level for potable water and a second one at the bottom of the tank for fire protection. Also, fire protection tanks will include a special larger anti-vortex outlet nozzle to ensure an adequate and solid flow of water to fire pumps. Depending on how the tank will be utilized, additional inlets with automatic fill valves may be required to rapidly refill the tank as the tank is being drained. If multiple water supply sources are available, the tank may include several inlets to refill the tank faster and increase the water available for fire suppression. Tanks for fire suppression are frequently constructed of steel or concrete. The material and design of the tank is commonly determined by the size and location of the project. Typically, concrete tanks are larger in size due to the high cost to set up the required equipment on the job site. This high cost makes smaller tanks cost prohibitive relative to other designs, which require considerably less equipment on site. Steel tanks for fire protection are commonly
either bolted or welded design. Bolted tanks range in size from 5,000 to 3,500,000 gallons compared to welded steel tanks, which can be extremely large. Of the various tank designs, bolted tanks have proven to be a cost effective solution for fire protection tanks. Bolted steel tanks are prefabricated in the factory and complete kits arrive to the jobsite ready to install, therefore the amount of manual labor on site is significantly reduced. As extensive and expensive site work required is very minimal, the tank cost is decreased, making bolted steel tanks more affordable compared to other tanks of the same size range. For most mid-sized projects, storage tanks for fire protection range in capacity from 25,000 to 250,000 gallons, which is well-suited for a bolted steel tank. As welding, grinding and other hot work is not required to erect a bolted steel tank, the risk of fire is dramatically reduced. In addition, bolted steel tanks are prefinished in the factory, therefore sandblasting and painting in the field are eliminated and negative environmental impact is significantly reduced.
Commonly, bolted steel tanks are used to supplement existing infrastructure and increase water storage close to the area where fire protection is needed. For example, when a new warehouse or large retail store is built and the current water supply will not support the requirements of the project, a new bolted steel tank will be installed on site. Alternatively, bolted tanks work well for remote and rural areas to provide water for fire suppression. In addition to closed-top tanks, open-top “scoop” tanks are also available to provide helicopters with easy access to water when fighting wildfires. With the advances in the tank manufacturing process, quality of raw materials and design standards have improved the durability of bolted steel tanks, ensuring modern bolted tanks are extremely durable and will stand the test of time. For instance, most bolted steel tanks manufactured in the U.S. are comprised of high-strength steel, which is fastened together using higher grade bolts and hardware. State-of-the-art factories produce the tanks and frequently utilize CNC machinery, turret punch presses, and hydraulic press brakes to ensure tank components meet exact specifications
Bolted steel tanks offer industrial fire protection to fit the project requirements.
to make assembly at the job site hassle free and prevent leaks. Specially formulated epoxy powder coating provides outstanding corrosion protection, and synthetic rubber gaskets fabricated of heavy-duty EPDM, Viton or Buna-N are used to provide decades of maintenance-free service. As customers are discovering, a bolted steel tank can provide the perfect solution for both potable water storage
as well as storage of water for fire protection. n ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brandon Alexander currently serves as marketing coordinator for Superior Tank Co., Inc. located in Southern California. Alexander has worked in heavy manufacturing and construction since 2000 with projects ranging up to $20,000,000. Superior Tank Co., Inc. manufactures and installs bolted steel tanks throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. STCI tank kits have also been shipped to countries throughout the world.
CLSE’s Plan Review & Acceptance of Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems This two-part online audio program with downloadable handouts describes the review process of fire sprinkler systems for one- and two-family dwellings, in accordance with the NFPA 13D standard (2007 edition).
Fire Sprinklers 501–Part 1: Design & Installation Concepts
This seminar describes the history of NFPA 13D, and how it differs from NFPA 13 and NFPA 13R. It discusses the exceptions allowed by NFPA 13D in certain circumstances, and covers water supply requirements and how they are determined and evaluated.
Fire Sprinklers 502–Part 2: Review of Plans & Submittals
Designed in accordance with NFPA 13D, this seminar leads the student through the detailed step-by-step process of reviewing a fire sprinkler system plan designed for protection of a single-family home. The student will download plans and supporting documentation to follow in the plan review process.
Convenient, affordable education available at www.clse.org
Center for Life Safety Education | www.clse.org
Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 63
AHJ PERSPECTIVE BY RONNY J. COLEMAN
Thoughts and Prayers It is an easy enough phrase to repeat; our thoughts and prayers go out to… In the aftermath of many disasters, there is an armada of people who want to express this sentiment. And, for the record, it is entirely appropriate. For sure, our thoughts and prayers should go out to the family and friends of people who die as part of a preventable tragedy. I am sitting at my desk right now reading about one where 36 human beings lost their lives in a building fire. However, I am moved to draw an entirely different observation based on the official reporting on the fire. I would like to suggest that our thoughts and prayers ought to go out to the firefighters who had the onerous
task of finding those 36 bodies. No one ever joined a fire department to engage in recovery efforts. We like to think in terms of rescue. While I have not interviewed any of the firefighters of this particular incident, I can’t help but believe that the task of finding bodies falls short of the firefighter’s heroic effort to rescue the occupants before they become casualties. What thoughts should we be putting forward? Already the media is looking for someone to blame for the fire. One lead paragraph notes that “as criminal investigators begin to examine who is to blame for one of the worst fires in modern California history, …” One of the key thoughts that the local jurisdiction must entertain is
what they could have done to have prevented the fire in the first place? Therefore one of the thoughts that comes to the forefront is what does the departments documented evidence look like? With respect to a prayer, we can only hope that the department has documented the occupancy as complaints occurred and the remedial actions that have been pursued prior to the event. Another news account asks a rhetorical question, of “why weren’t there sprinklers in this building?” My first thought is that anybody who would try to put sprinklers in that building because of fire protection concerns would face an unreasonable and undeniably emotional rejection of a retrofit sprinkler system. How many newspapers have lined themselves up to be an advocate of sprinkler systems? Why are they surprised when there are no sprinklers, when very few of them will come out in support of sprinklers? A fire marshal puts his or her career in jeopardy the minute that they start proposing retrofit sprinklers. Regardless of large loss of life fires like this, contemporary reaction to retrofit sprinklers is that it is overkill and unreasonable. Tell that to the survivors and the family and friends of the victims of this most recent episode. The thought I would share at this point is that fire sprinklers are one of the most positive means of limiting fire loss that we have in our entire arsenal of fire defense. In addition, the thought that I would like to propose that needs to go out is the fact that sprinkler systems are not unreasonable when you consider the consequence of loss of life. The newspaper article also noted that there were no fire alarms in the building. The same thought applies. Putting in fire alarms is a passive process but it could have given some of the victims at least a fighting chance to survive.
