By Jocelyn Sarrantonio, PE | Fire Protection Engineer / Technical Director at MeyerFire

Although the 2024 editions of the International Building and Fire Codes have been out for some time, new codes don’t get used until a jurisdiction adopts them.

Now that I’m starting to see them referenced more often in project work, it feels like the right time to dig into what’s new. The humor is not lost on me that, as we begin to wrap up 2025, I’m finally getting deep into the changes to the 2024 codes.​

Before we get started, if you haven’t taken the MeyerFire University LS111 course [here], it’s a great series on Effective Use of Codes & Standards. One of the many helpful items that Fire Protection Engineer Sean Donohue reviews is how to tell code language has changed.

Not to be all “back in my day”, but when we only had the print and PDF editions of codes, we were used to seeing the vertical bar near new sections of code.

Now, since most of us use the online versions, we should realize that new text is indicated in blue text, deletion arrows (→) are used for deleted text, and stars (*) for relocated text.

The intent here is not to cover every single change here, but to highlight some of the provisions that may impact the day-to-day workings of someone in the fire protection engineering profession. As always, and I really cannot emphasize this enough, check your local amendments. Very few jurisdictions will adopt the codes outright; they’ll often make some changes.

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATIONS (CHAPTER 3)
While the official classification of occupancies is typically up to the architect, it’s important to know what to expect with these changes. It will come as no surprise that changes have been made to certain occupancy classifications due to their use of lithium-ion batteries in energy storage systems (ESS). Examples include:

• Group B: Lithium-ion or lithium metal battery testing, research, and development
• Group F-1 (moderate hazard factory, industrial): ESS and equipment containing lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries, or occupancies with lithium-ion batteries or vehicles powered by lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries, are classified as F-1.
• Group S-1: Storage of lithium-ion or lithium metals, or vehicle repair garages for vehicles using lithium-ion or lithium-metal batteries, would be classified as S-1

What’s the impact here?

To start, the F-1/S-1 designation is for moderate-hazard, and the F-2/S-2 classifications are for low-hazard occupancies. These classifications are helpful, as the occupancy classification of areas using ESS could fall into a bit of a no man’s land. ESS regulated by IFC Section 1207 would be exempt from regular Group H requirements, so prior to this change in IBC 2024, there wasn’t much direction on what to classify these occupancies as. Since “electrical rooms” aren’t listed in Chapter 3, generally I would see large UPS or Electrical Rooms be classified as either Group B, F-2, or S-2, maybe matching the predominant occupancy of the building.

However, classifying these spaces as the more hazardous designation of Group F & S has a trickle-down effect for the rest of the fire protection features. There are differences in allowable areas, separations for mixed-use occupancies, and means of egress requirements between Group F-1/S-1 and Group F-2/S-2. For example, in a sprinklered F-1/S-1 occupancy, travel distance is limited to 250 ft, as opposed to 400 ft for F-2/S-2 occupancies.
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Another important implication would be for smoke and heat removal. Section 910.2.1 requires smoke and heat vents, or a mechanical smoke removal system for Group F-1/S-1 occupancies with more than 50,000 square feet of undivided area. That may seem like quite a large area, but data centers can easily exceed this limit. And I’m sure you could guess that if I have a giant room full of servers and specialized equipment, the last thing I want is multiple roof penetrations overhead. 

As we’ve covered in our two ESS courses, these additional safety features are well warranted due to the risks presented by lithium-ion batteries. And to be fair, the ventilation system I am probably providing for my ventilation and explosion control probably counts as a “mechanical smoke removal system”. But the point here is that it’s important to think of the ripple effects of seemingly small and straightforward changes. The change is contained in Chapter 3 for Occupancy Classifications, but it trickles down to items in Chapters 5, 6, 9, and 10.

CHAPTER 9, SECTION 903 CHANGES
The next place where we’ll see some big changes is in Section 903. We do have an IBC Cheatsheet that lists when sprinklers are required per Chapter 9, which you can find below. 

