7th Annual Rocky Mountain SFPE Symposium
8:00am Registration and Coffee
8:30am - 10:00 am Case Studies and Emerging Corrosion Mitigation Technology for Fire Protection Systems
This seminar will focus on corrosion issues that arise in wet pipe, dry pipe, and preaction sprinkler systems. Presentation will include the basic framework for conducting corrosion investigations, factors for consideration in determining whether to salvage or replace a system, and possible corrosion management strategies along with a discussion of emerging corrosion mitigation technologies. This presentation will review several case studies of sprinkler system corrosion and identify lessons learned over the last 20 years. Additionally, facilitator will outline how and why design decisions can lead to premature corrosion failure of sprinkler systems, remedial measures applied, others considered, and new solutions that can be implemented.
Presented by: Mark Hopkins, PE TERPconsulting
Regional director and Senior Fire Protection Engineer
10:30am - Noon Fire Safety Engineering: Successes and Areas Where this Room for Improvement
The practice of fire safety stretches back to antiquity and does not have a specific starting date. But fire safety engineering (FSE) is of much more narrow scope. As the term implies, it is a branch of engineering. Engineering is basically the application of science and mathematics towards solving a specific category of practical problems, especially design problems. This implies that if there is no science to form the basis for a branch of engineering, the latter will also not be properly functional.
Fire science in the US started around 1970, even though in the UK it started some two decades earlier, around 1950. Thus, this is now more than 50 years in the US since FSE has had the prerequisites for being a proper engineering discipline. This timeframe is long with regards to an individual’s lifetime, but short as regards the history of engineering. For example, mechanical and civil engineering were well established by the mid-1800s, while electrical engineering started flourishing in the 1890s. So this is a good opportunity to take stock of the FSE profession.
Presented by: Vytenis (Vyto) Babrauskas, Ph.D., Fire Science and Technology, Inc.
12:00pm - 1:00pm Catered Lunch
1:00pm - 2:30pm NFPA 3 and 4 – A Presentation on Implementation, Execution, and Ramifications
The allocated time will be utilized to discuss NFPA 3 and 4 and the requirements discussed in the documents. Insight will be given as to the prevailing thoughts and intentions of the code committee members as to how to the documents were developed. The speaker will discuss evolution of the documents and potential ramifications related to enforcement. Also included as part of the presentation will be examples of applying the documents to existing projects.
Presented by: Shane M. Clary, Ph.D., Bay Alarm Company
Vice President, Codes and Standards Compliance
Principal Member - Technical Committee on Commissioning and Integrated Testing
Break
3:00pm - 4:30pm Round Table Discussion – Engineers and Contractors: Playing Nice in the Sandbox
Panel Members:
Sam Young, SET
- Integrity Fire
- Chief Operations Officer - Alarm
Julie Brown, PE
- Coffman Engineers
- Discipline Manager, Fire Protection Engineering
CJ Simonds, SET
Tom Coakley / Josh Adam
- Western States Fire Protection
Chris Vanderstokker
Mike Crane
- Rapid Fire Protection Inc.
The panel will discuss a series of questions and topics relating to how engineers and contractors work together in the fire/life safety industry. Topics will span the project life cycle from developing the scope of work all the way through acceptance testing and turnover to the building/system to the Client.
Moderated by: Wayne Griswold, PE, CFPS, TERPconsulting
Principal fire protection engineer