64 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
The newspaper articles are riddled with criticism that city officials had not adequately addressed numerous complaints about the structure. My thought to go out to the officials is that I hope they have taken such complaints seriously and have treated the complaint in an objective manner. I can only hope that it has been adequately documented and records kept of when the complaint was received and what course of action officials took. As mentioned in the opening of this column, there will be a lot of sympathy given to the survivors and family and friends. Don’t expect there to be much empathy for government officials with regard to what they did or did not do. Instead a phalanx of attorneys will arrive at City Hall prepared to assign blame as well as joint and several liability. The thoughts that need to go out to those who will be responding to these issues are multi-faceted and complex. Just as important, a thought needs to go out to everyone in the code enforcement community. As an adequate defense one must have documentation and proof that
you have attempted to reconcile the problem. Fires of this magnitude often create instantaneous emotion in the headlines. Whereas the answer to the question of whether the fire was preventable, may be lost in obscurity years down the road. Again, my thoughts go to the code official. It is this type of an incident that is a harbinger of things to come. Those that were not directly impacted by this incident but who have similar issues in their community had better be planning a program to bring the situation back under control. This has often been called a catastrophic area of reform. In the aftermath of many serious fires, there have been community efforts to improve upon fire and life safety regulation. A good example of this might be the Coconut Grove fire or the Hartford, Connecticut Circus tent fire. Politicians can easily resist our remedy when nothing has actually happened, but they seldom have the ability to resist catastrophic areas of reform.
In summary, my thoughts go out to every Authority Having Jurisdiction that they should not be caught unaware of these tragic conditions. You do not want to find out at 3 o’clock in the morning that dozens of your citizens have died an unnecessary death. My final thought is that I hope that those witnessing this type of event will start developing a risk inventory that identifies such conditions. My hope is that our political leadership will begin to recognize the validity of proactive fire protection and back up the Authority Having Jurisdiction that is responsible to establish fire and life safety within the community. Remember that having sprinklers in place no matter how they are justified means never having to say “I’m sorry.” n ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ronny J. Coleman is currently the president of Fireforceone. He is a past president of the IAFC and CFAI. Over his lifetime, he has received numerous awards including the AFSA’s 1989 Henry S. Parmelee Award, the 2011 Mason Lankford Award from the Congressional Fire Services Institute, and the Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award from Fire Engineering in 2014. He continues as a contributor to the fire service in many ways.
Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 65
AFSA NEWS
Calendar Wellen Promoted to Senior Manager Tom Wellen, P.E. has been promoted to senior manager of fire protection engineering in AFSA’s Technical Services Department. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering technology, fire protection and safety technology from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, and is actively involved with NFPA and SFPE. He has over 20 years of designing, testing, reviewing, and engineering experience. He is a registered fire protection engineer in California and Texas. Wellen serves on committees for the NFPA 13, NFPA 14, NFPA 20, and NFPA 101 standards. Visit firesprinkler.org. New Additions at AFSA Four new staff members have joined the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) in the last two months. Richard Cevallos joins the Education Department as education programs specialist. Cevallos holds a Bachelor of Science in general business from the University of South Florida, and a Masters in instructional design/learning technologies from the University of North Texas. In his role at AFSA, Cevallos will report to Director of Education Programs Leslie Clounts, and will implement and coordinate the development of e-learning. He can be reached via phone at 214-349-5965 ext. 117 or email at
[email protected]. Joshua Fisher joins the Marketing & Information Technology Department as its digital media producer and brand specialist. Fisher holds a Bachelor of Science from Southwestern University, and studied radio, television and film at the University of Texas at Austin. He has had a long career in film and broadcast television, including producing TV commercials, sports interviews, branding videos, and more. He held positions at WFAA/KFWD, Mundo Fox, and Hot
On! Homes before joining AFSA, where he will report to Director of Marketing & Information Technology Roger Gragg. He can be reached via phone at 214-349-5965 ext. 136 or via email at
[email protected]. Kevin D. Korenthal has joined the Member Services Department as its manager of chapter relations. Korenthal joined the merit shop effort in 2006 to lead the government affairs and advocacy efforts for the Los Angeles/Ventura and Central California Chapters of Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. (ABC). In 2008, Korenthal became the executive director of Associated Builders and Contractors, California Cooperation Committee (ABC-CCC). For the last few years, he has helped institutional, trade association, and private business clients meet their marketing and public relations needs under the banner of his consulting firm, KORE Communications, LLC. Korenthal’s responsibilities as manager of chapter relations include identifying chapter growth opportunities, strengthening existing chapters, and creating new chapters. He can be reached via phone at 214-349-5965 ext. 133 or via email at
[email protected]. Jason Williams, C.E.T. joins the Technical Services Department as its manager of ITM technical training. Williams brings nearly 20 years of extensive, hands-on industry experience. His past activities have included both conducting inspection and maintenance on all types of systems as well as training of new inspectors. As manager of ITM technical services, Williams will manage all technical aspects of the AFSA ITM Program, serving as primary instructor for the live webinars and classes as well as maintaining existing program materials. Williams will report to Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services, Roland Huggins. He can be reached via phone at 214-349-5965 ext. 137 or via email at
[email protected]. These and all AFSA staff members look forward to serving members’ needs and welcome your call. For more information visit AFSA’s website at firesprinkler.org/afsa-staff. n
June 10 Phase I AFSA National Apprentice Competition Nationwide firesprinkler.org/convention/apprenticecompetition
July 10-21 AFSA Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School Dallas, TX firesprinkler.org
26-28 OSU Fire Sprinkler Inspection Training Certificate Program Stillwater, OK okstate.edu
August 14-25 AFSA Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School Dallas, TX firesprinkler.org
September 24-27 AFSA 36: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada firesprinkler.org/convention
October 2-13 AFSA Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School Dallas, TX firesprinkler.org
16 ITM Inspector Development Program Live Webinar Kick-Off firesprinkler.org/ITM
Cevallos
Fisher
66 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Korenthal
Williams
Seminars subject to change. Call (214) 349-5965 to confirm locations and times. For information on Chubb and/or OSU programs, visit firesprinkler.org and click on “Training Calendar.”
