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Webinar presentation will educate fire sprinkler contractors on specific marketing strategies to effectively communicate value to potential customers in a tough economy.

Building a successful business involves the execution of a thoughtful and deliberate business plan. Among the many components of this plan, marketing a product or service should be considered a critical business activity. A new webinar has been prepared by Fire Smarts, LLC to educate fire sprinkler contractors across the nation on specific strategies to effectively communicate the value of fire protection products and services to potential customers. The webinar is part of the online training series offered by Fire Smarts, LLC.

The “Marketing for Fire Sprinkler Contractors” webinar will be presented by fire protection industry expert, Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS, on May 19, 2011 at 12:00pm Eastern. During this two-hour training Mr. Scandaliato will introduce marketing principals and practical tools for contractors. The presentation will go beyond the typical marketing methods of signs on trucks and stickers on risers to review practical methods of communicating the value of fire sprinkler products and services to targeted prospects. In today’s economy there has never been a more critical time for contractors to develop and follow an effective marketing plan.

Registration is open to all interested parties. For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page.

“This has been a tough economy for contractors of all trades, including fire sprinkler contractors,” said Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS. “This webinar is an opportunity to learn specific marketing strategies that work for fire sprinkler contractors, including effective methods for promoting residential fire sprinkler systems with home builders offering this proven method of protection to their customers.”

Webinar instructor, Steven Scandaliato, is a Fire Smarts Faculty member and Principal at SDG, LLC, a fire protection design and consulting company. With over 30 years of fire protection engineering, design and project management experience he holds a Level IV certification from NICET in Fire Sprinkler Layout, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist designation, and serves as a member of the NFPA 13, 101 and 5000 committees.

For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page. This webinar is another fire protection training opportunity through Fire Smarts online training programs.

About Fire Smarts, LLC: Fire Smarts, LLC is a leading provider of fire protection educational and training resources. The company operates the home fire protection resource website, Residential Fire Sprinklers .com, frequently publishes articles and reports on the latest industry developments and utilizes its team of Fire Smarts Faculty members to create custom training solutions for contractors, fire and building officials, and business organizations based on NFPA standards.

By JENNIFER MILLER

A state Senate committee approved legislation Wednesday morning that would reverse a mandate requiring new single-family and duplex homes to be equipped with residential sprinkler systems.The bill will now move to the full Senate.

In 2010, Pennsylvania added the provision to the Pennsylvania Construction Code, which went into effect Jan. 1. The measure was adopted after the International Code Council recommended in 2009 that states and municipalities require sprinkler systems in homes. The code has been widely supported by fire officials.

Now several Chester County lawmakers support efforts to repeal the mandate.

Home builders have argued the rule is unfair to consumers, and lawmakers have argued the measure has worsened an already struggling housing market.

At the same time, fire officials maintain the mandate is in the best interest of public safety.

Earlier this year, state Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming County, introduced House Bill 377, which would repeal the mandate. Two Chester County lawmakers co-sponsored the bill: state Reps. Steven Barrar, R-160th of Upper Chichester, and John Lawrence, R-13th of Franklin.

The House approved the bill March 7 with a vote of 154-39.

The Senate’s labor and industry committee approved the legislation Wednesday. Committee Chairman Sen. John Gordner, a Republican from northeastern Pennsylvania, said Tuesday he supports the bill.

To read the full article click here.

By Associated Press

The Missouri Senate has voted to delay a sprinkler system mandate for residential care centers that was adopted after a deadly fire in November 2006.

Eleven people were killed in the fire at the Anderson Guest House for the mentally ill and disabled in southwest Missouri. The facility was not equipped with sprinklers.

The next year, the Legislature passed a bill requiring nursing, assisted living and residential care facilities with at least 20 beds to install sprinklers by the end of 2012.

The Senate gave initial approval Monday to legislation moving the deadline by two years to Dec. 31, 2014. There was no debate on the change. The legislation needs another Senate vote to move to the House.

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Sprinkler bill is SB118.

