In this Issue:

• Membership
• Technical
• Professional Qualifications
• Continuing Professional Development
• Communications & Advocacy
• Corporate 100 Partners
• Chapters
• Foundation
• Careers 

Membership 

Welcome, May New Members!

Join us in welcoming the 60 new members who joined SFPE in May 2021.

In Memorial

We are greatly saddened to lose a Fellow of the Society Richard "Dick" Bukowski, PE, FSFPE.  Dick lost his battle with cancer on Saturday, May 15.  Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. Guylene Proulx, OC Award in his memory.  He has been a support of SFPE since joining back in January 1970.

For 35 years he served as a research fire protection engineer with NIST where his responsibilities included coordination with the U.S. and global building regulatory and technical standards communities as they considered changes based on the research conducted by the agency. He wrote hundreds of publications that elevated the practice of fire protection engineering in topics related to fire hazard assessment, fire alarm systems, tall buildings, emergency egress, codes/standards development, elevators and transportation systems. He also played a central role in the investigation into the September 11 World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks and other landmark catastrophic fires such as the Happyland Social Club and the Station Nightclub. He was also a licensed fire protection engineer in several states.

In 2012 Dick was awarded the SFPE Arthur B. Guise Medal and in 1999 named an SFPE Fellow. He co-authored the Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems Handbook that was co-branded by SFPE and NFPA. He was a chapter author for the 3rd and 5th editions of the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering and authored several articles for SFPEs Fire Protection Engineering magazine. We will all miss his insightful presentations at the SFPE Conference on  Performance-Based Design and Fire Safety Methods.  

Show Your SFPE Pride with the Newly Designed SFPE Wallpapers

Use one of our SFPE wallpapers as a background for your next virtual meeting. These designs include sprinklers, human behavior, tall buildings, egress, WUI, fire service, smoke, etc. Do you have a design idea? Contact jgordon@sfpe.org.

Congratulations to the New Professional Members of SFPE

SFPE is thrilled to announce that the following SFPE members were approved for upgrading to Professional Member Grade (PMSFPE).

• Eli S. Horden
• Harem Hussein
• Jose Ramón Gonzalez Laso
• Joseph Meyer
• John Moncada Rodriguez
• Mitch Neddenriep
• Elizabeth Pennacchio
• Philip Smith
• Victoria Smith
• Liesl Yester

Upgrade to Professional Membership

Consider upgrading your membership to Professional Member grade. The next application is due by September 1. Take a look at the requirements for Professional Membership and the checklist of required forms.

The 2021 Qualifications Subcommittee's remaining due dates are Sept 1 and Dec 1.

Technical Activities

Want to Help Update Our Fire Model Selection Guide? Join our Task Force

We are looking to get your input as we revise the SFPE Guide for Substantiating a Fire Model for a Given Application (2010).

Sign up by July 1

Email engineering@sfpe.org to be part of the first kick-off meeting slated for this July.

Who: We’re looking for members from all interest groups, from enforcement to research to design and insurance.

Why Your Voice Matters

Fire models are always evolving. We need to update the SFPE guide to:

• Provide an easier-to-understand framework for deciding if a fire model is the right one for a specific situation.
• Help both the user of the fire model and the person relying on the results of the fire modeling.

You can review the full list of SFPE interest groups here. [Read More]

Coming soon, SFPE Tall Building Guide, 2nd Edition

The revised SFPE Engineering Guide to Fire Safety for Very Tall Buildings is ready for publication.

The 2nd edition will have new information related to:

• Existing building considerations
• Energy storage systems
• Aerial vehicle platforms
• Unique features (i. e. observation decks, amusement rides, fireworks, etc.).

It will also include significant updates to sections related to:

• Structural fire protection
• Facades/building envelope including information on green walls and LCD displays
• Notification including social media and other forms of electronic communication
• Timed egress analysis and using computer models

SFPE Technical Director Represents SFPE at ISO TC 92/SC 4 (Fire Safety Engineering) Meeting

SFPEs Technical Director Chris Jelenewicz, P.E., FSFPE represented SFPE as its liaison to the ISO TC 92/SC 4 virtual meeting. At this meeting, Chris presented on SFPEs current technical activities. This included status updates on the 2^nd editions of the SFPE Tall Building Guide and Guide to Fire Risk Assessment.

Continuing Professional Development  

Upcoming Course Offerings

Don't miss our upcoming courses! These virtual seminars have been derived from our in-class courses. For all programs, attendees will be able to attend live sessions and will be provided recorded videos of the program they can go back and watch for up to a month.