@
Learn
the speed of thought
Training Made Easy! THE AFSA WAY... To assist contractors in maintaining a quality workforce, the American Fire Sprinkler Association and its Fire Sprinkler eCampus offer hundreds of online training programs that award CEUs (as recognized by IACET) and CPD credits (as recognized by NICET). Online courses include: • Applied Sprinkler Technology / System Layout • Hydraulic Calculations • Seismic Bracing • Beginning CAD • Codes, and many other topics... Check it out at www.SprinklerECampus.com
CHAPTER NEWS Connecticut Connecticut Chapter Board Members Jeff Harlow and Bob Hollis, along with the Connecticut Department of Labor, participated in a presentation to students at Norwich Tech. The discussion centered around the basic principles of fire sprinkler systems, as well as apprenticeship, job opportunities, licensing and issues related to the fire protection industry. The Connecticut Chapter also partnered with the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) to distribute to all the building officials in the state the Connecticut General Statute for new home construction contractors chapter 399A sec. 20-417D, which requires that the contractor or his agent must discuss the installation of an automatic extinguishing system with all prospective home owners and home builders. The information shared also included two brochures entitled “The Benefits of Home Fire Sprinklers” and “Protect What You Value Most.” At its April 11 meeting, the Connecticut Chapter welcomed Tom Quinn, who led a discussion about preparing for a fire pump acceptance test, focusing on start-ups on new fire pump equipment, covering correspondence, checklists, and common problems associated with some acceptance testing. The chapter will host its First Annual Charity Golf Tournament on September 12, 2017 at the Hawks Landing Country Club in Southington. For registration and sponsorship information, visit afsact.org. Louisiana The Louisiana Fire Sprinkler Association (LFSA) hosted its quarterly chapter meeting and second annual vendor fair on April 18 at the Hilton Capital Center Hotel in Baton Rouge. An NFPA 25, 2017 edition seminar, NextGen roundtable, and afternoon social with LFSA members, vendors, state fire marshals and state legislators were highlights of the day. The vendors for the fair were: Ferguson Fire & Fabrication, HD Supply, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co, NextGen, Service Trade, The Soldberg Company, Tyco Fire Protection Products, Victaulic, and Viking Group. LFSA members were thrilled to see that Congressman Thomas G. Carmody, Jr. of Shreveport and Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning were present. LFSA’s next meeting will be July 25 featuring a seminar on technical changes from the 2013 edition to the 2016 edition of NFPA 13. Visit lafiresprinkler.org. 68 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
At left: AFSA At-Large Director and LFSA president Linda Biernacki (center) welcomed State Fire Marshal Butch Browning (left) and Congressman Thomas G. Carmody, Jr. of Shreveport to its April meeting. At right: Ferguson Fire & Fabrication was one of the exhibitors at LFSA’s Vendor Fair. Virginia On Thursday March 9, 2017, the Virginia Chapter presented a seminar on NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, for members and non-members at the Henrico County, Virginia Fire Training Facility. There were 88 attendees at this seminar with 20 of the attendees being local Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). Bill Jones of FirePro planned the seminar, Chapter Executive Director George Wagner registered and proctored the event, and Bob Caputo of FLSA was the presenter. Lunch from Mission BBQ was furnished to all attendees. This event was part of an
ongoing program by the chapter to educate the industry on important issues. On April 4, 2017, the chapter held a Board meeting and chapter meeting at the Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Richmond. After these meetings, a presentation was given by Roland Huggins, P.E. of National AFSA on NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, 2014 edition. The chapter meeting had 54 attendees, and seminar had 71 attendees. For more details on this and future meetings, visit afsavirginia.com. n
AFSA’s Virginia Chapter recently presented two seminars, one on NFPA 20 and another on NFPA 25, both well attended.
What if...
BEGINNERS COULD BE PRODUCTIVE IN TWO WEEKS? AFSA Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School The System Planning School presents a comprehensive, practical approach to preparing fire sprinkler system drawings. Students receive two full weeks of instruction, 60 percent of which is study and review of NFPA 13 (2016 edition). The other 40 percent is preparation of fire sprinkler system layout, shop drawings and hydraulic calculations. The school is designed to train a beginner to be productive immediately upon returning to work. This class is designed for those with no experience, or those who need assistance with design. The students learn by actually planning and drawing sprinkler systems while studying and applying NFPA 13. Visit firesprinkler.org/education-center/schools. 2017 SCHEDULE January 9-20 SOLD OUT! February 27-March 10 SOLD OUT! April 24-May 5 SOLD OUT! July 10-21 August 14-25 October 2-13 November 6-17 Enrollment is now open. Visit firesprinkler.org.
- TOM WELLEN, P.E. AFSA Senior Manager of Fire Protection Engineering In my role as lead instructor of AFSA’s Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School we introduce the beginning layout technician to the codes, hydraulic calculations and knowledge of system layout techniques. This combined with real world problem solving ability will help to develop the layout technician into a contributing member of your team. In just two short weeks, the school provides powerful knowledge that unleashes a new world of possibility.