The cheatsheet includes footnotes for new provisions in 2024, but it should come as no surprise that many of the provisions are for occupancies that use lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries. These include:

• Group B: Throughout fire areas of laboratories involving research, development, or testing of lithium-ion of lithium metal batteries.
• Group F-1: Throughout the building for occupancies that manufacture lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, or manufacture vehicles, and ESS containing lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries.
• Group M: In the room or space within a Group M occupancy where required for the storage of lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries, per IFC Section 320 or Chapter 32.
• Group S-1: Throughout the building where fire areas used for repair garages or the storage of lithium-ion or lithium metal powered vehicles exceeds 500 square feet.

An additional change is the design parameters for the sprinkler system, when it is required, to protect these areas containing lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries:
“… design of the system shall be based on a series of fire tests. Such tests shall be conducted or witnessed and reported by an approved testing laboratory involving test scenarios that address that range of variable associated with the intended arrangement of the hazards to be protected.” -IBC 903.3.1.1.3

That’s pretty explicit language here, which is extracted from the fire code. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and the system design should be based on fire testing. But because we’re fire protection folks we know that we probably aren’t going to have all of that information at the time we need it. It would be great if we had fire testing data for all of the items that would be stored in a given facility, but we know that’s not realistic. In this case I would defer to the Fire Code, which in Section 1207 lists a sprinkler system density consistent with Extra Hazard Group 1 for certain situations. If I don’t yet have testing information, that’s a safe density to use so I can start planning my water supply and sizing my pump.  
 
OTHER CHANGES OF NOTE
Even though pixels are basically free, this post would become unreadably long if we went in depth for each change! To summarize the rest of the IBC 2024 changes of interest:

• Incidental Use Table 509.1: There were a few entries in Ambulatory and Group I occupancies that previously required a 1-hour separation only, and have been updated to require a 1-hour separation and an automatic sprinkler system.
• A new table is included (Table 307.1.1), which outlines specifically what sort of materials are exempt from Group H occupancy classifications, although still regulated by the Fire Code.

• Chapter 9 has a revision for the use of NFPA 13R systems. Previously, the permission to use NFPA 13R applied to all Group R occupancies. Among other restrictions, it limited the highest floor of the Group R occupancy to 30 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access. Now in 2024, for Group R-2 occupancies only, the measurement is to the roof assembly, and is limited to 45 feet.  If you don’t do a lot of residential work, Group R-2 is generally multi-family residential buildings like apartments, condos, and dorms.
• A change was made to the waterflow alarming in Section 903.4.3. Previously the waterflow device requirement was audible only, and now this alarm is required to be audible and visible.
• Section 904 for Alternative Extinguishing Systems now has a reference to NFPA 770 for hybrid fire extinguishing systems.
• Section 905.4 for Standpipe Systems has been revised to explicitly include exterior exit stairways, rather than just interior, in the hose connection location requirements.
• Changes to manual fire alarm system thresholds for Group A-5 outdoor bleacher-type seating, providing relief in certain situations where a public address system is provided, among other requirements.

And similar to the sprinkler changes for areas with lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, a fire alarm system required, activated by air-sampling or radiant-energy sensing detection systems, for the following areas:

• Group B: Throughout fire areas of laboratories involving research, development, or testing of lithium-ion of lithium metal batteries.
• Group F-1: Throughout the fire area for occupancies that manufacture lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, or manufacture vehicles, and ESS containing lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries.
• Group M: In the room or space within a Group M occupancy where required for the storage of lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries, per IFC Section 320 or Chapter 32.
• Group S-1: Throughout the fire area where required for the storage of lithium-ion or lithium metal batteries per Section 320 of the IFC.

Once we get into Chapter 10 for Means of Egress, one notable change includes:

• New exception for eliminating low-level exit signs in NFPA 13 or NFPA 13R sprinklered Group R-1 occupancies. Again, for those of us who don’t do lots of Group R work, that’s transient lodging like hotels, motels, and resorts. 

