UPDATED NFPA 13R/13D CODE IMPACT CHEETSHEET
A couple of years ago I wrote a couple pieces on when NFPA 13R can be used, and I put together a cheatsheet on the code impacts associated with using NFPA 13R and 13D. 

I'm happy to say that we've now updated the cheatsheet with impacts from the 2021 Edition of the IBC. While it may not yet be the adopted building code for your area, it's still important to compare code impacts with the latest version of the building code, so that you're not building a structure today that is already beneath modern building code standards. 

Click below to get a copy of the updated cheatsheet:

​Thanks & have a great rest of your week!

I feel fortunate to have attended the Society of Fire Protection Engineers National Conference in Baltimore just a few weeks ago. It was the first time I've attended a national SFPE Conference, and I was what I hope becomes more of a regular stop on the conference circuit each year. 

Here are my Top 3 takeaways from attending the conference for the first time.

#1 WE NEED MORE QUALITY PEOPLE
I spoke with a handful of professionals and manufacturers, and many of the discussions kept circling back to the same issue that is plaguing our industry - we don't have enough talent.

The only person that really challenged me on that hypothesis really only asked if the data would back that premise up, or if it was just anecdotal. I don't yet have that answer. But after that debate, I continued to hear about how both contractors and consultants are continuing to struggle to find and train up knowledgeable professionals.

One of the seminars that stemmed from SFPE's Professional Qualifications subcommittee was a healthy discussion about what constitutes minimum qualifications - and much of the discussion related the struggle that we (as an industry) have to get recognition that we exist, and then to recruit more people into the industry.

The concept that we need more knowledgeable people is certainly what I've been hearing for the past year or so, and with more and more experience retiring here in the near future, I could see this becoming a bigger and bigger concern. I do wonder if some collaboration across organizations couldn't help connect potential candidates with the right opportunities. 

#2 FEW THINGS BEAT AWESOME PEOPLE
I love meeting people at events like this. It seems like every time I turn around I meet someone whose name I already know - whether because their famous in our FP world or because they took the PE Exam recently or because they've shot an email about a blog post way back. I find it's so neat to talk shop and brainstorm ideas with others who are passionate about the industry.

It was so good to be in-person, talking shop and hearing ideas about ways to impact the industry. There is really something cathartic to share experiences and relate to others who are facing similar challenges professionally.

#3 ADVOCATING GLOBALLY
I have not been great about thinking longterm with a global mindset. I actively want to change that. Not just in using the same metric system that everyone outside the US uses (how can so many countries be wrong??), but thinking about creating opportunities across languages and working towards common understandings of how we combat the fire problem. 

Professor Richard Wells from the University of Aberdeen gave a great talk on fire protection challenges for the developing world - including a rise in fatalities from informal settlements and the lessons learned from them. He challenged those in developed parts of the world to find ways to partner with and help support local fire education and fire protection practices in the developing world. I think with the technology we have today that we are more capable of achieving that goal than we ever have been before, and I wholeheartedly agree that a more global approach to fire protection engineering is what can help have a long-term impact in the fire problem worldwide.

A lot of big concepts in there - but on a real practical level we're just starting to figure out ways today to make our platform align better with a variety of audiences in the future - linguistically, culturally, and with more global content.

BONUS #4 THE DELEGATED DESIGN PROBLEM
​We like to do bonuses around here, so yeah the Top 3 is a Top 4. 

A lot of great discussion on the "delegated design" issue that rears its ugly head around our industry. What is "delegated design"? Do we agree on what it actually is? Are we trying to delegate Engineering Responsibility with design? Can we find a line where we are able to leave system routing to a technician, but the Engineer actually performs their duty and addresses the "Engineering" portions of a project?

SFPE worked hard on a position statement back in 2008 (I believe) that defined and delineated what the applicable roles are. Are those still relevant? If so, how does the practice of engineering actually get incorporated into something with teeth?

Does Florida's 61G15 become a template that gives some enforcement to make sure consultants are performing their role? Do we need recognition at the state level that fire protection engineering needs Engineer involvement for a minimum set of criteria?

I see too many projects that go out for bid that lack basics of fire protection - both by engineers and without engineers. How do we clean that up? Education? Engineering Boards? Recognition of who is qualified to perform the work?

These are all related questions that I don't have answers about. I was happy to see that SFPE is working to address the issue through work of their committees. 

As someone who has friends on the inside (I know, I'm so famous), if any of those topics interest you I would encourage you to look into joining the subcommittees who work on those topics. 

That's all for this week, hope you have a great rest of yours!

​Today is a pretty big day in MeyerFire-world. 

