How to Study for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam in Fire Protection Seminar to be Held on March 15-16, 2010

The two-day (SFPE) How to Study for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam in Fire Protection Seminar will be Held on March 15-16, 2010 at the 6th Annual SFPE Greater Atlanta Fire Safety Conference. The Conference will be located at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia.

The goal of this seminar is to assist each attendee in formulating a preparation strategy for obtaining a passing grade in the PE Exam in Fire Protection. The seminar scope includes an overview of the exam process, a review of each of the five fire protection topics comprising the technical scope of the exam, and a discussion of resource materials such as handbooks, fire codes and standards. The second day of the course will be a sample test workshop, including determining the solution to a sample problem from each of the five subject areas.

To register and to find out more about the seminar and the 6th Annual SFPE Greater Atlanta Chapter Fire Safety Conference go to https://sfpeatlanta.org/events_conference.htm.

SFPE Issues a Call for Presentations for its 2010 Engineering Technology Conference

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is seeking high quality presentations of cutting-edge fire protection engineering practice and tools to be presented at SFPE Engineering Technology Conference being held October 4-5, 2010. The Conference will be part of the SFPE 2010 Annual Meeting that will be held at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans, LA, USA.

“This is the premier annual educational event for professionals who use science and technology to make our world safe from fire,” said Chris Jelenewicz, Engineering Program Manager at SFPE. “This is truly a unique educational opportunity.”

Presentations will be selected based on quality and relevance to advancing fire protection engineering practice. Abstracts should be approximately one page and provide sufficient details regarding the scope, results, and applications to determine the quality and applicability of the engineering concepts that would be presented. Presentations should be noncommercial in nature.

Abstracts are due March 30, 2010. Submittal requirements can be found at www.sfpe.org.

SFPE Executive Director Presents Charter to Jacksonville Chapter

SFPE Executive Director, Allan Freedman, presented our newest chapter its charter on January 14, 2010 in Jacksonville Florida. The chapter formed in February of last year.

Present in the photo are the 2009 Chapter officers including President Steve Kowkabany P.E. of Neptune Fire Protection Engineering, Vice President Zarko Ognjenovic, P.E. of Milton J. Wood Fire Protection and Secretary/Treasurer John Ordile, P.E. of W.W. Gay Fire Protection.

The chapter started last year with twelve members and are adding more each month.

Freedman noted that “this chapter is hitting on all cylinders. In addition to bringing local area FPEs together, the chapter is successfully building a network with Jacksonville area fire departments, AHJs, architects, contractors and others.”

The chapter’s signature annual event is offered in partnership with the Jacksonville Fire Department. The day-long program brings FPEs and invited guests to the fire department’s major training center for a mix of classroom and hands-on demonstrations of fire fighting techniques and to see fire protection systems in action.

Registration is Now Open for the 8th International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods in Lund, Sweden

The 8th International Conference on Performance-Based Codes and Fire Safety Design Methods will be held on 16-18 June 2010 in Lund University, Sweden.

Performance-based fire protection design continues to grow in use and acceptance. However, fire protection engineering has not reached the state of other engineering disciplines, where performance-based design is the norm. Because it is an advancing field, major new developments occur at a rapid pace.

Starting in 1996, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), along with several partner organizations, has held a biennial conference to showcase the state-of-the-art in performance-based code approaches and engineering design methods. In 2010, this conference will return to Sweden, a country that boasts more fire engineers per capita than any other nation in the world.

"This conference has earned a reputation among the fire protection engineering community as the preeminent event for information on the leading-edge technology in the areas of performance-based design methods,” said SFPE Engineering Program Manager Chris
Jelenewicz.

Papers will be presented on newly emerging technologies, as well as perspectives on approaches that have worked well, and approaches that have not worked as well as originally desired. Advance Registration is available through Friday, 30 April 2010. To register and find out more information click HERE.

Robert Jönsson, FSFPE, Takes Office as President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers for 2010

Robert Jönsson takes office as President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) for 2010. Jönsson currently is the Chairman of the Department of Fire Safety Engineering and Systems Safety at Lund University in Sweden.

Jönsson who will become the first SFPE president to reside outside North America has served on the Society’s Board of Directors since 2002 and is an SFPE Fellow. SFPE Fellows represent a distinguished group of members who have attained significant stature and accomplishment in engineering.

“At Lund University Jönsson has made significant contributions to the profession of fire protection engineering by advancing the science and technology that makes people and property safe from fire,” said SFPE Engineering Program Manager Chris Jelenewicz. “He is widely recognized for making the program at Lund University one of the preeminent fire safety engineering schools in the world.”

In 1981 Jönsson became a faculty member at Lund and was promoted to Department Head in 1985. He was the driving force behind the planning and implementation of the fire protection engineering program and is still course manager for a number of courses. He was also responsible for starting an MSc program in Risk Management and Safety Engineering at Lund.