Like every new iteration, this code cycle brings a mix of fine-tuning and forward-thinking. Many of the 2024 reflect something that’s not new: the emerging risks of energy storage systems using lithium-ion batteries. But there are plenty of smaller tweaks, including the visible sprinkler system alarms and standpipe hose connections in exterior stairs, which will find their way onto our next set of plans too. Even seemingly small changes, or those that we think are “out of our scope” may have big downstream effects that impact all of our design and construction partners.

What other changes to the 2024 IBC and IFC have impacted your projects? Comment to share your stories below.

Thanks for reading, and remember to keep learning, because the code never stops changing!

​- Jocelyn

by Jocelyn Sarrantonio, PE
​Technical Director, MeyerFire

Last week, I had the annual pleasure of attending the NFPA Conference & Expo, this year held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Throughout my career and various workplaces, I’ve attended my fair share of conferences, because education and learning about new things is important—especially in fire protection, where it’s easy to get complacent in your tiny sliver of the world and forget the rest of the varied organizations and parts of the industry care about.
 
FAMILIAR EVENT, NEW ROLE
At the NFPA C&E, I learn so many things and have great conversations, simply by wandering the Expo. Even for a semi-introvert like me, I find it invigorating.

This year was different, though. It was my first year on the exhibitor’s side.
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I joined MeyerFire in May, and one of my first questions for Joe was, “Do you want me at the NFPA Conference?” The answer, of course, was yes! As an exhibitor, this is the marquee event to meet and talk to people in person, whether they’re old colleagues or new friends.

IN-PERSON VALUE
Attending this year as an exhibitor, and my first as MeyerFire’s Technical Director, was quite a different experience.

First and foremost, you don’t have to be up at 8 a.m. for Technical Sessions! But most importantly, this was my first time meeting my new coworkers in person. 

The three of us at MeyerFire work remotely, and remotely from each other.

Erik is in Kansas, Joe is in Missouri, and I’m in New York.

This is my first experience working a fully remote job, and I know there’s no replacement for meeting people face-to-face.

Even at former employers, I encouraged staff to attend conferences not just for training, but to connect with each other.

​In today’s remote environment, many teams work “together” day after day via Teams, but have never met in person. It’s invaluable to create those real-world connections that help people see how they fit into the industry as a whole.

BRINGING MEYERFIRE TO LIFE
This year’s Expo experience gave me the chance to see the people behind the usernames—those who post on the forums, enroll in the courses, and engage with the MeyerFire platform. It brought all those things to life.

Like many of you, I’ve interacted with MeyerFire content for a while—who hasn’t? Experiencing that relief when you Google an obscure fire protection question and see a MeyerFire forum post as the first hit, you know you’re going to get your answer, or at least a good discussion!

It was exciting to talk about fire protection education with existing superfans, people new to the industry grabbing nuggets of information for their supervisors, or those eager to sign up their interns for our training. And while I enjoy a good, long conversation about training, I equally appreciated when people stopped by just to say they were fans of MeyerFire before heading on their way.

I loved meeting from the Forum, people who took the classes to study for (and pass!) the PE, or who just came by to say “Hey, you put out some really good stuff.” I got to see the cross-section of the community that MeyerFire has built, everyone in their own ways working toward a common goal of improving the industry. 

I took lots of notes—and I can’t wait to incorporate these new ideas into courses and content in the coming year.

I heard you: more fire alarm, special hazards, site fire protection, and inspection checklists!

Coming from the consulting engineering side, it was also enlightening to talk to folks in the insurance industry and AHJ’s, to hear how they interact with the tools and what sort of learning they are thirsty for. That’s a perspective I haven’t been exposed to very much, so I’m looking forward to continuing those conversations and incorporating those perspectives into courses.

Specifically, we want training on being able to identify equipment in the field.

Most of us can probably remember our first job site visit, and being completely overwhelmed by everything in front of us. I’m looking forward to developing some content that can break down systems, so learners can identify the fundamentals, and those first site visits aren’t so intimidating. 

THE BOOTH!
Pulling back the curtain and seeing the Expo from the vendor side, it was kind of like watching your parents cook dinner or fold laundry.