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/04/mo-senate-bill-would-delay-sprinkler-mandate

By Ronald J. Siarnicki

A day after the state House approved a bill that would repeal the law mandating residential fire sprinklers in new home construction, seven children died in a farmhouse in Perry County.

I wouldn’t for a moment suggest that the potential step backward in fire safety had any role in this tragedy. But I can assure you, from my almost 40 years in the fire service, if this bill becomes law, lives that could have been saved will be lost. Injuries that could have been prevented will occur.

The cost in real dollars and in pain and suffering would be a lot more than the cost of a residential sprinkler system. The victims will be the residents of the commonwealth and the firefighters who protect them.

How do I know this? All you have to do is look at a fire in a home in Montgomery County the very same day those seven children died. The fire was at dawn and began in a dryer. But it didn’t spread beyond the laundry room and send toxic smoke and high heat through the house. It was kept in check by a residential sprinkler. The Huntingdon Valley Fire Department arrived at the group home, not with a situation like Blain, with flames coming from multiple windows and many people trapped. Instead it was a minor incident with no harm to the residents or the firefighters.

I’ve also experienced firsthand the remarkable difference residential sprinklers can make. I served in Maryland as the chief of the Prince

George’s County Fire Department, one of the first jurisdictions in the country to have a residential sprinkler law. In the 18 years since the law went into effect, there has not been one fire death in a sprinklered single-family home in Prince George’s County. In the same time, there have been 195 deaths in nonsprinklered residences in the county.

History also will show you that the fire service is on the right side of this argument. We battled it out with the same groups in the 1970s. Because we won, thousands of people are still walking among us. Many of them right here in Pennsylvania. Yes, the very same arguments that were made against sprinklers were made against smoke alarms. Would you vote to repeal that requirement?

As consumers, we insist on upgraded safety features in our cars and trucks, our children’s bikes and baby furniture, and we are willing to pay more for them. Initially, many of the manufacturers fought these changes because they argued that consumers wouldn’t pay for them. But now these and many other features are standard. If it comes down to costs, isn’t your safety and that of your family a more worthwhile expense than upgraded kitchen cabinets, appliances and fixtures?

We ask you to trust the experts on this, as other leaders in your positions did 35 years ago. They left an enormous mark on fire safety in this country by listening to the people who protect us and by mandating smoke alarms. You can do the same. Your actions will ensure that in generations to come many fewer families will lose even one child to such a tragedy.

Ronald J. Siarnicki is executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Emmitsburg, Md. He is also the former fire chief of Prince George’s County and served as a volunteer firefighter in Monessen, Pa.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/03/30/2614307/trust-the-experts-on-fire-safety.html

Webinar presentation will educate designers, installers and plan reviewers on how the building codes influence the installation of fire sprinkler systems.

The International Building Code is laden with options and alternatives based largely on occupancy and construction type. There is nothing that impacts these choices more than fire sprinklers. A new webinar has been prepared by Fire Smarts, LLC to educate fire protection designers, installers and plan reviewers across the nation on how the International Building Code (IBC) influences the installation of fire sprinkler systems. The webinar is part of the online training series offered by Fire Smarts, LLC.

The “IBC and Fire Sprinklers: Blessing or Burden?” webinar will be presented by fire protection industry expert, Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS, on April 29, 2011 at 12:00pm Eastern. During this two-hour training Mr. Scandaliato will introduce participants to the building codes and installation standards that influence the design and installation of fire sprinklers by exposing those sections of the IBC that fire sprinklers influence. Features such as area and height limitations, passive separations, egress and exiting, construction types and more are all included. Anyone who designs, installs or inspects fire sprinkler systems will not want to miss this very informative and interactive presentation.

Registration is open to all interested parties. For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page.

“I can’t imagine trying to be competitive in the Design-Build market without being fluent in the codes that mandate sprinkler installation,” said Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS. “This webinar is an opportunity to not only understand the relationship between the building codes and installation standards, but also to get armed with marketing tools that will ensure your clients see that you know the advantages sprinklers can give and how to use them to the benefit of your clients.”

