Previous Dinner Meetings 2001/2002
May 6, 2002 Meeting
Program: Latest Update: NFPA 5000
- “That rainbow song’s no good. Take it out”
- “You’d better learn secretarial skills or else get married.”
- “You ought to go back to driving a truck.”
- “Very interesting, Whittle, my boy, but it will never work.”
- “NFPA 5000 has far reaching implications for public safety, and it is my firm belief that it will benefit society in many other ways as well.”
Come to the May Annual Meeting of our chapter and learn who said these things and also get the latest on the status of the NFPA 5000 Building Code.
Speaker: Robert Solomon, NFPA
Robert is Assistant Vice President, Building and Life Safety Codes. Robert
has been with NFPA for 16 years and was previously Chief Building Fire
Protection Engineer. Robert holds a B.S. degree in Fire Protection Engineering
from the University of Maryland.
April 1, 2002 Meeting
Program:
Expanding the Horizon of the Fire Protection Engineer: Understanding
and Evaluating Explosion Hazards and Incidents
“There was a boom/bang/whoosh/loud report - and then a fire.”
Intimidated by the thought of having to use Chapter 18 “Explosions”
of NFPA 921- Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations? Then plan on
attending the April meeting for some practical information on this oft
avoided subject by Fire Protection Engineers.
Speaker:
Larry Moore, Senior Specialist, Special Chemical Risk Program, FM Global
Larry consults globally and has been employed by FM Global for 33 years
as a specialist in the field of chemical plant and mining/metallurgical
refining risk assessments. Larry is a Fire Protection P.E. in Massachusetts,
a 25+ year member of SFPE and a past president of the Pacific Northwest
Chapter of SFPE. Larry is currently Chair of the NFPA Mining Facilities
Committee and has been a member of the AIChE Center for Chemical Process
Safety Vapor Cloud Explosion Committee for 15 years. This committee has
published four books on explosion phenomena.
March 4, 2002 Meeting
Program:
The State Response to the Worcester Cold Storage Fire Tragedy
On Dec. 3, 1999 at 6:11 p.m. the first alarm was struck. The fire involved
an abandoned cold storage warehouse. It took the lives of several fire
fighters. Come and hear the Fire Marshal of the State of Massachusetts
tell us about the immediate and longer term regulatory responses to this
tragic incident.
Speaker:
Stephen Coan, State Fire Marshal, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Fire Marshal Coan, a graduate of Bentley College in Waltham, MA, began
his employment with the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in 1978 and
became it’s Director in 1983. He was appointed State Fire Marshal
in 1996.
February 4, 2002 Meeting
Program:
Fire Performance and Protection of Frame Supported Tensioned Membrane
Structures
Structures
of this design are being used for many large scale commercial and industrial
building projects. Gordon Collins, Rubb, Inc. will present a video on
the Fire Performance of Frame Supported Tensioned Membrane Structures.
The video was made in conjunction with a review of this type of structure
by NFPA. Gordon will also discuss fire protection for these structures,
focusing on a recent large airplane hangar project at Logan Airport.
Speaker:
Gordon Collins, Director of Marketing, Rubb, Inc.
Mr. Collins has been director of marketing at Rubb, Inc. for 8 years,
with specific responsibility for all Rubb projects in the aviation, military
and government segments. Prior to Rubb, Mr. Collins spent 20 years in
various sales, marketing and manufacturing management roles with Grumman,
Cessna and Lake Aircraft.
December 3, 2001 Meeting
Program: The Use of the Fire Dynamics Simulator within the Role of the Fire Protection Engineer Consultant
Speaker:
Jason Sutula, MScFPE
Jason Sutula is currently a Project Engineer at Combustion Science &
Engineering, Inc. Jason has been actively involved in the use, development
and validation of the Fire Dynamics (FDS) model since 1998
Fire modeling
has been and will continue to be an important tool that can be used by
an FPE for many different facets within the field. These include fire
investigation and reconstruction, performance-based fire protection design,
and research/experimentation.
Jason Sutula, Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc., will present
an overview of the Fire Dynamics Simulator and a case study on how the
model can be used by today’s FPE’s.
November 2001 Meeting
Program: Upgrade & Modernization of the FM Global Technology Center
Speaker: Speaker: Paul A. Croce, Sc. D., Vice President and Manager of Research at FM Global
FM Global has recently announced a $75million project to upgrade and modernize it’s research and testing facilities in West Glocester, Rhode Island. Included is a completely new large scale fire test building, as well as innovative methods for air and water pollution control. Ground was broken on Sept. 10, 2001. Dr. Paul Croce, FM Global Research, will present a lively Powerpoint presentation on this significant project in the realm of fire research and fire testing.
October 2001 Meeting
Program: Intumescents!
Speaker:
Britt Whitney, 153 BayRidge Lane, Duxbury, MA
Intumescent paints and coatings have been around for a long time. Many
claims have been made! Is it magic? There are some amazing heat resistant
materials out there. To wit, the ceramic foam on the exterior of the NASA
space shuttles. Britt Whitney, Fire Free Associates, accompanied by John
Simontacchi, CEO of International Fire Resistant Systems, will discuss
the science, technology and recent developments in the field of intumescent
coatings. Mr. Whitney is a developer, preservation contractor and a member
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Mr. Whitney’s projects
include a 13 building historic site in Virginia totaling 800,000 sq. ft.