As a kid you may have taken it for granted that food just appears on the table or the clean clothes magically end up in your drawer, but watching how the sausage is made was pretty amusing.

Even though I was a self-proclaimed booth princess and Erik and Joe did most of the work, I have a lot more appreciation for how these things get put together! Nothing just appears; everything has to be planned well in advance, down to knowing how much power you need for everything in your booth (want to upgrade to 10 amps? Two outlets?).

And you either fly with everything you’ll need, carefully packed with your homemade packing guide so as not to exceed airline weight limits, you buy it there on site, or it’s hauled in from the loading dock (also not free). Either way it’s all set up and ready to go just in time.

Hosting a conference in Las Vegas is a whole industry unto itself. If you ever want a deal on TVs, chairs, or carpet squares, just show up on conference breakdown day! 

​I can also see why they’re so strict with not letting folks into the hall beforehand, there’s such a flurry of activity before and after, you might get run over by a forklift if you’re not careful.

THE CHATS
Other than learning what a rockstar Joe Meyer is (seriously, at some points there would be a line of people waiting to talk), I just really enjoyed talking to people about learning, teaching, and training new staff.

In my experience as a manager, it was something I felt acutely, the challenge of how to train new staff and bring them up to speed quickly.

You start teaching new employees how to space VESDA sampling ports in data centers, but you have to keep backing up and teaching fundamentals of air-aspirating detection, fire alarm systems, and code pathways in order to get there. That’s the great part about what MeyerFire University offers. The focus is teaching those fundamentals, so that the training conversations with your new employees go so much further because you can focus on the things that are specific to what you do.

I’m grateful to have a job where I can contribute to creating industry-wide impact. In the short time since I’ve been here, I’ve been simultaneously impressed with how much work goes into the content, and also how quickly good ideas create a spark and can come  together really quickly. MeyerFire is a pretty lean operation, but when you focus on using your resources, efficiency and skills, it’s amazing what you can accomplish!

I’m happy to be along for the ride, and I look forward to sharing my perspective and helping to bring to life the course roadmap we’ve put together.  

TECHNICAL SESSIONS & FUTURE TOPICS
In addition to representing MeyerFire at the Expo, I was able to attend a few Technical Sessions. I’m always impressed by the industry’s willingness to share new developments for the good of us all.

As a manager, I used to encourage my team to not only attend sessions relevant to our work, but also one “out there” session on something completely new or interesting.

Some of my most memorable sessions have come from these choices, because often, no matter how different the topic, the fundamental challenges are the same.

One of my favorite sessions ever was in San Antonio in 2018, where the fire marshals from Coachella and Burning Man led a panel discussion about fire safety issues at large festivals. No kidding!

And you know what it all boiled down to?

Open and honest communication between AHJs and the public to come together and meet the goals of the attendees and manage risk.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Outcomes are much more positive when the stakeholders communicate honestly with each other about what they’re trying to achieve.

And as a recovering design consultant for mission-critical facilities, I always attend every session I can on data centers and energy storage systems, and there was no lack of those this year.

There are new challenges in mission-critical facilities as the world adopts AI. Data centers with AI computing have increased power density and are adopting liquid cooling strategies, so I am interested in how this impacts fire protection system design strategies. I’m also eager to see where we go as an industry to protect against the explosion hazards presented by lithium-ion batteries.

More on that in the future, I’m currently working on my next course, which will get deeper into energy storage system requirements.

LET'S CONNECT
If we didn’t get the chance to connect at the NFPA C&E, I’d love to hear from you! Connect with me on LinkedIn or shoot us a note here in the comments below.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay safe, and always check your worksets!

- Jocelyn

Are you going to be in Austin this week for the 2023 North American Sprinkler Expo & NFSA Annual Seminar?

If so - check us out!

Joe is speaking on Wednesday, May 3rd at 1:00 pm in the Lonestar Room A (sidenote: what could sound more Texas?) on "Design Efficiently: Lessons from a 2-Year Self-Study on Time Management in Fire Sprinkler Design".