Jönsson holds an MSc in Civil and Structural Engineering from Lund University and a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley he studied structural engineering and mechanics under the supervision of Professor Brady Williamson. He previously served on the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning where he was responsible for the formulation of the Swedish Building Regulations.

Changes Approved to Canons of Ethics for Fire Protection Engineers

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Board of Directors has approved changes proposed by the SFPE Ethics Committee to the Canons of Ethics for Fire Protection Engineers. The complete text of the Canons can be found at http://www.sfpe.org/Profession/Canon.aspx. The changes can be summarized as follows:

In Canon 4, "respects the environment" was changed to "considers consequences to the environment." This change was made because "respects" is an undefined term which may be interpreted differently by different people.

In Canon 6, "their professional qualifications" was added to the list of items that fire protection engineers shall be honest and truthful in presenting. Misrepresentation of professional qualifications was the subject of a recent ethics complaint.

In Canon 12, an editorial change was made to reflect that the Canons are not a "code."

Canon 15 was deleted because it was redundant with Canon #5.

The SFPE Mid-South Chapter Seeking Information About Scholarship Information

The SFPE Mid-South Chapter is considering starting a scholarship program and we wanted to canvass the chapters to gain information from those chapters that have already established a program. So I guess the posting would be something like the following.

“The Mid-South Chapter located in Memphis, TN would like to get information regarding the establishment of a scholarship program. We are asking those chapters that have already established a program provide information concerning their scholarship program. In particular we would like to get examples of written programs, information on the recipient selection process, a process of selecting qualifying college programs, financial control and funding, IRS implications and other related topics. Please send information to Jerry Vuoso at jerryvuoso@att.net. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Guylene Prolux Appointed to the Order of Canada

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, announced the appointment of Guylene Proulx to the Order of Canada. The Order of Canada is the highest civilian award in Canada. To find out more go to http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469.

Guylène Proulx, who passed away on December 1, 2009 received her Ph.D. in architectural planning/environmental psychology from the Université de Montréal in 1992, following which she joined the Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council Canada (NRC) to conduct research in human factors related to fire. For that research, she received international acclaim from all of the diverse interests in the fire safety community.

Her research included investigations in: human response to fire alarms, fire alarm audibility and signal recognition, effectiveness and impact of voice communication messages on evacuation, typical actions taken after fire alert, evacuation movement, timing of escape, time to start evacuating, social interaction during emergency, performance of fire warning systems and photoluminescent marking, evacuation strategies for various occupancies and peoples with disabilities.

The conduct of her research involved numerous evacuation drills and case studies including post-event investigations. After the 1993 underground garage bombing at the World Trade Centre in New York, Guylène was invited to be part of the investigating team. That incident resulted in the development and implementation of photoluminescent exit path markings, a new evacuation strategy and systematic fire drills for emergency preparedness in the WTC towers. These are believed to have saved many lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks. She was invited, as an expert, to join the NIST WTC Investigation to lead the research on occupant response and evacuation. She was also called upon to investigate the Cook County Administration Building fire, which occurred in 2003, in Chicago. That investigation of human behaviour and evacuation during the fire resulted in recommendations to improve fire safety and evacuation for high-rise buildings, many of which were implemented immediately. Guylène’s further research on photoluminescent marking through large scale evacuation drills provided valuable data and guidance for the evaluation and installation of photoluminescent exit stairway markings in buildings, which are currently being used around the world.

Guylène was a great communicator of fire protection engineering and fire safety science and an ambassador for the entire profession by raising public awareness of fire safety issues. She gave more than 300 presentations on hundreds of topics. She was an effective teacher; serving as an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Fire Protection Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She also helped develop and teach the SFPE Short Course on Human Behavior in Fire Emergencies.

Dr. Proulx was the recipient of numerous significant awards from NRC and the Government of Canada for efforts in sharing research findings and promoting fire safety, including the 2007 Public Service Award of Excellence from the Government of Canada. She was a role model to her fellow colleagues at NRC. Less than a week before her death, she was informed by the Office of the Governor General that she had been named an Officer of the Order of Canada, the most prestigious award given to Canadian civilians in recognition of “a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation”.

Guylène was passionate about giving back to her profession. She was a member of SFPE’s Board of Directors and of the Education and Scientific Foundation Board of Governors. She was a Past President and Board member of SFPE’s National Capital Region Chapter. As well, she was a key member of SFPE’s Task Group on Human Behavior in Fire. She served on the IAFSS Management Committee, and was a technical editor for the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook. She was also a member of the ASME A17 Task Group on Use of Elevators for Occupant Egress, a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society and served on the Editorial Board of Fire Technology.

Guylène Proulx was considered by all who knew her to be one of the pre-eminent researchers and communicators in the field of human behaviour in emergencies. Her enduring legacy, as stated by her international colleagues at the time of her death, is the body of her work. In addition, all will miss her warm and friendly personality, her joie de vivre, her positive attitude, her insight and her charm. She was an inspiration and a role model to all of us in the profession. She will indeed be missed.