SFPE President Visits the Central Savannah River Area Chapter

On September 15, 2009 Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) President Richard Davis made a visit to the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) SFPE Chapter. During his visit he made a presentation on "Combustibility of Building Materials.”

Pictured above (Left to Right) are Tom Allison, CSRA Treasurer; Ralph Foster, CSRA Vice President; Richard Davis, SFPE President; Tom Maciaszek, CSRA Secretary; and Steve Jenkins, CSRA President.

The Virginia Tech Student Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers receives its Chapter Charter

On September 9, 2009 SFPE Membership Manager Elle Andracsek presented the Chapter Charter to Virginia Tech Student Chapter President Emily Fogle at its first general meeting. This is the newest SFPE student chapter. To find out more about the Virginia Tech Student Chapter go to http://www.sfpe.org.vt.edu/.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute SFPE Student Chapter Hosts Recruitment Event

In September, 2009 the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) SFPE Student Chapter hosted a recruitment event for undecided majors. The event included a presentation about the fire protection engineering profession and a demonstration in the WPI fire lab. About 25 students attended this event.

The WPI Student Chapter of SFPE provides a place for collaboration between FPE students, opportunities to hear from guest speakers, and educational seminars and field trips for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in the fire protection engineering field.

September 24th is the Last Day to Get Advanced Registration for the 2009 SFPE Professional Development Conference and Exposition

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Professional Development Conference and Exposition will be held on October 18-23, 2009 at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event will feature the two-day Engineering Technology Conference highlighting advanced and cutting-edge presentations on practices in fire protection engineering that are used to protect people, property and the environment from fire.

The Engineering Technology Conference creates a unique educational experience that is designed to keep you a step ahead of the rest. Keynote presentations are:

• "A Short History of Heat Release Rate Testing," Vytenis (Vyto) Babrauskas
• "What's New in NFPA 13 - 2010 Edition," Kenneth E. Isman
• "Wind Driven Fires in Buildings," Daniel Madrzykowski
• "Innovations in Building Evacuation," Steven Gwynne
• "Harmonization and Prediction of Fire Resistance Tests," Ulf Wickstrom

Following the two-day Technology Conference is the SFPE 7th Annual Engineering Technology Exposition and a series of seminars being taught by the profession's leaders.

September 24, 2009 is the final day for advanced registration. Click HERE to find out more or to register.

SFPE President Meets with NFPA President

The 2009 President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Richard Davis, meet with National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) President, Jim Shannon, on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. The two leaders discussed ways to expand partnership opportunities between the two groups. One area under consideration is offering SFPE’s seminars during NFPA’s Professional Development Week programs, contract seminars or prior to the NFPA Conference. This would expand NFPA's portfolio of educational programming while bringing SFPE's seminars to new audiences. This builds upon SFPE and NFPA's partnerships including our joint publishing program for the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering.

Results of SFPE Annual Public Opinion Survey Highlighted in Fire Engineering

Fire Engineering Magazine has posted an article about the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Annual Public Opinion Survey. Click HERE to see this article.

The survey revealed that more people believe fire is the event that will most likely cause harm to them or their family when compared to lighting strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. Forty-five percent of the survey respondents selected fire. At the same time, only 18 percent of the respondents said they worry about the dangers of fire more than once a year.

Each year SFPE conducts a public opinion survey to find out the public's perceptions to the dangers of fire. The results of this survey and surveys from previous years can be found at http://www.sfpe.org/SFPETools/MediaPress/Survey.aspx.