Highlights
- FCIA New Board of Directors
- Firestop Industry Conference
- FCIA at NFPA, FCIA at ASTM Symposium
- FCIA 2005 Call for Presentations
FCIA Election Results - At the Firestop Industry Conference four new board members were elected and a new president installed. FCIA thanks Board Members Tom Hottenroth, Firestop Solutions, Inc., Richard Keeney, Firestop International, LLC, Roger McKenzie, McKenzie Insulation, Inc., and Bob Patton, FireSafe Systems, Inc., for their years of service to the FCIA Board of Directors. Their service to the Association and the Effective Compartmentation Industry has been significant.
New Board Members announced at the Conference include newcomers to the board Randy Bosscawen, Multicon Fire Containment, Inc., Mike Dominguez, Firestop Specialties, Inc., plus the return after two years off of Aedan Gleeson, Gleeson-Powers, Inc. and Don Murphy, PPMI Firestop, Inc. who were part of FCIA's first Board of Directors. FCIA's President for 2005 will be Bob LeClair, A.F. Underhill, Inc. Board members volunteer significant amounts of time and donate their own funds for travel and lodging at board meetings and other functions for the good of the Firestopping & Effective Compartmentation Industry.
FCIA thanks Allen Rams, Beverly Life Safety Systems, LLC, and Bruce Richards, Global Firestop, Inc. for running for Board Positions. FCIA's Board will elect three more new directors in November 2005. FCIA's President, Ray Usher, and President Elect, Bob LeClair, encourage Allen and Bruce to run again.
FCIA's Firestop Industry Conference - With almost 20 wives in attendance, the 2004 Firestop Industry Conference was brought to a new dimension where technical and industry knowledge was gained, while relationships were formed amongst FCIA Member families. If you missed this one, you really missed some great exchanges. To see a slice of the presentations at the conference, that were presented by Rich Walke and Monica Keeler, on UL's new "W" Ratings as well as the testing behind Effective Compartmentation Systems such as Firestopping, Damper Duct Systems, Doors and Hardware, visit the presentations area on our website; Thanks also to Dana Decker, 3M Fire Protection Products, (Grease and Air Duct Fire Protection), Aedan Gleeson, Gleeson Powers, Inc., (presented on FCIA Specialty Firestop Contractor FM 4991 growth in the industry) and Scott Rankin, Pyro-Stop, LLC (Effective Compartmentation Maintenance Business Opportunity" and Jim Shriver, Thermafiber, LLC who teamed with Ray Usher, Superl, Inc. to educate the group on Perimeter Fire Containment Systems, Thermal and Moisture Protection, plus many other industry leading presentations.
FCIA Thanks Firestop Industry Conference Sponsors - FCIA's Firestop Industry Conference was a big success in part due to sponsorships from FCIA Member Manufacturers. FCIA Thanks 3M Fire Protection Products (tabletop and break), Specified Technologies, Inc., (tabletop) HILTI, Inc. (break) and Passive Fire Protection Partners / JM (break) for their sponsorship at the conference. For their participation and efforts, FCIA's Program Committee and Board of Directors authorized placing a free advertisement on the FCIA Website home page, that links directly to each firm's Firestopping Home Page. Special thanks also to Dana Decker, 3M Fire Protection Products for his program on Grease and Air Duct Fire Protection as well.
FCIA at NFPA Hearings - FCIA past president, Kathy Taraba, and Bill McHugh attended the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Protection Features meeting October 27th, 2004. FCIA is a member of this Committee that works on both NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code and NFPA 5000, The Building Construction and Safety Code. In general, the committee voted for proposals advanced by the International Firestop Council (IFC) and Alliance for Fire and Smoke Containment and Control, (AFSCC) and supported by FCIA. Some IFC Proposals were the result of FCIA input at the May and July IFC Meetings where Scott Rankin, Pyro-Stop, LLC and Bill McHugh provided input to IFC on Smoke Protection and other issues. Additionally, IFC resubmitted code changes that FCIA had previously proposed, with new and important technical information added by IFC to cover past objections. Together, FCIA, IFC and AFSCC were able to gain positive votes at the committee level for the following items:
- ASTM E 2174 - "Standard Practice for On-Site Inspection of Installed Fire Stops" - The Committee supported including ASTM E 2174 in code requirements at the committee level.