I've spoken with contractors, consultants, plan reviewers, educators, insurance carriers, installers, inspectors - and we all continue to come back to one big issue that is holding our industry back right now.

We need to develop new talent. 

For the organizations that are busy and growing - we need more help, and we need knowledgeable help.

When we look out even a little into the future, even just 2-5 years from now, the problem will be compounded. Call it the Silver Tsunami, the Experience Exodus, the Golden Goodbye, or whatever other name the kids come up with - our industry has already lost a lot of experience to retirement, and that will only continue as many of the remaining Baby Boomers look to complete their careers.

We need to develop new talent.

We need something that can resonate with today's Gen Z. We need engagement, and a way to not just train in a two-day or two-week sprint, we need something that can help people new to the industry learn every single day, year-round.

Around here we've thought and debated and circled on the idea for a solid couple years. 

I'm excited to say that we finally have the platform that we have built specifically to help develop new talent in the fire protection industry.

We're calling it MeyerFire University:

​​It's an all-new training platform built for those with 0-3 years experience, and covers technical topics like fire suppression, fire alarm, code, life safety, and specialized systems; it covers production topics like plan preparation, drafting, modeling, and plan review; and it covers business & career topics as well.

It's everything we wish we had when we started, delivered in bite-sized, highly-visual video clips that are delivered daily and on-demand.

Today is our "Soft-Launch". 

If your organization finds that you also have this need to help train and develop new talent - and you want to join in on this platform early - now is a good time to do so.

We've only been in full production on our video content for a month and our platform is growing by five new video modules each week. If you're wanting to be an early adopter - we have a couple ways of saying thank-you and making sure the platform is worth your team's time.

To get a quote & more information for your organization, visit:

​This has been a dream we've worked towards for years now, and I'm thrilled that it's finally coming to light and can soon start helping teams like yours shine.

Thanks for your time and being a part of the community for better fire protection!

I'm excited this week to introduce a new format of our blog email. 

For some time I've been trying to find ways to help share the great discussions going on over in the Forum with subscribers who may not be tuning in everyday. Also, over the past five years of writing I've written on some topics that are relevant today, with resources and cheatsheets and such, that new subscribers may have missed.

My hope is that this new email format gives a quick glimpse of what is going on this week around the MeyerFire Community while also sharing the best content we have. 

At the end of the day, my hope is that this website starts the discussion on best practices and helps you do great work. Any comments or feedback about the new style, shoot me an email at joe@meyerfire.com. Thanks!

To subscribe to the blog and get our new format - join here: Blog Signup

I am thrilled to say that this website has been up and running with content now for five years!

In the Summer 2016 I came to a realization that we needed a platform to celebrate and promote best practices in fire protection. I saw many common challenges that people faced everyday without a way to collaborate and share what they've learned.

Fire Protection is just too important for us not to share knowledge. When you and I are able to do great work, we all win.

This has really been a dream of mine come true. When I started writing content for this site, I was so thrilled to share some of the day-to-day, in-the-weeds fire protection challenges I was facing. The more I wrote the more I'd get emails and feedback and excitement about new possibilities. 

If you're relatively new around here - this whole effort exists to help you do great work.

Now, five years and over 150 articles later, things are continuing to look up. 

We have a good handful of PE Prep content, a Toolkit used by hundreds of companies and thousands of users worldwide, and a major training platform launch coming this fall. 

I am so thrilled that we're on this journey together. I cannot begin to say how much your reading, comments, ideas and collaboration have meant to me personally as this site has grown into something larger than I could ever have imagined.

Not just that, but your help has enabled us to completely fund three different water projects to bring clean water to communities without it. That would not have happened without your help.

Whether you've stopped by and read the forum, subscribe to emails, run with the Toolkit, or just like to shoot emails here and there - thank you thank you thank. Sincerely. You've made a dream come true.

One quick ask; if this site has helped you in some way, and you'd like to say so, would you consider giving me a review? Your reviews are a tremendous help in allowing us to spread the word on fire protection and continue to grow and adapt this site. Just click "Google Reviews" and the blue button "Write A Review" in the top right. I would be extremely grateful! 

Thank you so much for your continued interest and I very much look forward to seeing what we achieve together in the next five years!

     Sincerely,

     Joe

     Joe Meyer, PE
     Writer / Fire Protection Engineer
     www.meyerfire.com

It's been something that has been requested here and there about the Toolkit, and I'm happy to say we've finally come around and made this happen. I apologize that its taken way too long to get some of this training out.