AFSA MEMBERSHIP New Members The following is a list of new members that have joined as of April 15, 2017.
Region 1
Metro Fire Equipment Richard Thornock Gilbert, AZ
AHJ City of San Diego Miguel Tamayo San Diego, CA
NFP Don Blunt Las Vegas, NV
North County Fire Prevention District Patty Koch Fallbrook, CA
Associate Asurio, Inc. Top Myers Broomfield, CO
Contractor AC Fire Protection, Inc. Joel Castillo Salinas, CA All County Fire Protection, Inc. Jon Baptista San Diego, CA Apex Fire Systems, Inc. Timothy Harris Costa Mesa, CA
Region 6
Contractor Blackhawk Automatic Sprinkler, Inc. Dennis Wilson Cedar Falls, IA
International Fire Sprinkler Systems, LLC Joe Lucio Pharr, TX
Contractor AAA Fire Protection Pete Leonardson Seattle, WA
Designer Protech Sprinkler Design Craig Ubben St. James, MO
Evans Plumbing, Inc. David Gates Haily, ID
Seago Fire Sprinkler Design, LLC Naomi Seago Chillicothe, OH
Impact Fire Services Josh Elder Bluffdale, UT
Designer K-Factor Sprinkler Services, Inc. John Knack Lawrenceville, GA
Contractor B Double K, Inc. Bruce Irlbeck Lubbock, TX
Region 3
Monona Plumbing & Fire Protection Jone Brown Madison, WI
Region 2
Quick Response Fire Protection Marty Brasher Groveland, FL
AHJ Lowell Fire Dept. Nolan Jones Lowell, AR
Champion Fire & Security Chuck Henderson Plano, TX
Foster Fire Protection Craig Foster Chillicothe, MO
Carlon’s Fire & Safety Gabriel Munoz Salinas, CA
Region 4
U.S. Air Force, McConnell Air Force Base Warren Schwanz McConnell AFB, Kansas
Contractor CML Fire Protection, LLC William Caltrider New Windsor, MD Crews & Gregory Fire Sprinkler, Inc. Gordon Taylor, Jr. Midlothian, VA
Designer Jeff Normand Jeff Normand Carriere, MS
Fyr-Fyter Sales & Service, Inc. Bruce Chiarello Pennington, NJ
Region 5
JME Enterprises, Inc. John Ercolano Medford, NY
AHJ Elizabeth City Fire Department Chris Carver Elizabeth City, NC
Liberty Fire Sprinkler Co., Inc. Michael Lauf Chester Springs, PA
Collier County Government Edwin Sanchez Naples, FL
Professional Fire Protection David Bowden Virginia Beach, VA
Contractor Fire Protection Services, LLC Scott Faircloth Dunn, NC
Region 7
Contractor A & A Fire Protection, LLC Irfan Hujic Saugus,MA American Sprinkler Corporation Jeff Day Swanton, VT
International
AHJ Mississauga Fire & Emergency Service Don Casey Mississauga, ON, Canada Contractor Burns and Wesley Dave Perfect Victoria, BC, Canada Diablo Fire Protection, Ltd. Darcy Krug Edmonton, AB, Canada Proudline Fire Protection Services, Ltd. Kenneth R. Proud Edmonton, AB, Canada Streamline Fire Protection Richard Strain Edmonton, AB, Canada Sprinktech, Ltd Darcy Alexander Edmonton, AB, Canada
AFSA Chapter Contacts Arkansas Coleman Farrar – Chair. 479-986-909 Wallace Reed – Vice Chair. 501-945-2900
Greater Bay Area Cory Riley – Chair. 510-490-7873 Lorelei Upshaw – Exec. Dir. 925-954-5031
New Jersey Thomas Bowlby Jr. – Chair. 908-226-5313 Robert K. Melofchik – Exec. Dir. 201-741-0056
Carolinas afsacarolinas.com David Smith – Chair. 828-327-4116 John Turnage – Exec. Dir. 919-624-3456
Greater Kansas City Mark McKenzie – Chair. 913-432-6688 Brett Heinrich– Exec. Dir. 785-825-7710
New Mexico Pete Newstead – Vice Chair. 505-884-2447 Dave Wilson – Exec. Dir. 505-573-6712
Louisiana Linda Biernacki – Chair. 318-688-8800 Mark Taylor - Vice Chair 504-837-0572
North Central Michael Winiecki – Chair. 651-484-5903 Michelle Loren - Exec. Dir. 320-676-3771
Michigan Doug Irvine, Jr.- Chair 616-784-1644 Frank L. Mortl – Exec. Dir. 517-285-7665
Northern New England Ryan Gadhue – Chair. 802-865-3600 Tim Stone – Exec. Dir. 802-434-2968
Mid-Atlantic afsamac.org Meaghen Wills – Chair. 610-754-7836 Michael Leister– Exec. Dir. 215-362-0700
Ohio Bill Hausman, Chair 937-859-6198 Don Eckert– Exec. Dir. 513-310-9660
Chesapeake Bay Jay Zollars – Co-Chair. 410-286-3314 Danielle Fowler – Exec. Dir. 410-635-3022 Connecticut afsact.org Rick Russo – Chair. 203-877-7983 Wendy Callahan – Exec. Dir. 978-855-6495 Florida afsafl.org Chris Johnson – Chair. 800-327-7604 Carolyn Mohr – Exec. Dir. 239-771-3907
Pacific Northwest afsanw.org Tracy Moore – Chair. 425-271-5598 Ron Greenman – Exec. Dir. 253-576-9700
South Carolina scfsa.org Jason Strickland – Chair. 843-664-0077 Jule Buffington – Exec. Dir. 803-951-2800
Rocky Mountain Brent Heiner – Chair. 801-544-0363 Adam Millward – Exec. Dir. 801-216-4545
Southern California Jeff Bridges – Co-Chair. 714-285-0200 Terry Housholder– Co-Chair. 714-632-8646 Amber Barrios - Exec. Dir. 562-833-9492
Sacramento Valley sacvalleyafsa.org Bill Gray – Chair. 916-663-3582 Paulene Norwood – Exec. Dir. 916-296-0635 San Diego As called by Chair. Ron Aday – Chair. 858-513-4949 Rhonda Hill – Exec. Dir. 858-513-4949
Virginia afsavirginia.com Jack Medovich – Chair. 804-222-1381 George Wagner – Exec. Dir. 757-486-3103 Yankee Roger Piacentini – Chair. 631-689-6869 Joshua Fitzgerald – Exec. Dir. 617-903-3191
AFSA Affiliate Contacts Alabama Affiliate alfiresprinkler.org Charles Bielair – Pres. 334-270-8571 Greg Willis – Exec. Dir. 334-567-4257
70 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Georgia Affiliate georgiafiresprinkler.org Ray Vance – Chair. 404-226-8304 Billy Wood – Exec. Dir. 404-226-8304
Oklahoma Affiliate ofsa.info Gary Field – Chairman 918-266-2416
Texas Affiliate fscatx.org David Stone – Pres. 713-466-9898 Carol McCain – Exec. Dir. 281-361-8069
CONSTRUCTION REPORTS U.S. Construction...
