Fire Safety Products & Services Marketing - Recent Threads

Fire-Door Assemblies Inspection Article

roconnor_ilinkx — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:58:00 GMT

Re: www.facilitiesnet.com/.../Fire-Safety-Focus-on-Roles--12911

Your comments concerning "fire-door assemblies" with regards to inspections are so true and it cannot be emphasized enough, the importance for documented results. That being said, most jurisdictions and facility managers are unaware that modern technology (iLinkx.com) facilitates automatic logging solutions for "fire-door assemblies" in conjunction with monthly, quarterly, semiannual and annual fire alarm testing. Easy to implement, compatible with virtually all fire alarm systems, and extremely low cost. Request a live go-to-meeting by contacting us at info@iLinkx.com or contact Director of Sales/Marketing - Richard O'Connor at roconnor@iLinkx.com.

Piping color guide

jfrenchyf — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:59:55 GMT

I have been gettig your email for a very long time, and now I have a question. It sort of relates to fire safety. Anyway, that said, here I go. I work for Magna Mirrors in Newaygo, Michigan. We are giving the facility a "face lift" and have painting to do. Does anybody know what the law (OSHA,maybe) requires that piping be a certain color? I am aware of the lettering requirements, but not the color.

In the Navy, each pipe had it's own color. IE salt water pipes were one color, compressed air another color and diesel fuel lines were yet another color. Is there a requirement that pipes in and around the building be color coded? And if so, what are the colors? The only one I know is red for fire systems.

Thank you for any information you can send me.

john.fries@magnamirrors.com

Looking for Fire Safety Questions

Naomi Millán — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:01:49 GMT

Please post your Fire Safety questions here and a Fire Safety expert will answer them for the "Ask The Expert" segment of the Building Operating Management homepage. Questions submitted through September 7 will be considered for this segment of Ask the Expert.

To see examples of user questions answered in the Ask the Expert segment, check out www.facilitiesnet.com/bom and scroll to the middle of the page.

building & fire code

fire116 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:56:46 GMT

I am a Building and Fire code consultant, and can assisted with building and fire code compliance. Contact me at (315) 391-4495 or douglasrspeck@msn.com website www.codecompliance.net

Fire Safety Consultant

fire116 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:55:50 GMT

I am a Building and Fire code consultant, and can assisted with building and fire code compliance. Contact me at (315) 391-4495 or douglasrspeck@msn.com website www.codecompliance.net

Fire Safety Consultant

fire116 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:47:30 GMT

I am a Building and Fire code consultant, and can assisted with building and fire code compliance. Contact me at (315) 391-4495 or douglasrspeck@msn.com website www.codecompliance.net

Maintenance of Fire Protection and Fire Alarm systems

uberman43 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:25:23 GMT

This is David Anderson of Fire Tech Solutions. I have been in the industry in what seems forever. My website can give a quick glimpse at my background.. Please go to www.firetechsolutions.net to review if you wish. I hope to offer some free advice and at the same time develop relationships with the decision makers in facilities management.

As I have often said to the men who have worked for me, get out your syringe and drain my brain. I have done so many things in my career, and have been involved at all levels of the fire protection process. In my journey I have learned that what I most enjoy is bringing about solutions and working with individuals on complex issues. So in keeping with this I have turned over my contracting company and have opened Fire Tech Solutions

Feel free to use me as a resource and a sounding board for your questions and concerns:

Have a great day !! Look forward to talking in the future..

Who Performs your Fire and Smoke Damper Inspections?

Craig Rutledge — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:24:38 GMT

Are you contracting out the fire and smoke damper inspection in your facility or performing in house?

If contracting out are you using a fire and smoke damper inspection specialist, mechanical contractor, alarm company, etc.?

Thank you,

Craig Rutledge

Life Safety Services, LLC

1-888-675-4519 - Phone

craig@lifesafetyservices.com - E-Mail

www.lifesafetyservices.com - Web

THE IMPORTANCE OF INSPECTING FIRE AND SMOKE DAMPERS

Craig Rutledge — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:57:06 GMT

KEEPING BUILDINGS SAFE BY KEEPING FIRE AND SMOKE DAMPERS WORKING

Keeping buildings safe from the threat of fire is a responsibility we all share as fire code inspectors, fire and smoke damper inspectors, building owners, and facility managers. Our overriding goal should be the prevention of such horrific tragedies as the deadly fires at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Las Vegas in 1980, and the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and casino in 1981, where nearly 800 people were injured, and 85 were killed. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) stated in it’s report on the fire at the MGM Hotel that fire dampers “…did not completely close” and that as a result, “…products of combustion were distributed throughout the HVAC equipment … providing a method for the spread of smoke that may also have contributed to several fatalities.”

