William E. Koffel, PE, FSFPE, Koffel Associates, Columbia, Md.
Articles
Which fire alarm signal should be used?
Fire alarm signals should be based on response, not on the type of device
Case study: Hospital sprinkler system
A retrofit sprinkler system in a hospital required additional waterflow switches
Case study: Reducing the impact of nuisance alarms
By using the correct type of programming, smoke detectors initiated a supervisory signal instead of nuisance alarms
Passive fire protection offers safety measures
A passive fire protection system, while sometimes omitted, is vital to occupants’ life safety
Case study: Using a hotel as an alternate care site
According to this study, there are both challenges and solutions when converting hotel rooms to hospitals
NFPA 101 and COVID-19
Engineers need to consider the public health and life safety issues of reopening a building after COVID-19
COVID-19 podcast: Alternate care sites and temporary construction
Specific issues to be discussed is using Chapter 19 of NFPA 101 as the baseline, building construction, sprinkler protection, fire alarm and detection systems, the use of suite provisions, acceptance testing and more.
COVID-19 podcast: Operational considerations
This podcast discusses operational considerations and challenges health care facilities are facing during the COVID-19 emergency.
COVID-19 podcast: Resources available to the healthcare community
The podcast highlights the resources that are available on the websites of the Corps of Engineers, CMMS, Joint Commission, DNVGL, Center for Health Design, ASHE, and NFPA.
How NFPA 101 defines building egress
NFPA 101: Life Safety Code provides fire protection engineers many resources for designing safe egress, along with several other life safety options
Developing an NFPA 92 design analysis
By creating an NFPA 92 design analysis for smoke control systems, fire protection engineers can provide design fire scenarios and a detailed design report.
Sample design fire scenario
Fire scenarios include relevant assumptions regarding the potential fire scenario and describe the meaning of the fire in terms that can be understood by the building owner.
Know the updates to NFPA 72-2019
The 2019 update of NFPA 72 provides fire protection engineers improved mass notification and emergency communication guidelines. Here's a look at what's new in the most recent version of the code.
Case Study: Health care facility design and being code-compliant
It’s vital for consulting engineers to not only identify the applicable codes and standards but also know the building and owner’s needs.
Changes to NFPA 101-2018
NFPA 101-2018: Life Safety Code has three important updates that are vital to fire protection engineers.
Determining risk tolerance of building clients
The Fire Safety Concepts Tree can help fire protection engineers quantify the level of fire risk in a building.
Balancing passive, active fire protection
Fire protection engineers should consider the building's construction, fire suppression systems, and smoke control when designing active and passive fire protection systems.