February Construction Starts Advance 2 Percent At a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of $706.4 billion, new construction starts in February rose 2 percent from the previous month. This was the second straight monthly increase, following a 15 percent hike in January, as construction starts regained the upward track following four consecutive monthly declines to close out 2016. Much of February’s advance came from a strong performance by the public works sector. At the same time, nonresidential building made a partial retreat after its strong January performance, yet still remained slightly above its average monthly pace during 2016. Residential building in February also settled back, due to a slide for multifamily housing. During the first two months of 2017, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $98.5 billion, which included elevated amounts for the often volatile manufacturing plant and electric utility/gas plant categories. Excluding those categories, total construction starts during this year’s JanuaryFebruary period would be up 7 percent compared to last year. Monthly Summary of Construction Contract Value Prepared by Dodge Data & Analytics
MONTHLY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT VALUE Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates, In Millions Feb 2017 Jan 2017 % Change Nonresidential Building $238,500 $261,338 -9 Residential Building $300,194 $309,481 -3 Nonbuilding Construction $167,740 $124,546 +35 Total Construction $706,434 $695,365 +2 THE DODGE INDEX (Year 2000=100, Seasonally Adjusted) February 2017...............149 January 2017.....................147 YEAR-TO-DATE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT VALUE Unadjusted Totals, In Millions 2 Mo. 2017 2 Mo. 2016 % Change Nonresidential Building $35,534 $29,293 +21 Residential Building $41,227 $41,760 -1 Nonbuilding Construction $21,698 $31,659 -31 Total Construction $98,459 $102,712 -4
U.S. Construction...
March Construction Starts Climb 5 Percent New construction
starts in March increased 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $743.7 billion, marking the third straight monthly gain. The total construction growth in March was led by the nonbuilding construction sector, and particularly by public works which featured the start of two large pipeline projects. Residential building in March registered moderate growth, helped by a rebound for multifamily housing after a subdued February. Nonresidential building in March held steady with its February pace, as strong activity for office buildings and airport terminals offset a steep drop for manufacturing plants. Through the first three months of 2017, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $160.1 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year ago (which included heightened activity for manufacturing plants and electric utilities/gas plants). If the often volatile manufacturing plant and electric utility/gas plant categories are excluded, total construction starts during the first three months of 2017 would be up 8 percent relative to last year. Monthly Summary of Construction Contract Value Prepared by Dodge Data & Analytics
MONTHLY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT VALUE Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rates, In Millions Mar 2017 Feb 2017 % Change Nonresidential Building $237,235 $237,600 -0Residential Building $310,780 $300,046 +4 Nonbuilding Construction $195,715 $168,208 +16 Total Construction $743,730 $705,854 +5 THE DODGE INDEX (Year 2000=100, Seasonally Adjusted) March 2017...............157 February 2017.....................149 YEAR-TO-DATE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT VALUE Unadjusted Totals, In Millions 3 Mo. 2017 3 Mo. 2016 % Change Nonresidential Building $54,092 $50,539 +7 Residential Building $68,160 $68,530 -1 Nonbuilding Construction $37,863 $45,610 -17 Total Construction $160,115 $164,679 -3
AFSA membership is one of them. AFSA members know they are not alone. With an expanding network of fire sprinkler contractors, designers, manufacturers & suppliers, and code officials, being a part of AFSA means being in the know.
There are better ways to determine your future.
AFSA offers a wealth of information and opportunities such as: training and education products and services; business and group health insurance; techiical products and services; legislative activity updates and support; chapters nationwide; and numerous written and electronic publications. Not to mention that we hold the biggest convention and exhibition of its kind in the U..S. every year. Visit www.firesprinkler.org or call AFSA's Membership Dept. at 214.349.5965 ext. 133 to find out how AFSA can help you look ahead.
Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017 71
PRODUCT NEWS
ECS In-Line Corrosion Detector is Awarded 2017 Corrosion Innovation of the Year Engineered Corrosion Solutions LLC (ECS) is proud to announce that the ECS in-line corrosion detector (ILD) has been awarded the 2017 Corrosion Innovation of the Year. The detector is designed to provide an early warning indication of internal corrosion activity in fire sprinkler systems before piping needs to be replaced. A cross-section of the device shows the two key attributes that allow for early detection of corrosion: an externally machined section of the pipe that creates a “thin wall” area and a pressure chamber created by an external sleeve welded over the pipe. The ECS in-line corrosion detector is equipped with a pressure switch to monitor the pressure chamber, so when corrosion penetrates the thin wall section of the detector, the pressure switch observes system pressure and activates. Visit ecscorrosion.com. FM Global Develops Thermal Radiation-Activated Sprinklers Commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global has developed a new design for automatic fire sprinkler protection beyond what can be addressed with current commercially available sprinklers. The sprinklers are designed to activate due to their enhanced sensitivity to thermal radiation from flames and would be suitable for particular applications where a new, specialized sprinkler design would be beneficial, such as sprinkler protection beneath grated mezzanines and special fire hazards such as covered open yard storage. The complete findings are available free of charge in a new research technical report titled ‘Radiation-Activated Sprinklers’. Visit fmglobal.com/researchreports. Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc. Announces Concealed Pendent Residential Sprinkler The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc. announces its new Model RFC58, flat cover plate, concealed pendent residential sprinkler. The Model RFC58 is a 5.8 (84 metric) K-factor sprinkler that is cULus Listed for coverage areas up to 20 ft x 20 ft (6.1 m x 6.1 m). The sprinkler is available in Ordinary temperature classification, 72 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
with a 165°F (74°C) temperature rating and 135°F (57°C) cover plate, or Intermediate temperature classification, with a 212°F temperature rating and 165°F (74°C) cover plate. The Model RFC58 sprinkler allows 3/4-in. (19 mm) of cover plate adjustment. Model RFC Series sprinklers are installed with a Model RFC cover plate, which may be installed by either pushing or threading the cover plate into the sprinkler cup. These cover plates are available in a variety of finishes and can be ordered as either traditional solid or perforated cover plates. Visit reliablesprinkler.com.
Reed Introduces Deburring Tool with Inner/ Outer Diameters Reed’s inner/outer deburring tool, DEB200, deburrs and reams both the inner and outer diameters using one tool. This double-ended deburring tool works for copper, aluminum, steel and stainless tubing from 3 /8-in. – 2-in. (10-54 mm) I.D./O.D. Multiple cutting edges on the inside of either end provide smooth deburring operation. Knurled rings on the surface allow operator a firm grip during use. The tool is used for copper pipe installation, plus with metal pipe found in water service lines, plumbing lines, radiant heating and gas lines. Visit reedmfgco.com. System Sensor Introduces New L-Series Fully redesigned to meet the needs of today’s fire and life safety systems, the enhanced and expanded L-Series gives you more ways to save. It is up to 35 percent more efficient, reducing the number of power supplies needed. It is easier to configure, set up and inspect, and the product standardization reduces SKUs. Now including compact horn and strobe devices. Also, featuring a new low-pro-
file design with a high-fidelity speaker and a full range of candela settings now standard. Visit SystemSensor.com.
Victaulic Introduces Firelock® Innovative Groove System Victaulic announces the launch of its FireLock® Innovative Groove System (IGS) for 1-in. fire protection piping. The FireLock IGS line includes Installation-Ready™ fittings, an Installation-Ready™ Rigid coupling, branch line outlets and adapters, as well as the VicFlex™ Series AH2-CC Braided Hose and the RG2100 roll grooving tool. These IGS products feature a new, patented IGS groove specification, optimized for 1-in. pipe, and are cULus Listed and FM Approved for service up to 365 psi. The roll grooving tool is a first-of-its-kind tool that forms a Victaulic IGS groove into either Schedule 10 or Schedule 40 1-in. pipe. This innovative tool eliminates measuring and adjustment by the operator, as compared to threading, and effortlessly cold forms the IGS groove to specification every time. Victaulic’s IGS products can be used to create hard-pipe sprigs, pendants, and arm-overs, without using a wrench or threading dies. The combination of the RG2100 tool with an Installation-Ready™ elbow allows customers to install a grooved elbow twice as fast as a threaded one, and eliminates the use of pipe wrenches which can cause injury from repeated strenuous motion. Importantly, customers are now able to use Schedule 10 pipe throughout their systems, improving flow as well as decreasing both the weight and cost of pipe. Visit victaulic.com. n
I JO N !
W
NO
IN A DISPUTE, SOMETIMES YOU NEED A LITTLE HELP.
AFSA American Fire Sprinkler Association
AFSA MEMBERS RECEIVE FREE TECHNICAL ADVICE We will provide an informal interpretation quickly to assist you. AFSA has the premier technical services team in the country led by Roland Huggins, P.E. With two professional
engineers, and two engineering technicians they have over 100 years of combined experience in contracting, enforcement, consulting, and user application.
AFSA MEMBER BENEFITS GIVE YOU THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED. Roland Huggins, PE Tom Wellen, PE Jason Williams, CET Tom Noble, CET
For more information, contact us: 214 349 5965 or firesprinkler.org
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS In Memoriam: Passing of Jack Mitchell On February 19, 2017, Jack Mitchell passed away peacefully. Mitchell started sprinkler work in 1948 with Grinnell. He was the founder and owner of Fire Sprinkler Co. and FSIM Inc., which were operated from 1975 to 2007. The memorial was held on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at the Helen Mills Senior Facility in Atlanta, Georgia. Afterward, Jack’s ashes were buried at Crestlawn Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.
bers not standing for election this year are: Immediate Past President Alex Olszowy, Building Inspection Manager, Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky; William Jeff Bechtold, Senior Building Official, Kenton County, Kentucky; James E. Morganson, Code Enforcement Officer, Fire Marshal, Zoning Administrator, Village of Lake Placid/Town of North Elba, New York; M. Donny Phipps, Director of Building Codes and Inspections, Richland County, South Carolina; Greg Wheeler, Chief Building Official, Thornton, Colorado; Jim H. Brown, Deputy Building Official, Gillette, Wyoming; Jerry Mallory, Building Official and Fire Marshal, Johnson County, Kansas; Stuart D. Tom, Fire Marshal, Glendale, California; and Richard C. Truitt, Sr., Deputy Code Director, Harford County, Maryland. Visit iccsafe.org.