- Smoke Protection - The committee supported new language on smoke resistance in smoke barriers that quantified a value for leakage through smoke resistance rated assemblies that is based on logic from the fire door and fire damper industry.
- ASTM E 2307 - "Standard Test Method for Determining Fire Resistance of Perimeter Fire Barrier Systems Using Intermediate-Scale, Multi-story Test Apparatus" was added to code language where Perimeter Fire Protection is referenced in the NFPA 5000 and Life Safety 101 codes.
- 30 Minute Rating for Slot at Perimeter - FCIA voted against this potential weak link in continuity of a floor assembly, and was supported by the committee.
Although a positive vote occurred at the committee level, there are two further votes to be cast before the above motions become part of the NFPA 101 and / or 5000 Codes. Visit FCIA's website, Code Committee Page, for more details next week. Want to offer suggestions to the code committee, visit FCIA's Discussion Forum pages and offer advice.
FCIA at ASTM Symposium on Firestopping - "Tested and Listed Systems, installed by FCIA Members, FM 4991 Approved Contractors & Inspected to ASTM E 2174, or the "Firestopping Quality Protocol & Process", will be presented at this symposium, December 5, 2004 at 11am. Aedan Gleeson, Gleeson Powers, Inc. and Bill McHugh will present. Also presenting are FCIA Members John Valiulius, HILTI, Inc., Jim Shriver, Thermafiber, LLC, M. Morgan from W.R. Grace & Co. FCIA Members, architects, engineers and code officials are welcome to attend for a reduced fee of $75. To register and attend the symposium, visit their site.
Chicago Adapts High Rise Ordinance - Chicago's Committee on Buildings has reviewed Fire and Life Safety requirements for High Rise Buildings as a result of the 69 W. Washington fire where many people perished in locked stairwells preventing exit on upper floors of the building. As a result of public hearings, a new ordinance was passed by the City Council's Committee on Buildings to perform a life safety evaluation and add sprinkler protection for commercial high rise buildings. Additionally, A Life Safety Evaluation is required that allows credit for a building that has invested in Effective Compartmentation Features, Alarms and Detection and Sprinkler Systems. This Life Safety Evaluation, that may be used on all buildings, is particularly useful on residential high rise construction and historical properties where sprinklers were not required by ordinance. Watch for more on this important issue.
FCIA Display Available to FCIA Members - Any FCIA Member can use the FCIA Booth at a local event to promote themselves and FCIA. Reply to this email to get on the schedule for the booth. The trade show display ships in a self contained approx. 70 lb. container. You pay for shipping the booth to the next event, and store it until then.
FCIA Call for FCIA Conference Presentations - FCIA's Program Committee seeks programs for upcoming FCIA Conferences in 2005. The Call for Presentations for FCIA's Education and Committee Action Conference is open from now until January 30, 2005 and the Firestop Industry Conference until May 30, 2005. Presentation submissions are welcome from FCIA Members, Architects, Engineers, Code Officials, Fire Marshals, Building Owners and Managers, Consultants, and others. Email us with particulars of the presentation so the Program Committee can consider for future conferences.
FCIA extends best wishes for a great Thanksgiving Holiday to it's members and friends.
Bill McHugh, FCIA Executive Director ~ 630.690.0682
©Copyright FCIA 11/22/04 - Permission is hereby granted to forward, print, circulate, quote with credit to FCIA.
FCIA is a non profit organization of Firestop Contractors, Contractor Branch Offices, Manufacturers and Associate Members interested in furthering life safety through the Professional Specialty Firestop Contractor Concept.
For more information, contact the
FCIA Office
Bill McHugh, Executive Director
1257 Golf Circle
Wheaton, IL 60187
630.690.0682 Phone
630.690.2871 FAX
Email: info@fcia.org
Website: www.fcia.org