Webinar instructor, Steven Scandaliato, is a Fire Smarts Faculty member and Principal at SDG, LLC, a fire protection design and consulting company. With over 30 years of fire protection engineering, design and project management experience he holds a Level IV certification from NICET in Fire Sprinkler Layout, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist designation, and serves as a member of the NFPA 13, 101 and 5000 committees.

For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page. This webinar is another fire protection training opportunity through Fire Smarts online training programs.

About Fire Smarts, LLC: Fire Smarts, LLC is a leading provider of fire protection educational and training resources. The company operates the home fire protection resource website, Residential Fire Sprinklers .com, frequently publishes articles and reports on the latest industry developments and utilizes its team of Fire Smarts Faculty members to create custom training solutions for contractors, fire and building officials, and business organizations based on NFPA standards.

By Meredith Armstrong

The International Code Council is an organization of building inspectors and fire officials.

They are charged with setting building standards, recommending in 2009 that all states and municipalities adopt codes requiring sprinkler systems in homes and town houses less than three stories high.

Just last year, Georgia law changed making it illegal to require fire sprinklers for residential structures.

Bill Hart at the Greater Columbus Homebuilders Association said Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue signed House Bill 1196 into law less than a year ago, deleting the requirement for sprinklers in single family homes.

A spokesperson from the Columbus Fire Department said he’s not aware of a single case in Columbus where a person has died where there’s a properly maintained sprinkler system.

Columbus Fire Marshal Chief Ricky Shores said, “They’re just simply magnificent in keeping a fire in check until we can get there to properly extinguish it.”

Shores said fire doubles in size every 45 to 60 seconds, and when seconds count, there’s no substitute for delivering water to a fire.

In 2009, 2,100 people other than firefighters died in one- and two-family homes, according to the Insurance Information Institute. In that same year, 9,300 injuries were reported.

A single family home caught fire over the weekend. Flames did $100,000 worth of damage, according to the Columbus Fire Department.

To read the full article click here.

By Lisa Tindell

The death of an Atmore toddler last year added to the total number of fire deaths reported in Alabama for 2010. The recently released report shows a more than 40 percent increase in fire deaths across the state last year.

Alabama State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk’s office in Montgomery issued the report last week and the number of fire fatalities jumped to 122 in 2010 from 85 the previous year. The figure shows a 43.5 percent increase in fatalities resulting from fires across the state.

“This is neither the highest nor the lowest annual total on record,” Paulk said. “We’d prefer to see zero fire fatalities, though.”

The death of 4-year-old Dylan Barnhill was the result of a fire at the home of the child on 6th Avenue last February. The fire totally consumed the home with other members of the family escaping without injuries.

At the time of the initial investigation, Paulk, who was on the scene following the fire, said it appeared the fire began in the kitchen area of the home.

Although 122 fatalities were reported across the state in 2010, Paulk said the high number is well below half of those on record in 1962.

“In 1962, the old record of 241 was obliterated when 271 fire fatalities were recorded,” Paulk said. “That’s well over twice the total of 122 reported in 1997 and again in 2010. Addressing numbers from this perspective indicates that overall averages are falling, but there’s still room for improvement.”

Paulk said members of the state’s fire service are working hard to spread the message of fire safety to reduce the risk of fires and to save lives.

“Fire safety education goes hand in hand with modern smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire alarms,” Paulk said. “All of that is essential to keeping our citizens as safe as possible.”

To read the full article click here.

By John Waters

On April 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation adopted strict regulations aimed at ending long delays on airport tarmacs in which passengers were held as hostages. Airlines could now be fined up to $27,500 per passenger for a flight that remains on the tarmac for more than three hours.

Before the new law was enacted, the Air Transport Association, on behalf of the nation’s largest airlines, lobbied to block government regulation of tarmac delays. Carriers made commitments to fix problems using voluntary measures, and they argued that government regulations forcing planes back to the gate after three hours would lead to more canceled flights and huge consequences for air travelers. Compelling as they might have seemed, DOT didn’t buy these arguments, and government acted to protect the public interest.