Code Council Members Elect 2016-2017 Board Officers, Directors International Code Council Members elected Board Officers and Directors during the organization’s Annual Business Meeting at the 2016 Annual Conference and Group B Public Comment Hearings in Kansas City, Missouri. Georgia State Fire Marshal M. Dwayne Garriss was elected President of the Code Council Board; Mission Viejo, California, Building Official Jay Elbettar was elected Vice President; and Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Assistant Director of Inspections and Permits William R. Bryant was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Code Council Board Mem-
Globe Fire Sprinkler Corporation Welcomes Regional Sales Manager and Sales Representative Globe Fire Sprinkler Corporation recently announced the addition of two key product sales support roles. Lisa
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED SHORT TERM INSURANCE? Short Term Health Insurance is a flexible health care coverage solution when you need coverage for a period of transition in your life. Short Term Health Insurance can provide the coverage you need for times of change in your life: • • • • • •
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Get covered fast, as soon as the day after application Pick your deductible amount from several options Drop coverage with no penalty and receive a refund on unused premium if a more permanent health insurance options comes along Apply for another Short Term Health Insurance plan when this one finishes, if needed Access an extensive network to health care professionals, with 1 million physicians and other health care professionals and approximately 6,000 hospitals and other facilities Get general lower premiums than with ACA health insurance plans
To obtain a no cost no obligation Short Term Health Insurance quote, e-mail us at
[email protected]. Ed Sterczek
74 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Cook
Favero
Favero has been appointed regional sales manager for the Midwest, and Kim Cook has joined Globe as sales representative in Colorado. Favero joins Globe with 22 years’ experience in the fire protection market. Most recently, Favero has provided sales and technical support to fire protection customers throughout the South Central U.S. Cook comes to Globe with 12 years’ experience in fire protection distribution and construction management from Leonhardt Pipe & Supply and Rodgers Builders. Her family has been in the fire protection industry for 49 years. As a sales representative, Cook will be supporting customers in Colorado with pricing, special projects, technical and application support with Globe products and services. Visit globesprinkler.com. Fire Protection Research Foundation Announces Winners of the 2016 William M. Carey and Ronald K. Mengel Awards The Fire Protection Research Foundation (Foundation), an affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), announced winners of the 2015 William M. Carey and Ronald K. Mengel awards. Christina Francis won the 2016 William M. Carey Award for her outstanding paper entitled, “New Technology for Sprinklered High-Challenge Warehouses.” The award recognizes the best suppression presentation, as voted by attendees of SUPDET. Francis of Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) is responsible for the development and management of P&G’s Global Fire Protection Program, including oversight of more than 140 global manufacturing sites and technical centers. Joseph Fleming, deputy fire chief for the Boston Fire Department, and Vytenis Babrauskas, of Fire Science and Technology Inc., won the 2016 Ronald K. Mengel Award for their exceptional paper entitled, “Improving Data Collection of Smoke Alarms in Fires.” The award recognizes the best detection presentation, as declared by SUPDET Symposium participants. Visit nfpa.org.
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AFSA36
CONVENTION, EXHIBIT & APPRENTICE COMPETITION
2 4 2 7 SEPTEMBER 2017
SEE UPDATES @ FIRESPRINKLER.ORG/Afsa36
INDUSTRY NEWS California to Certify Sprinkler Fitters As of March 24, 2017, California Sprinkler Fitter Certification regulations have been adopted and will take effect July 1, 2017. Implementation dates are: • February 1, 2018 - Deadline for journey level fitters to certify without taking the certification examination. • July 1, 2018 - Certification begins (certification required for fitters). • One certified fitter per jobsite. • February 1, 2019 - All fitters must be certified.
The California State Fire Marshal’s Office is developing a bulletin and hopes to publish it this week. In the meantime, the actual text of the regulations can be found on its website at http://osfm.fire.ca.gov. According to AFSA Greater Bay Chapter Executive Director Lorelei Upshaw, at this time the only California-approved apprenticeship program is either the union’s or CAFSA. Contractors’ concerns should be directed to the California State Fire Marshal’s Office. A PDF has also been created by the AFSA
Being an AFSA member is like having a FPE on staff
California chapters highlighting the regulations and can be downloaded at firesprinkler.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/04/Sprinkler FitterCertificationAdopted.pdf. For more information, contact your respective AFSA chapter executive director: • Greater Bay Chapter, Lorelei Upshaw, 209253-4000,
[email protected] • Sacramento Valley, Paulene Norwood, 916784-0146,
[email protected] • San Diego Chapter, Rhonda Hill, 858-5134949,
[email protected] • Southern CA Chapter, Amber Barrios, 562833-9492,
[email protected] or amber@ adfiresprinklers.com
AFSA membership pays big bucks by using our informal interpretations. Utilizing the AFSA Technical Services Department could add to your bottom line. One member said, “I saved $8,000 dollars on one job by using AFSA Informal Interpretation!” Another wrote the informal interpretation saved at LEAST 8 hours of time, because it eliminated the need for a meeting with the AHJ and owner. It saved the owner several thousand. And still, another wrote, “(Technical Services) was a huge help, even going as far as talking to the AHJ.” Ten en thousand dollars were saved in this dispute. Join AFSA today and start enjoying the benefits of membership that can save you lots of money! Don’t wait; Call us now at:
214-349-5965 9-5965 ext. 119 or 120
76 Sprinkler Age | May/June 2017
Anvil International Acquired by One Equity Partners Anvil International, LLC, has been acquired by One Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm in New York. Anvil’s manufacturing includes U.S.-made pipe connections including malleable and cast iron pipe fittings, forged steel pipe fittings, pipe nipples, swage nipples, bull plugs, grooved product, pipe hangers, valves, engineered pipe hangers and supports, as well as strut and strut fittings. Anvil also sources product internationally under the SPF brand of pipe fittings, nipples, and grooved products. Anvil has major distribution centers in California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada. Anvil is uniquely positioned to deliver the broadest package of piping goods to its distribution partners. Visit anvilintl.com. CST Industries, Inc. Announces Global Covers Manufacturing Center of Excellence CST Industries, Inc. has announced its plans to transform CST’s Global Covers manufacturing footprint by creating a Global Manufacturing Center of Excellence in the Conroe, Texas facility. The move consists of investments in the Conroe facility, equipment and people, as well as transferring the manufacturing equipment from the Rincon, Georgia plant. The CST Industries Covers facility in Rincon, Georgia produces Aluminum Domes and Covers. It currently employs thirty-four associates. CST will consolidate production at the Covers facil-
