This archive contains articles contributed by Bill Johnson, Managing Director — for publication in Doors & Hardware magazine. • "Boiling Water and Olympic Gold" (pdf) • "The Ability to Follow Through" (pdf) • "Reaching Out" (pdf) • "Update on Foundation Activities" (pdf) • "Foundation Efforts at the State and Local Levels" (pdf) • "Foundation Efforts at the Federal Level" (pdf) • "Parents and Children Growing through the School Years" (pdf) • "Our Super Bowl" (pdf) • "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)
Videos
NEW! Watch the following clips of the video from the most recent Forum for the Future in Boston. Listen to what others are saying about the work of your Foundation!
04/14/09
Denver Officials Attend Training Session
Officials Are Inspecting High-Rise Buildings in Denver
Fire officials in the city of Denver, CO have begun the inspection of fire-rated doors in high rise buildings.
“We have begun the inspections in high-rises because of the large potential for loss of life. Once we get a sense of what we scope of the issues are and start to see more individuals who are qualified to inspect these openings, we'll be able to look at many more structures.” said a chief with the Denver fire department.
The Foundation presented a fire door training session at the Colorado Convention Center to a group of fire officials from Denver. This class raises the awareness for inspections and gives the AHJ a better understanding of what to look for when approving a fire-rated opening by a knowledgeable individual.
“Within a year, we'll start to see the suburbs following Denver's lead. We'd like to see more qualified individuals available to inspect the opening.” the chief added.
03/22/09
Foundation Partners with International Association of Fire Chiefs
Makes AHJ Guide - Fire Rated Doors available electronically to IAFC Membership One of the main objectives of the Foundation for the Advancement of Life Safety and Security is to create awareness and provide education for those that are responsible for enforcing codes. Making the AHJ guide available to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) membership is one step in creating the awareness that will lead to safer door openings.
While there are many changes to the 2007 edition of NFPA 80, without a doubt, one of the most significant changes is the requirement for all fire-rated door assemblies to be inspected annually. This guide provides the IAFC membership with an explanation of these changes and, specifically, what to look for when they are asked to approve an inspected fire-rated opening. The guide will be available to all IAFC members and will reside in their 'Members Only' area.
The Foundation will also serve as a training resource for IAFC members by providing information for the fire door inspection program by:
Coordinating training programs with the IAFC membership
Members of the Door and Hardware Institute generously volunteer their time to the Foundation to help us provide education and create awareness for the numerous aspects of fire and life safety. With their support, the Foundation has been able to train close to 2,000 fire officials on the merits of the fire-door inspection program.
Common Fire Door Violations
Provide IAFC members with an online list and pictorial of the most common violations to look for when dealing with fire-door violations.
Creating Awareness
Speaking at national events to create awareness and to offer knowledge of the changes to the code and standards in regards to fire door assembly inspections.
Defining “Knowledgeable Inspector” To help define the benchmark for the term 'knowledgeable inspector' as highlighted in the 2007 edition of NFPA 80.
03/15/09
The Voice of the Campus Fire Official Paul D. Martin, Vice President of the Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS) and a high ranking fire official in the state of New York has been selected by the Department of Education as a single-issue primary negotiator for fire safety issues on a Negotiated Rule Making Committee established by the U.S. Department of Education. This committee is one of five (5) to address questions and issues that are part of the Higher Education Act and has been charged to develop proposed regulations related to general and non-loan programmatic issues.
Chief Martin was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Forum for the Future and remains a strong supporter of the work of the Foundation, specifically, the role that fire doors play in campus safety.
The Negotiated Rule Making will encompass issues from the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act that requires committee negotiation. Some likely issues include: definition of fire; defining exemplary fire safety policies, procedures, programs, and practices; and how to make available to the public information concerning those policies, procedures, programs, and practices that have proven effective in the reduction of fires.
The Negotiated Rule Making Committee is structured to address items in a regulation that are not specifically identified in the charging statute, or not clearly within the purview of the Secretary of Education to determine. Chief Martin and the others of Team V (The General and Non-Loan Programmatic Issues Team) will be responsible for subject matter specialty dialogue that will be ultimately result in promulgation of the federal campus fire safety regulations. Their first meeting took place in Washington DC, March 2-4, 2009. (Portions of this article reprinted here with the permission of Campus Fire Safety)
02/13/09
Fresno Code Officials Attend Fire Door Training Session Justin Beal, Supervising Fire Prevention Inspection, City of Fresno Fire Department, attended the fire-door class and walked away with exactly what he wanted.
“This is the type of class that is so welcomed by our code officials.” Beal said. “We had a great session with the Foundation's instructors and it was very clear to all of us how much we benefitted from having this type of education.”
Beginning August 1st, 2009, the state of California can begin to enforce the inspection of fire-rated doors.
“It will take some time and I expect we will have the Foundation come back and provide some additional training if they can. The more our AHJs know about this standard, the more likely we are to sustain some traction.” Beal said.
10/28/08
Florida Association of Health Care Officials Attend Fire Door Class
Close to 250 attendees from Florida's Office of Plans and Construction, Agency for Health Care Administration attended a one-hour presentation on the highlights of NFPA 80 and what the changes in this new standard will mean to their industry.
Many of these attendees then attended the half-day course on fire-rated doors and hardware which was provided the next day. This course gave a more in-depth look at what an AHJ needs to be aware of when approving a fire-rated opening. Skip Gregory, NCARB, Bureau Chief for the agency attended the session.
“This is exactly the type of education our officials get so much out of. The session was very interactive, and I only heard positive things about the class. The information on fire doors that we heard about today was very enlightening, and it is something that our group can go back and implement tomorrow.”
10/24/08
New York Fire Officials Benefit from Fire-Door Training Class More than 200 New York Fire Officials were in attendance at the Foundation's Fire -Rated Doors and Hardware, A Guide to Field Inspections class in late October. Chief Paul Martin of New York was instrumental in coordinating the class and bringing it to the state of New York.
“Fire doors are an important part of fire safety, and we were very pleased that the Foundation was able to provide instruction that will enable our AHJs to have a better idea of what to approve when reviewing an opening, or understanding the paperwork that was provided by an inspector."
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 included 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 Bill 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