Another more recent tragedy is that of the World Trade Center in New York City where nearly 3,000 civilians and firefighters lost their lives when both towers became engulfed in smoke and flames. The United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology investigated the World Trade Center disaster and found that had there been operable fire and smoke dampers in the two towers, they “would have acted to slow the development of hazardous conditions on the uppermost floors of the building” in tower one and two, and as a result provided occupants more time to flee the building.

These are just a few examples of how tragic and devastating a large scale fire can be. Fires occur every day in the United States – fires that in some cases could be prevented, or at the very least lessened by properly working dampers.

Unfortunately, for the exception of hospitals that have the inspection of fire and smoke dampers enforced by groups such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), many facilities do not inspect their dampers every four years as required by NFPA 90A. The reasons for this vary, but most often it is due to a lack of manpower in the building’s facilities management department. But for those of us in the business of fire prevention, we need to ask ourselves if this is in the best interest of safety.

Less frequent testing of dampers (or in some cases never testing them at all) will most certainly lead to higher failure rates, putting buildings in greater risk of extensive damage and potential loss of life should a fire occur.

Life Safety Services inspects more than 250 hospitals and other facilities a year and sees an approximate failure rate of 10% in dampers – and these are dampers that are inspected and maintained on a regular basis. If inspected less frequently, we are likely to see this rate increase. Even the top damper manufacturers, Ruskin, Greenheck and Nailor recommend testing and inspection of dampers every six months. According to these manufacturers, increased testing should extend the life of the damper and lessen the need to replace the dampers thus saving money and making buildings safer at the same time.

There are a number of reasons we should be working to maintain and even strengthen the current codes and standards used to inspect the fire dampers at facilities.

The failure rates of fire dampers are still high.
Dampers have been tied to preventing the spread of toxic fumes in the event of a terrorist attack.
Fire dampers can save lives by stopping or delaying the spread of deadly gas, smoke and flames.
Buildings experience less overall damage when fire dampers help contain the spread of a fire. This means lower replacement and reconstruction costs for building owners and managers.

There is no question that properly installed, inspected and maintained fire dampers will save lives and money. If, as fire prevention personnel, we allow codes to be loosened, we will surely see the effects in a rise in fatalities and costs associated with building fires. The prevention of large scale fires is the only way to ensure the safety of those who live, work, heal and play in these facilities.

Craig Rutledge, is a partner of Life Safety Services, LLC, which specializes in the inspection of Fire and Smoke Dampers at facilities throughout the United States. Life Safety Services is a member of the NFPA, ASHE, IAQA, and NADCA. Rutledge is a Certified Indoor Environmentalist, NADCA Certified “Air Systems Cleaning Specialist”, and Certified Mold Remediator.” He can be reached at 1-888-675-4519, or by e-mail, craig@lifesafetyservices.com

Balancing Safety and Security

MaxiForceBollards — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:27:16 GMT

MaxiForce uniquely solves one design challenge facing many towns and cities - balancing the need for both security and safety in fire access roads.

Security design requirements often require that barriers be placed in a fire lane to create ‘stand-off’ distance and limit vehicular access to a building. On the other hand, safety design considerations need to ensure that first responders have unhindered access to the building and its occupants.

To date, design stakeholders have been forced to weigh the pros and cons of pipe bollards and other barrier technologies. These solutions were not ideal and created unacceptable encumbrances for the first responder. These resulted in costly and unacceptable time delays. The final decision in this historical design ‘push and shove’ is often left to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ); usually the Fire Chief. He or She had to evaluate exceptions to the International Fire Code (IFC) Section 503 (see reverse side) or might not be consulted at all.

The MaxiForce^TM collapsible bollard solves these problems and has already been approved by many cities, counties and municipalities. It is a patented

collapsible bollard system that was specifically designed to balance the needs of both the security and safety practitioner. Its distinctive collapsing feature is activated by a nut on the side of the bollard that fits a conventional fire hydrant wrench. Additionally, our patented break-away feature allows a responder vehicle (fire truck, police care, or ambulance) to gently push the bollard over and access the roadway. This break-away component is then easily replaced. For a more budget friendly solution we also provide a padlock-secured version of our collapsible bollard. It includes the same break-away feature that makes this bollard system ideal for fire lanes. MaxiForce^TM looks forward to an opportunity to share with you more about this exciting technology.