The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has elected its 2015-2016 Board of Directors. Newly elected directors include Rod DiBona of Rapid Fire Protection in Rapid City, S.D. (Region 3) and Lyle Hall of Western Fire Protection in Poway, Calif. (At Large). DiBona will take over the Region 3 director position …
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The Impact of Group A Plastics One of the most critical variables necessary to define the right design basis for the protection of storage is the commodity classification. In evaluating an individual pallet load, Class III and IV commodities have pretty much always been allowed to have some Group A …
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Lessons Learned with Full-Scale Fire Tests on Mattresses There were many quips I heard my parents rattle off in response to the trouble I got myself into, but one of them recently came back to haunt me. And, now having kids of my own, I find myself saying it as …
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Directors Added to Better Represent Growing Membership The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) held its 2024-2025 officer elections during the September 2024 Board meeting. Linda M. Biernacki, Fire Tech Systems, Inc., Shreveport, La., was re-elected as Chair of the Board. Paul DeLorie, Hampshire Fire Protection Co., Londonderry, N.H., was re-elected …
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Summit Sprinkler Technician Takes First Place at AFSA’S 31st Annual National Apprentice Competition The 31st Annual National Apprentice Competition (NAC) was held at AFSA43: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition in Denver, Colo., Sept. 18-21, 2024. The event showcased top apprentice talent in the fire sprinkler industry. Attendees surrounded the scene …
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AFSA43: Convention, Exhibition, and Apprentice Competition Draws Record Attendance in Denver This year, the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) was thrilled to welcome attendees to AFSA43: Convention, Exhibition, and Apprentice Competition in Denver, Colo., September 18-21. Nearly 1,500 fire sprinkler contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, architects, designers, facility managers, Authorities Having Jurisdiction …
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Representatives Work on Behalf of Associates The votes are in and tallied for the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) 2025 Manufacturers/Suppliers (M/S) Council. The results: Phil Schechinger, Viking Group, Inc., will continue to serve as chair of the council and Andy L. Kaempfer, Safe Signal, will serve as vice chair. …
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Virtual Instruction Program Serves Apprentices, Contractors Has your team participated in the Virtual Instruction Program (VIP) yet? This program has completed two years of related technical instruction for apprentices and is about to kick off its third year with Level 3 coming aboard! There are currently over 100 students in …
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Online Contests Educate Students The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is pleased to announce the five college students nationwide who have won a scholarship through the association’s online scholarship program, www.afsascholarship.org/secondchance/. These national winners were randomly selected from over 25,000 students who entered to receive a one-time $1,000 AFSA scholarship …
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September and October have been very busy and productive months. In addition to AFSA43 in Denver, AFSA staff and representatives appointed by the Technical Advisory Council attended several NFPA technical committee meetings. Two meetings of note were the second draft meeting for the 2026 edition of NFPA 25, Standard for …
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Protecting America’s Heroes From Fire The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is proud to partner with Homes For Our Troops (HFOT), a publicly funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 veterans to enable them to rebuild their lives. Most of …
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Celebrate good times, we did! The AFSA43 convention was a Mile-High Success! Once again, we broke our record for attendance with nearly 1,500. I must say that this is due to you, our amazing membership, and the engaging relationship with AFSA. Thank you all for coming, and I hope that …
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I like my end-of-the-year column to acknowledge what the technical team did well and what we would like to focus on next year. This gives me time to adjust my management style and goals to the needs of our membership while accomplishing our mission. I want AFSA to be the …
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Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association