Monthly Technical Articles
Explore our collection of articles written by engineers, for engineers. Categorized based on the COPE approach to assessing risk within a facility, the archives below contain essential information for the development of engineers in our field.
The Risk-Based Approach of NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code
The 1961 Hartford Hospital fire sparked changes in hospital safety procedures and building codes that remain in place more than five decades later. On the afternoon of December 8th, a fire broke out...
Large-Loss Commercial Fires in 2016
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports annually on large-loss fires and explosions that occurred in the United States the year before. Those fires are defined as events that result...
Legislative Review for Canada
In their November/December 2017 issue, Sprinkler Age magazine featured its Annual Legislative Review for the United States and Canada. This summary of legislation and codes offers an overview of...
Legislative Review An Overview of Codes, Standards and Regulations in CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, MA, MI, MS, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA and TX
In their December 2017 issue, Sprinkler Age magazine featured its Annual Legislative Review for the United States and Canada. This summary of legislation and codes offers an overview of regulations...
Kidde Fire Extinguisher Recall Guide
Kidde recently identified a potential product safety issue related to certain models of its fire extinguishers. As a result, the company is voluntarily recalling these extinguishers. The recall...
Cybersecurity Risks
Rising concern over cybersecurity is being driven by high-profile data breaches and the growing realization that potential revenue losses from cyber risks can rival those of business interruptions...
Fire Protection for Mattress Storages
Mattresses have been around in some form or other since the dawn of civilization. However, it is only in the 20th Century that mattresses evolved becoming something much more than merely a cloth sack...
Property Loss Prevention Measures at Sawmills
This article will be limited to sawmills which receive raw logs, cut the logs producing green lumber, kiln dry the stuck lumber, and plane and dress the dry lumber to specified dimensions. Many of...
David Horton
David William Horton was born June 6, 1955. David William Horton, resident of San Diego since 1986, passed away on August 10, 2017. He had battled small cell cancer of the prostate since November...
NFPA Statistics on Residential Fires
In March of 2017 NFPA published a 54 page document that summarized a history of 485,700 fires by occupancy over a five year period (2010 - 2014). Not surprisingly residential fires accounted for...
Thermal Imaging of Electrical Equipment
The benefits of an Electrical Preventive Maintenance (EPM) program at an industrial or commercial facility are well known. In our January 2005 article "Electrical Testing," we explained that...
Flammable, Combustible & Ignitable Liquid Classification According to NFPA, FM Global and DOT
The Department of Transportation (DOT), NFPA and FM Global are very different in how they classify flammable, combustible & ignitable liquids. NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, is...