If you're a Toolkit user (thank you!), we now have a welcome series of weekly emails that explores each tool in a little more depth. Some emails are articles exploring some of the topics, some emails include videos explaining the tools in a little more detail. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

To sign up for this free email series, you can do so here:

If you don't already have our whole set of tools, check it out here: www.meyerfire.com/toolkit. Happy to say it continues to do well thanks to your feedback and referrals! 

That's all for today - thanks and have a great rest of your week!

I have a little different spin on things this week that I'm excited to share.

Last month I wrote a bit about flow coming from hydrants and included PDF flow charts relating the measured pitot pressure to the estimated flow coming from the orifice.

But what is a Coefficient of Discharge?

Check out this new video below - it is a sample from our MeyerFire University platform that we're creating for later this fall. If you don't see the video, click here.​

This is all new format for this site, so I'm eager to hear what you think. Comment below or shoot me an email at joe@meyerfire.com.

Thanks and have a great rest of your week!

One of my wanted items on my personal to-do list was a full lineup of flow charts that incorporate discharge coefficients coming off a fire hydrant. These (in my line of work) are most commonly used in fire hydrant flow tests, where flow comes out of the side (commonly 2-1/2") outlets or the main pumper outlet (single 4" or larger).

So what is a discharge coefficient? 

When we flow out of an orifice, water is restricted and forced into a smaller cylindrical shape. The discharge coefficient is what helps us adjust the measured pitot pressure, which is taken along the centerline of the stream, and adjust for about how much flow is coming through the opening.

It's simply comparing the size of the actual stream against the size of the opening.

When a long straight stream-straightener is used, this coefficient is high. The stream is less tightly condensed as compared to the opening dimension.

When water takes a more difficult approach and is restricted in its flow, this coefficient is lower.

We'll discuss this in more detail later. For today, we've created flow charts for these three different discharge coefficients. See the PDF link below to get access to all three flow charts, broken out across a number of different orifice sizes.

Thanks for being a subscriber and being part of our story. We're all about sharing helpful content and finding ways to support the industry by making you, the fire protection pro, shine. We hope information like this is helpful.

Thanks & have a great week!

The fire sprinkler database is coming up on its third year in existence; it originally took hundreds of hours of research and plenty of updates, but we're happy to say now that we've upgraded the database to include better search, sort and filter capabilities. 

The database is a collection of over 1,500 fire sprinkler models on the market today. Even with a select number of manufacturers, finding just the right type of sprinkler with correct spacing and minimal pressure demands can be tough. The database was built to get answers in seconds - with links directly to manufacturer websites & data sheets.

See a quick update video here:

​The database is part of our Toolkit package. More information about that here.

Have a great rest of your week!

Back in 2016 and again this time last year, I put together some material and a cheatsheet for Floor Control Valve Assemblies. I loaded up the cheatsheet with inclusions of most pieces of equipment that could possibly be located as part of that package - pressure reducing valves, test outlets, and a five-piece inspector's test & drain.

I heard quite a bit - that's great - but what about a combination test & drain? What about when we don't have pressure reducing valves? What about a normal assembly?

Well today is the day for a more common arrangement of a floor control assembly on a combination standpipe/sprinkler riser. 

One key simplification here is the combination inspector's test & drain, which since its introduction has helped reduce a significant amount of labor by combining the site glass, inspector's test valve, drain valve, and pressure relief all in a single device.

Related, but not correlated, we're happy to have AGF is our sponsor this month and if you haven't checked out their new offering, be sure to see the link here.

WHAT'S NEW AROUND MEYERFIRE
I hear weekly about what I see is the central issue that affects just about every small to midsize fire protection consultant, contractor, and review authority - recruiting and training young staff. 

It's not that we need more warm bodies in the industry, we need knowledgeable and motivated people.

It's a big ask, and it falls right within the wheelhouse of our efforts around here to do something about it. We're all about combining knowledge & resources to help you do your work better. When you do that, we all win.

1 - ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK
The first step towards that effort is a Handbook we're writing that will debut this fall. It will be a 200-page, full-color collection of all the best flowcharts, cheatsheets, checklists and breakdowns that we've ever created.

If you want an update when it is up for sale, pop your email here and we'll be sure to keep you updated.

2 - AN ALL-NEW TRAINING PLATFORM
The second step towards helping new hires go from zero to about three years experience-equivalent is training & mentoring. Courses are good, but they're often expensive, require travel, and when they're done they're done. 

We are in the early stages of an all-new mentor & training platform that has a searchable video content library, daily video training, on-demand mini-courses, and our full suite of software tools. If you are interested in learning more as we develop this for Fall 2021, email Joe at joe@meyerfire.com and we'll be sure to keep you informed.

​Thanks & have a great rest of your week!