It'll be a one-hour talk on how to rethink time-management specifically within the fire protection industry. I'll share ways to get your time back and be more effective in your role today. If that sounds grandiose - well it is - except that we have the data to back it up:

​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!

Awhile back I researched and built a translator for various versions of NFPA 13.

It's built to quickly find where a code section has migrated between different editions of the standard. There's a free version here which connects the 2016 and the 2019 Editions of NFPA 13.

Based on feedback and the positive response to that tool, I've just finished a similar edition translator for all of the published versions of the International Building Code. It covers Chapters 1 through 11, 15 and 30. Here's a quick video of how it works:

If you're interested in giving this a try, you can get it as part of a 30-day trial for the MeyerFire Toolkit here. https://www.meyerfire.com/toolkit-trial.html. 

It's been busy around here tinkering with new tools since I went on my own in October of 2019. I am not by nature a programmer, but as the son of two accountants I'm pretty sure Microsoft Excel is just in my blood.

I've gotten lots of positive feedback from users on the Toolkit and I'm happy to announce this week some major improvements aside from the new IBC translator:

1. A La Carte Tools Coming
Some users aren't designers or engineers and would only use one or two tools. I get it. In the next couple weeks I'll be breaking out individual tools and pricing them for less, separately. The first one offered this way is the Water Supply Analysis tool that will be up this week.

2. Instant Activation Codes
One of the biggest frustrations I've had on the development side is with quirky activation code servers. They drive me nuts. Over the past month I've dramatically simplified the process, so that new purchases automatically get clear activation codes exactly 2 minutes after their purchase. Clean and simple and it's working much better than before.

3. Toolkit Going to $195 in February
With over a half-dozen new tools, the price of the Toolkit is going up to $195 starting in February. If you're interested but haven't bought yet, pick up a license now and you'll lock in your $150 subscription. 

4. New Licenses Are Multi-Device & Sharable with Coworkers
Lastly, based on the biggest piece of feedback I've gotten, with the $195 price-bump starting in February a single license will allow multiple installs, so that you can use on multiple devices and with members of your company.

If you have a design staff with multiple users, it only makes sense that you're able to use and share files with coworkers.

If you have a single-user license now and want to upgrade, shoot me an email at [email protected] and we'll get the upgrade set up. Should you want to learn more about the Toolkit, you can do so here.

Hope you have a great rest of your week!

Some big news on the MeyerFire front –

With the growth of the community here at meyerfire.com, I’ll be transitioning next week to support this venture full-time and begin my own design practice.

This is a very big and exciting step for me, and I cannot express how thankful I am to have you be a part of the community here. It is because of your support and interest that’s made this possible.

This week’s quick post is a collection of Q&As that I’ve gotten recently that I’m happy to share.

What’s different now?

Two big developments have come through in the last couple months.

You may have noticed the website sponsorships that started in September. There is a good handful of interested organizations that serve the same audience and want to support our efforts at MeyerFire. Sharing their message has helped open up time I can contribute to site resources. I'd encourage you to click sponsor's messages as I both vet and have personal connections with each sponsor organization.

The second big development is still in the works. It involves a major publication with a renowned fire sprinkler organization. I’ll be sure to relay information in time, but for now I’m excited to partner with an expert group and help bring more resources to the industry. This should be a complete volume by the middle of next year.

Will the website change?

Since July I’ve spent about 8 hours a week on the site. That includes developing content, writing for the blog, developing tools, helping Toolkit users, and supporting PE Examinees. This shift to full-time independence will open the potential to increase support for all these things. My hope is that you’ll continue to get better content and more useful tools with every new post.

So this whole website thing is a lead-magnet for your design practice?

Nope. MeyerFire.com will stay and keep the name and continue on where it is.

I’ll continue to design because it’s what I love to do and it keeps me firmly entrenched in the industry’s hot issues. While it will launch this upcoming Monday the 21st, the new website for the design side of things will be www.MeyerFPE.com. My intent is to focus in on only a few specific small-business clients and support them extremely well. It’s also not my intent to hire any employees (see last week’s I’m terrible at management article). Of course business is fluid and change is constant, but that’s my initial intent.

