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• "In the News — School Security" (pdf) • "Taking Security for Granted No Longer" (pdf) • "The Foundation's Role in the Fire Door Inspection Initiative" (pdf) • "Those Committed to Making a Difference" (pdf) • "Rock, Paper, Scissors" (pdf) • "Act Now!" (pdf) Articles contributed by Bill Johnson, Managing Director — for publication in Doors & Hardware magazine.
02/18/08 Meeting at Department of Education, Safe and Drug Free Schools The Foundation met with staffers from Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools at the Education Department (DoEd) to discuss our efforts with the nation’s K-12 schools. Foundation staff informed the staffers that our goals are to provide K-12 security guidelines as well as to provide training to school building officials to provide them with a better understanding of the role fire doors play in school safety. The meetings were successful in increasing our name recognition at the federal level and receiving guidance on how to proceed with securing DoEd federal funding —which goes directly to state and local educational agencies. 02/14/08 Meeting with Legislators The Foundation has met with the office of George Miller (D-CA), Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor to make them aware of our work with Head Start Centers and our role in fire door inspections and writing security guidelines for K-12. As a follow-up to this meeting, we will be visiting the office of Rep. Susan Davis, 53rd District of California (San Diego area) to discuss our work. 02/13/08 Foundation Presenting at UL/ICC Fire Symposium, CSI Show Booth space at CSI and AIA Show The Foundation has been invited to present at the UL/ICC Total Fire Protection Symposium in April, and at the Total Fire Symposium at the CSI Conference in June. The Foundation will also have booth space at both the AIA show in May and CSI show in June. Through sponsorship, we will be providing the AHJ’s Guide: Swinging Fire Doors with Builders Hardware to all attendees of the UL/ICC symposium and CSI symposium. We will also have a large number of copies on hand at both the AIA and CSI show floor. Watch for an e-mail in the coming weeks soliciting your support for these events. 02/04/08 Foundation Participates in Total Fire Protection Symposium Event Hosted by ICC LA Basin Chapter, Underwriters Laboratories and Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA) Over 120 individuals attended the ‘Total Fire Protection Symposium,’ an event that took place at the Los Angeles County Public Works Building on January 31st and February 1st. The ICC LA Basin Chapter, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA) hosted this comprehensive and informative symposium for architects, specifiers and regulatory authorities. AIA has accredited this course and six HSW CEUs were earned as a result of attending the seminar. This symposium provided education to the design, specification and enforcement professional about the value of utilizing effective fire safety technologies in building design today. Topics include code requirements for each fire protection approach, the building applications where each fire protection element may be used, new standards developed for quality installation and inspection, and new technologies and improvements in all of these fire protection elements. 01/31/08 Orange County Fire-Door Inspection Class Receives High Marks Tom Oakes, Assistant Fire Marshal, Orange County California, shared the following comments after the class ‘Fire-Rated Doors and Hardware – A Guide to Field Inspections’ was taught to 35 fire and building code officials from Orange County in January: “I would like to thank all of the instructors and local representatives who attended and taught the training class on January 16. Everyone I talked to had only good things to say about the class. Both the fire and building Inspectors were able to come away from the class with new knowledge and tools to do a better job of inspecting and approving fire door installations. I found the comments did not focus on one specific area, but each participant was able to take away new information for their use. Again, thank you for an excellent class. Please feel free to use me as a reference should any other organizations have questions.” -- Tom Oakes, Asst. Fire Marshal Orange County, CA A special thank you is extended to all those who support the Foundation and particularly Anemostat Door Products, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies and VT Industries for providing additional sponsorship to help make the availability of the AHJ Guide: Fire Rated Doors with Builders Hardware possible for all attendees. For further information on the class and sponsorship opportunities, please contact William Johnson, Managing Director of the Foundation. 11/15/07 Foundation presents at Campus Fire Forum 9 Over 100 college fire and safety officials are gathering in Austin, Texas this week to attend Campus Fire Forum, the nation’s premiere conference focusing specifically on fire safety in the campus community. Started as an invitation only event, Campus Fire Forum has steadily grown in popularity each year. This is the only national conference that focuses exclusively on campus fire safety issues and continues to offer attendees the opportunity to learn from the experts and interact with campus fire safety professionals from across the country. “It was a great opportunity to talk with college campus fire officials and to hear first hand some of the issues that they deal with on a daily basis.” commented Bill Johnson, Managing Director of the Foundation. “Information that we were able to present at one of the sessions in regards to the fire door inspection program, and the role this industry is playing in moving this initiative forward was very well received. I anticipate we will be visiting some campuses in the future to continue to create the awareness on the importance of this program.” 07/30/07 President Tartre meets with the staff of Senator Joseph Lieberman President James Tartre, CDC met with the staff of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) to discuss school security issues in the aftermath of recent activities on college campuses. Originally scheduled to meet with Senator Lieberman himself, that meeting had to be postponed due to conflicts that arose for the senator and a needed resolution of DOD funding issues that demanded the senator’s time. "The fact that Senator Lieberman was willing to meet with the Foundation says a lot about how far we have come in a relatively short amount of time." said Tartre. "To eventually have the ear of the senator, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee for Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security, is a very positive outcome to our numerous visits to Capitol Hill. The outcome of the meeting has produced a fire-door inspection class for first responders in Connecticut and has opened the door to discussions with the governor’s office and the Department of Education on issues in which the Foundation can play an active role. 07/27/07 Foundation to help raise awareness in large Northern Virginia school district for additional security Foundation President James Tartre, CDC, was invited to a meeting with the deputy superintendent of the Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia to discuss ways to help raise awareness for the merits of additional security at the counties K-12 schools. The school system is in the midst of implementing these additional security features as part of increased funding in their recently approved budget. "It is important for parents to understand the benefits of this increased security without really infringing on the conveniences that they have been accustomed to when visiting the school." said Jim Tartre. "So many of these schools are relatively new, so the changes will be subtle, but effective. We are looking forward to providing Loudoun County with information that will be useful to the parents and to continue to position the foundation as a strong advocate in this area of expertise." 06/18/07 Foundation meets with the staff of U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Members of the Foundation for the Advancement of Life Safety and Security met with representatives for the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. The meeting took place with representatives of ranking member Peter King’s staff. The purpose of the meeting was to educate the House Homeland Security Committee on the active role the door and hardware industry, and its members, play in safety and security. As an outcome of the meeting, the foundation will explore new opportunities at the federal, state and local level for funding that supports our efforts
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