Beyond the Cause and Origin: Engineering Analysis of Building Fire
Date: Starting June 14
Instructors: Fred Mowrer and Tom Long

Advanced FDS with PyroSim and Smokeview
Date: Starting June 28
Instructor: Bryan Klein

Premium Webinar Series

Protecting the Process: Understanding Fire Protection Issues in the Cannabis Industry
Date: Starting June 17
Instructors: Jennifer Hoyt, Ronnie Thomas, and Todd LaBerge

Forensics and Fire Protection Engineering
Date: Starting July 16
Instructors: Craig Beyler, Dank Gottluk, Fred Mowrer, and Dan Arnold

Professional Qualifications

SFPE Creates Academic Leadership Council

The Academic Leadership Council held its first meeting on May 19, 2021. This new group has been formed to increase collaboration between SFPE, the Foundation, and schools that offer FPE and FSE programs.

This is part of the 2021-2023 SFPE Strategic Plan to raise awareness and support higher education for the industry.

Currently, 26 universities are participating. 

ABET Program Criteria for Fire Protection

ABET’s Engineering Area Delegation (EAD) has released program criteria for public review and comment for five  programs. One of these is fire protection.

The public review provides feedback on proposed changes and revisions to ensure the criteria are clear. SFPE’s Higher Education Subcommittee assisted with the revisions to the criteria to better align with the SFPE Recommended Minimum Technical Core Competencies for the Practice of Fire Protection Engineering.  The proposed language for fire protection engineering programs can be found here.  Comments are due by June 15, 2021.

Career Guide and Career Portal

SFPE is preparing the next version of the SFPE career guide that helps students and industry experts learn about fire protection engineering. 

The 2021 career guide and career portal will be ready this Fall. If you are interested in advertising in the guide and/or website, contact Holly Klarman for more info. 

Chapters 

From the Virtual Desk of Eva Przygodsk

The past weeks were filled with meet & greet calls with many of the SFPE Chapters. Please expect to receive an invite from me if we have not met yet. Please add my email to your distribution list: eva@sfpe.org. I’d love to hear about your Chapter activities.

Corporate 100 Partner Program

SFPE Corporate 100 Partners Program was founded in 1976 to allow organizations and individuals to show their support of SFPE's mission. With the financial backing of Corporate 100 Partners and the dedication of both volunteers and staff, SFPE has made groundbreaking strides in defining and improving the practice of fire protection engineering.

SFPE would like to thank our Benefactor Partners for their continued support of SFPE, the profession and advancing the mission of the society.

• ARUP
• Coffman Engineers
• General Air Products
• Harrington Group
• Honeywell
• Koffel Associates
• Poole Fire Protection
• Sabalcore
• Telgian
• UL

Are you interested in aligning your organization with the Corporate 100 Program?  Contact Julie Gordon at 301-915-9721 or jagordon@sfpe.org.

Careers

Looking for a new career path or looking for that one specialized employee?

Whether you’re just entering the profession, interested in new career opportunities or looking to fill a position at your own company, SFPE Career Connect is the place for fire protection engineering jobs. Not only are there more than 500 current jobs posted and new ones added each day, but Career Connect also offers resources to help fuel your job search, hone your interview skills and even navigate today’s digital world with regard to networking. Don’t want to spend your time searching for new opportunities? Let them find you by posting your anonymous resume to the Career Connect resume bank.

Foundation

Proposals due June 30: Request for Proposals: “Climate Change, Public Water Supplies, and the Implications for Fire Protection Systems”

The SFPE Foundation seeks proposals for research projects that will help us gain a better understanding of:

• the reliability of public water supplies in the context of climate change
• how they have changed over time and are likely to change in the future
• the implications for designing fire protection systems
• the scope of the problem from a global comparative perspective. 

Climate change impacts not only increase the risk of fire events, but also place added strain on the public water supplies that are an integral part of many fire protection systems. 

To design more resilient communities in this context, fire protection engineers need to understand the linkages between climate change, public water supplies, and fire protection systems design. Our focus in this RFP is on the built environment and in-building fires, though we know structures may be in areas where wildfires and the wildland-urban-interface are also a factor for fire systems design.

Interested applicants should review the full RFP here. Complete project proposals are due by 5:00 pm EDT, June 30, 2021. We welcome proposals from groups or individuals. 

Email Dr. Leslie Marshall, Foundation Manager, with submissions or questions at foundation@sfpe.org.