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.
Legislative Review for Canada
In their November/December 2019 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 2019 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...
NFPA 13 Updated Guidance for Concealed Spaces
NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems (2019 edition), consolidated and updated its guidance regarding the need for automatic sprinklers in concealed spaces. Section 9.2.1...
NFPA's Statistics on Commercial Property Fire Loss in the United States During 2018
Property Loss There have been some significant high-profile fires in the past few years that have caused large commercial property losses and elimination of jobs. There was the fire at the GAP...
Recent Changes to FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 5-4, Transformers
Transformers are one of the most, if not the most, critical piece(s) of equipment found at a facility. While power and distribution transformers are reliable and have low failures rates, the critical...
Ceiling-Only Sprinkler Designs for Warehouses with Ceiling Heights over 45 ft.
FM Global recently updated their Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 8-9, Storage of Class 1, 2, 3, 4 and Plastic Commodities (July 2019 edition), to include ceiling-only sprinkler designs for...
Honeywell Recalls Photoelectric Smoke Sensors
As of June 21, 2019 Honeywell is recalling their Gamewell-FCI and Notifier Photoelectric Smoke Sensors sold with fire alarm systems. They have noticed that certain sensor models can possibly...
Viking K28 ESFR Sprinkler - FM Approval
Viking's Model VK514 ESFR Storage Sprinkler is now FM Approved to provide ceiling-only protection for storage up to 50 ft. under ceilings up to 55 ft. in height. Key sprinkler data is as...
Fire Protection Guidance for Miscellaneous, Work-in-Process, and Low-Piled Storage
The most current editions of NFPA 13 (2019), Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet (FMDS) 3-26 (April 2019), Sprinkler Design for...
Protection and Approvals for Combustible Plastic Ductwork
The removal of dust, smoke, and fumes is a critical part of many industrial and commercial operations. Any damage occurring to critical process ductwork can halt operations and result in property...
Legislative Review for Canada 2019
In their November/December 2018 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...
Hot Work
As noted in the most recent NFPA Research Report "Structure Fires Started by Hot Work," Hot Work remains to be a leading ignition source for structure fires. NFPA estimates that during the five-year...