ity in Conroe, Texas and will add additional associates and space to support additional volume and production. The company will work with the appropriate agencies and communities to help make the transition for all affected employees as smooth as possible, including providing separating pay and other benefits. Visit cstindustries.com. HD Supply Waterworks’ Fire Protection Division Expands HD Supply Waterworks’ Fire Protection division has expanded its footprint, opening a new supply location in Nashville, Tennessee, and has added a fabrication shop in metro Seattle, allowing the company to expedite existing customer service and expand its overall customer base. The new fire protection branch in Nashville is one of two fire protection locations in Tennessee, and offers a full array of fire protection products and services, including jobsite delivery. The new fire protection fabrication shop in metro Seattle is about eight miles from the fire protection stocking branch, also in Seattle. This additional fabrication services location will allow HD Supply to expedite jobs for area customers. Visit hdswaterworks.com. Winsupply Selects 2016 Vendors of the Year Winsupply has selected its annual vendors of the year for 2016 in their respective product categories. The Winsupply preferred vendors that won were chosen based on volume sold over a period of years, being one of the leaders in growing the business, selling to a breadth of locations that buy the vendor’s type of product, and having no major issues during the past year. The winners include: Electrical: Pass & Seymour/Legrand; Fire: Victaulic; HVAC: Johnson Controls; Industrial: NIBCO; Plumbing Finished Goods: American Standard; Plumbing Rough-In: NIBCO; Pumps: Liberty Pumps; Showroom: Delta/Brizo; Tools: Milwaukee Electric Tool; Waterworks: A.Y. McDonald; National Account Manager: Mark Terrel of American Standard, and Bobby Leggett of Johnson Controls. Visit winsupplyinc.com.
in a nearby building. In June 2016, the Boston City Council passed an ordinance amending the Boston Fire Prevention Code requiring that, effective January 1, 2017, all persons engaged in hot work operations must obtain a Hot Work Safety Certificate. According to NFPA, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 4,440 structure fires involving hot work per year. These fires caused an average of 12 civilian deaths, 208 civilian injuries, and $287 million in direct property damage per year. Visit nfpa.org/ bostonhotwork. Construction Employment Increases in 43 States In Last 12 Months Forty-three states added construction jobs between February 2016 and February 2017 while 39 states added construction jobs between January and February, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released. Association officials noted that the despite the relatively widespread increase in construction employment, most states are still significantly below peak construction employment levels. Florida added the most construction jobs (34,700 jobs, 7.5 percent) during the past year. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include California (16,500 jobs, 2.2 percent); Texas (14,200 jobs, 2.0 percent); and Louisiana (13,500 jobs, 9.6 percent). Visit agc.org.
Thousands of Workers Take First of its Kind Hot Work Safety Program The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announces that more than 13,000 workers in various construction industry jobs have participated in a program aimed at preventing fire fatalities. NFPA began working with the Boston Fire Department, City of Boston Inspectional Services, and the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council shortly after the cause of the fire that killed Lieutenant Edward Walsh and
“Tiny Homes” Movement Prompts NFPA to Offer Guidance on Building and Life Safety Components An alternative to traditional housing options, tiny homes are growing in popularity. These permanent dwellings, known for their small size and economical living costs, are cropping up across the U.S., as are concerns regarding the applicability of building and life safety codes for these unique dwellings. Addressing these concerns, NFPA has released a new white paper, “Applying Building Codes to Tiny Homes.” The paper underscores general code requirements guiding traditional home construction and the applicability of these requirements for tiny homes. Code provisions highlighted in the paper include requirements for room size, means of escape, stairs, smoke alarms, and automatic fire sprinklers. The paper also highlights code provisions for sanitation and how the National Electrical Code® can safeguard homes of all sizes against electrical hazards. If a tiny home’s design does not fully adhere to code requirements, building codes allow for code exceptions, allowances, and
Firefighter Michael Kennedy was determined to have been started by hot work operations
equivalencies that serve as acceptable alternatives. For instance, certain building codes per-
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INDUSTRY NEWS CONT. mit the use of alternate materials or construction methods when the original provisions in the code cannot be met. “While building codes do not specifically address the concept of tiny homes, many code provisions are applicable to these dwellings and do not conflict with tiny home design,” says Ray Bizal, NFPA senior regional director and staff liaison for NFPA’s Building Code Development Committee, which developed the white paper. “Our intent with the white paper is to highlight how codes and standards can safely guide the creation of to-
day’s tiny homes while pointing to possible code-compliance issues that could impact a tiny home’s design.” Download the report by visiting NFPA’s website at nfpa.org. NFPA and State Farm Announce Winners of 2017 Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Project Awards At a time when wildfires are causing more damage to homes and businesses each year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm™ are helping communities take steps toward safety with the
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fourth national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event (Preparedness Day) on May 6, 2017. Thanks to the generous support from State Farm, 150 communities will receive project funding awards to support activities aimed at reducing potential loss of life, property and natural resources to wildfire. Projects were selected from 420 entries that span 42 states and Washington, D.C. As a co-sponsor of Preparedness Day, State Farm, is providing $500 each to help fund these winning community projects. For more information about national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day and to see the list of winning projects and their locations, visit wildfireprepday.org. n
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