According to a Dec. 8, 2010, USA Today article, six months later, the airline industry achieved a miraculous milestone. The nation’s 18 largest airlines reported not a single tarmac delay of more than three hours for the month of October versus 11 such delays in October 2009. Moreover, since the new rule had gone into effect, only 12 extended tarmac delays were reported, versus 546 during the same period in 2009.

The “gloom and doom” predicted by the airlines never happened. In fact, while the rate of flight cancellations remained essentially unchanged, airlines improved overall on-time performance, mishandled fewer bags and received fewer passenger complaints. Given the incentive of avoiding stiff DOT fines, airlines and airports found ways to make operational adjustments that essentially ended torturous tarmac delays.

What does all of this have to do with residential fire sprinklers? Plenty. For the last 30 years, since residential fire sprinklers first became available, the home building industry has fought vigorously to block regulations that would require fire sprinklers as a standard feature in new homes. But the organizations who write our nation’s building codes eventually stopped buying industry arguments that are inconsistent with public welfare.

Effective Jan. 1, all U.S. model codes require new homes to be equipped with fire sprinklers. Unlike DOT’s regulations, however, these model code requirements are not law until states and local jurisdictions adopt them, and HBAs in many states (including Pennsylvania), having lost the model code debate, have pulled out all stops to block adoption of these codes.

Just as airlines warned of “gloom and doom” from tarmac delay rules, the Pennsylvania Home Builders Associations warn of dire consequences if jurisdictions require fire sprinklers in new homes. Their primary argument against fire sprinklers is that they will increase the cost of new homes, which in turn will delay or kill recovery of the housing market. Although that’s a nice sound bite, it fails the “perspective” test in several ways:

1. There’s no evidence that putting fire sprinklers in new homes will impact sales prices. Builders have the option of adjusting other home construction features to offset the cost of sprinklers to maintain current pricing in a competitive market. Fluctuating prices of land, lumber, concrete, etc. are routinely dealt with in that way.

2. Even if the cost of a fire sprinkler system were directly added to the sales price, the impact on monthly payments is insignificant after credits that reduce home insurance costs; for instance, State Farm Insurance, offers a 10 percent discount in homeowner’s insurance for properties protected with automatic sprinklers.

3. If the cost of fire sprinklers were enough to kill the housing recovery, so too would a 0.1 percent increase in the interest rate on a 30-year mortgage, which has about the same impact on a monthly mortgage payment. Although rates routinely rise and fall by much more than this amount, the housing market marches on.

4. As does Pennsylvania, the states of California and Maryland have adopted the International Residential Code, including fire sprinkler provisions. These states didn’t buy the argument that sprinklers will kill the housing recovery.

It is unfortunate that many builders fail to see the contribution that residential fire sprinklers could make in driving new home sales. Builders’ main competition in selling new homes is the resale market, and features such as energy efficiency and fire sprinklers differentiate new homes from existing homes, making existing homes obsolete. Safety, security and energy efficiency are powerful incentives that can drive a buyer to purchase a new home instead of a resale.

The California Building Industry Association understood the liability risk and made a prudent decision when it supported statewide adoption of the IRC, including the fire sprinkler requirement. The Pennsylvania HBAs, who like the airline industry seemingly suffer from a lack of confidence in their members’ ability to adapt and innovate, just don’t get it. Ultimately, their members might pay the price.

John Waters is co-chairman of the Pennsylvania Residential Fire Sprinkler Coalition.

Fire officials across the country are adopting residential fire sprinkler requirements, but what happens after a jurisdiction adopts a model code or ordinance? Addressing this challenge is the mission of a grant-funded guide and workshops developed by the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation (NASFM Foundation) and the Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI).

The comprehensive guide, entitled “Bridging the Gap: A Guide to Implementing a Residential Sprinkler Requirement,” has been developed to help jurisdictions answer the question, “We have established a residential fire sprinkler requirement – now what?” The guide addresses the planning, management and administration of residential fire sprinkler requirements after they have been established in a community. The guide provides information regarding policy issues, stakeholder involvement and critical decision points. Also provided is detailed information on incentives that can be offered to builders, developers and home owners; extensive links to best practices from jurisdictions around the country that have successfully carried out residential sprinkler requirements; and sample checklists and other model documents that will be helpful in the implementation process.

