The simple answer is "to make sure the alarms will work." How does anyone know whether the fire alarms will work when the emergency comes? They don’t, but with frequent testing of the alarms, there…
Read MoreThis past march, the NFPA's Board of Directors approved a plan to develop a consensus building code as part of a full set of consensus codes and standards. This decision resulted due to a directive…
Read MorePerformance Based Design (PBD) and performance based codes are buzz words in fire protection engineering today…but what exactly is PBD and how does it differ from Prescriptive Design? The idea behind PBD is that the…
Read MoreIn 1996 the NFPA began receiving inquiries about MIC. What is MIC? MIC is a corrosion problem characterized by pinhole leaks in metallic piping systems often after only a few years of service. MIC is…
Read MoreUnderwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is currently investigating field reports that certain Central Sprinkler Co. Model GB automatic sprinklers may leak or even worse, not operate during a fire because they require higher water pressure to…
Read MoreDid you ever hear the famous saying, "It meets the code." More and more we hear this in the design of metal buildings. In most cases buildings are designed to meet the local building or…
Read MoreThe 1999 Edition of NFPA 13 the "Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems" has gone through a major revision. The intent of the changes in this edition was to make NFPA 13 a more…
Read MoreEverywhere you look these days, the "Y2K bug" is being written about or some "expert" is making predictions about the end of the world. Mass hysteria? Probably, but if we've learned anything over the last…
Read MoreStar Sprinkler Recall The Mealane Corporation of Philadelphia, PA in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is voluntarily recalling up to 1 million "STAR" brand sprinklers manufactured from 1961 through 1976. These…
Read MoreMany hydraulic systems utilize combustible oil under high pressure to transmit power or motion. Hydraulic fluids are used in die casting and plastic molding machines; mining equipment; machine tools, such as drill presses, milling machines,…
Read MoreThe Central Sprinkler Co. of Lansdale, PA has designed a new ESFR sprinkler head with pressure requirements of up to 60% less than its ESFR predecessors. The new Ultra K-25 ESFR sprinkler head has already…
Read MoreThe following is from GE Lighting for their 400 Watt Metal Halide Lamps: "CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE COMPLIED WITH TO HELP AVOID POSSIBLE SHATTERING AND EARLY FAILURE OF THE LAMP." General Electric Company…
Read MoreThe Central Sprinkler Company of Lansdale, PA, in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recalling all Omega series fire sprinklers, which were manufactured from 1982 through 1998. There are approximately…
Read More