So How Much You Makin’ Off This-Here Website?

When I started writing regularly about two years ago, I had about twenty subscribers. I would guess half of them had my last name. If I looked I would have bet three of them were just different emails my mom used.

Since then (due to your support and sharing posts on LinkedIn & Facebook), the number of subscribers has grown dramatically. Those first few months in 2017 I was over the moon when three new people subscribed on the month. Now, somedays, there will be a dozen or so new interested professionals each day. It’s never about how many people tune in but about the impact of sharing best practices. The growth is well on the up and up and the distribution now approaches that of some of the leading fire protection organizations. You’ve made that possible and I can’t thank you enough for it.

So money - the three revenue sources, if you will, are website sponsorships, PE Exam Prep content, and the Toolkit software package. The site sponsorships have just kicked off in September and have lots of interest. The PE Prep Guide is now technically the bestselling Fire Protection PE Exam book on the market, and there are now over 200 active MeyerFire Toolkit users.

All of this combined still doesn’t make up a full-time income, but the impact that the combined effort is having has been incredibly positive. Not pursuing these in greater capacity would be something I’d otherwise live to regret.

A Few Notes

The transition to full time developer is a big step and a big transition for me and my family. It’s not without a lot of thought, nervousness, and a lot of excitement. Of course this is all really the beginning, but there are several people I’d like to thank just making it to this point.

I’d like to thank the incredible team at SSC Engineering in St. Louis. They have a supportive and sharp group and I am so fortunate to have learned under the best these past few years. If you’re ever in the market for MEP, FP, or Structural design services, I would recommend the crew wholeheartedly.

I’d like to thank some bigtime supporters and mentors for me. Far too many people to name, but those that have really stood out over the years are Mike Auld, Drew Robinson, Adam Hilton, Cindy Gier, Jeff Dunkel, Chris Cornett, Angie Grant, David Stacy, Aaron Johnson, Ed Long, and Mike Lonigro. You all rock.

I'd also like to thank YOU for being a part of this community and being an advocate for better fire protection. I’m excited about what we’re going to build together.

This week’s 2019 NFPA Conference and Expo in San Antonio is the first professional conference I have attended. I couldn’t have imagined how positive and productive just three days here would be.

A special shout-out and thank you to Engineered Corrosion Solutions (ECS) for offering to host me in booth 460 and for all the encouragement and support along the way. Last year they offered to carve out a space in their both for me to set up shop, and I greatly appreciate that opportunity!

As a complete rookie to the conference experience, here are my top takeaways from attending my first one:
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1. I'm Fortunate to be in the PE Space
In the first two days alone I’ve met a good handful of people that stopped by to talk about their PE experience and share feedback from buying the prep guide or online prep series questions. All of the interactions were overwhelmingly positive.

I genuinely relish these experiences – it’s one thing to know fundamentally that the prep guide and online resources are helpful, but it’s a humbling experience to shake hands with people who’ve tried 4 times to pass and didn’t until they went all in with the prep material I’ve helped curate.

Those that pass can attest passing is all about time and intentional focus, and it's all in the individual taking the test. There's no material that can pass a test for someone, but I'm so thrilled every time to hear from those that have succeeded and am happy to help however I can.

It’s hard to say how much I appreciate those of you that I’ve met this week that stopped in to share your experience. I really do enjoy celebrating your success and accomplishment.

​2. It's a Great Opportunity to See Former Colleagues
Conferences like these are great ways to pull together people from all over the country (and world). Catching up with former friends as well as my former boss is time well spent re-connecting. 

3. Alumni networks are alive and well
Speaking of reconnecting – for those who studied fire protection at Oklahoma State, WPI, or Maryland – the conference is a great meeting ground to connect with other major players in the industry. I attended the University of Maryland’s top-secret and exclusive dinner for the first time and met some fun, fascinating and really outstanding people. I’m not allowed to talk about the sacrificed animals or secret handshake to get into the dinner, but if you ever get a chance to attend one of your alumni meetups I’d very much encourage you to do so.