“Excellent guidance is available from other sources on how to actually get a residential fire sprinkler requirement passed,” said Lane Wintermute, RFSI Field Director. “The ‘Bridging the Gap’ guide is designed to complement and provide follow up to those efforts by taking jurisdictions the next few steps – showing them how to effectively manage the plans review, inspection, installation and approval process that is critical to assuring a properly operating systems when a fire occurs.”

Chief Alan Shuman, NASFM Foundation President and Georgia State Fire Marshal, adds, “There is no reason for a community to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when it comes to implementing a residential fire sprinkler ordinance. The ‘Bridging the Gap’ guide contains models and best practices from jurisdictions that have worked through these issues and are willing to share what they have learned with others.”

The development of the guidebook and a series of 10 workshops to introduce it to the fire service in the first half of 2011 were funded with a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Fire Prevention & Safety Grants Program.

About the Residential Fire Safety Institute

RFSI, formerly known as Operation Life Safety, was created in 1982 as a public interest group to promote fire-safe homes through built-in fire protection and fire safety education. RFSI’s activities include a newsletter, website, educational resources and technical assistance to fire departments, local and state governments on programs that involve residential fire sprinklers, carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, and other early warning equipment.

About the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation

The National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation (NASFM Foundation), a 501(c)(3) organization, works with companies, government agencies, associations, academic institutions and others that strive to achieve higher levels of fire safety for consumers and for the emergency response community. The NASFM Foundation is managed by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), whose members are the senior fire officials and their chief deputies in the 50 US States and the District of Columbia. NASFM’s primary mission is to protect life, property and the environment from fire and related hazards.

Webinar presentation based on NFPA 13 Chapter 8 will educate designers, installers and plan reviewers on how to address special situations when designing fire sprinkler systems.

Beamed ceilings, floating clouds, layered planes, atriums sixty feet in height, concealed spaces, are all examples of special situations that most engineers and designers face at some point in their career. A new webinar has been prepared by Fire Smarts, LLC to educate fire protection designers, installers and plan reviewers across the nation on how to use NFPA 13 Chapter 8 to address these special situations. The webinar is part of the online training series offered by Fire Smarts, LLC.

The “Fire Sprinkler Design: Addressing Special Situations” webinar will be presented by fire protection industry expert, Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS, on March 31, 2011 at 12:00pm Eastern. During this two-hour training Mr. Scandaliato will review Chapter 8 of NFPA 13, and work through solving several real-life examples. Anyone who designs, installs or inspects fire sprinkler systems will not want to miss this very informative and interactive presentation.

Registration is open to all interested parties. For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page.

“The overwhelming majority of questions I am asked on a weekly basis have me referencing something in NFPA 13 Chapter 8,” said Steven Scandaliato, SET, CFPS. There have been monumental revisions added over the past few editions, along with some that are proposed in the current 2012 cycle, that every person working with fire sprinkler systems should be aware of.”

Webinar instructor, Steven Scandaliato, is a Fire Smarts Faculty member and Principal at SDG, LLC, a fire protection design and consulting company. With over 30 years of fire protection engineering, design and project management experience he holds a Level IV certification from NICET in Fire Sprinkler Layout, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist designation, and serves as a member of the NFPA 13, 101 and 5000 committees.

For more information and to register for this webinar click on Webinar Information Page. This webinar is another fire protection training opportunity through Fire Smarts online training programs.

About Fire Smarts, LLC: Fire Smarts, LLC is a leading provider of fire protection educational and training resources. The company operates the home fire protection resource website, Residential Fire Sprinklers .com, frequently publishes articles and reports on the latest industry developments and utilizes its team of Fire Smarts Faculty members to create custom training solutions for contractors, fire and building officials, and business organizations based on NFPA standards.