Tag Archives: AHJ

Some people say that size doesn’t matter. They often quarrel over the significance of scale when arguing about quality. Bigger is not always better. In a sense, we engage in this argument all the time when arguing about whether sprinklers are a good idea or not. Are they good enough …

I am not sure whether every state practices this, but in California there is a system whereby friends and family members can place a memorial on a highway indicating where someone had died in a traffic collision. Often the memorial is a wooden cross and some plastic flowers. Sometimes it …

Of all the roles the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has, one of the least appreciated is our role in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards process. The process that NFPA uses is designed to be very egalitarian and to give all the stakeholders in the fire protection community …

Did you ever sign a document without reading the small print? Personally, I have always thought that the small print was designed to keep attorneys well funded, because the only time small print is important is when it is violated. The primary concern about your insurance policy or contract small …

For the last several months we have been exposing readers to the concept of fire testing and the use of standards. This month we are going to see if you picked up any of the vocabulary of these methods. The following are a few definitions that should be part of …

According to my research on quotations, the phrase “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step” was first uttered by the Chinese philosopher Laozi some 500 years before the beginning of the common era. We are still taking long journeys and continuing to take steps. That has been …

When does fire prevention end and fire suppression begin? The flippant answer is: when someone calls 911 reporting a fire. The fire has occurred. Prevention implies that it wouldn’t happen. But, it did. Now, someone has to go put it out. And now, the outcome may well be determined by …

Free training is available to Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) during the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) 34th Annual Convention & Exhibition, AFSA in Phoenix: Rising to Excellence. To be held at the award-winning JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa October 10-13, AFSA’s convention draws over 1,100 participants from …

“Rode hard and put away wet.” That was a cliché that I have heard many times when witnessing something that had undergone a severe test and was just about ready to fall apart. The cliché started out describing horses that were put away without proper grooming, but the imagery matches …

Are you tired of testing yet? I hope not, because continued testing of materials and assemblies is absolutely critical to fire safety engineering. The future calls for more and more precise use of test data to support decisions that we make for approving installations. And our ability to understand the …