4. The Fire Protection Ecosystem
The main theme of the conference has been the improvement of fire protection and life safety through the ecosystem – essentially each person within industry plays to different roles and certainly has different strengths.

“The more connected we are, the more effective we’ll be at protecting the world together.” - Keith Williams, UL President and CEO and Trustee, NFPA Board of Directors.

The emphasis is that the better connected we are and the better we understand our strengths and our roles – the better we’ll be able to move the industry forward as a whole. While a fairly high-level concept, I’ve thought about this a lot and the website and emphasis on access and sharing of knowledge is exactly where I feel I can help support this effort.

5. Developing Platforms for the Right Knowledge at the Right Time
One of the fundamental questions about the Ecosystem is how do we create the platforms that foster getting the right knowledge at the right time, in the right environment. In the NFPA-lens I’m sure that discussion is about availability of standards and how that’s developed, marketed, and distributed.

In a similar sense that’s exactly what I’ve concerned myself with over the past few years. We know that the generation who’s grown up with google (and didn’t have to wait for Jeeves to answer everything) desire and are often better at grabbing information instantaneously. What are those platforms that can help foster quality information in real time? It’s an open-ended question but it’s something that I’ve heard through many organizations that are looking to help transition information for the new way the industry works.

6. Chris Logan is One Cool Dude
As a parent of young kids we read these books on “Pete the Cat”. If you’ve ever read them you’ve probably wondered like me what 7th grader is now a millionaire by writing and illustrating these books about a savvy and all around groovy cat named Pete. I don’t understand how they’re popular, but my 2-year old and 4-year old love them and of course Pete is one top cat in a world of dogs.

Back to the topic at hand – I think of Chris Logan as a real life version of Pete the Cat. If you don’t know, Chris created the Fire Sprinkler Podcast out of Ontario less than a year ago and it has really become a major success. I was very fortunate to grab drinks with him at the conference and he described exactly my feelings about the industry our impact – we’re not the expert but we are happy to bring together quality people in the industry to at least start the conversation.

If you haven’t tuned in to some of his podcasts, you might consider it. I see Chris’ trajectory with his podcast project as becoming a very big deal (even more-so than it already is) in the coming years.

7. Lots of Great Things Coming
Without being too shady, there are a lot of projects I’m excited to work on with the website and in collaboration with some organizations that could happen in the very near future.

​While some of these concepts we discussed for just the first time, I’m optimistic that there are very good things in store that can have a relevant and positive impact for you and I. Thanks for reading and taking part in the journey!

​If you'll be in San Antonio next week, be sure to stop by and say hi at booth 460. Would be happy to meet you in person! Drop me a note here or an email and let me know!

Unless you're tuned in as an AHJ yourself, you've likely made a few "code calls" to a code authority and asked a litany of questions to make sure your project's design meets the local requirements.

I'm not even sure if the term "code call" is a common term, but I've heard it enough that I suspect you already know what I'm talking about regardless of where you call home.

I enjoy this process now, but I didn't always. Fresh out of school I'm pretty sure I was visibly shaking the time I first made a code call. I was sure that within seconds my cover would be blown and it would be all too obvious that I had no idea what I was talking about. Despite my awkwardness (I make a good engineer, right??) nothing went sour and since then I've slowly learned and repeated many many times.

There was even one of my favorite code calls that I made about an elementary school to coordinate local fire alarm requirements. It was only right after the call late on a Friday afternoon that I found out that the fire marshal I just spoke with was hired onto our team and was starting the following Monday. They say fire protection is a small world, right? He turned out to be one of the most knowledgeable people I know and one of my favorite people to work alongside. 

The Joys & Pains of Code Calls

Code calls also come in many different flavors.

Sometimes I'm just shocked by how friendly and helpful code authorities are. I once made a call at 15 minutes till 5pm on a Friday to a small town in Arkansas, thinking I would just leave a voicemail. After my questions, I asked if the department conducted flow tests, and while he said they did, he apologized that because of a prior commitment he couldn't do it then but would be happy to do it first thing Monday morning. I almost fell out of my chair. Very helpful and caring people in this field.

On the contrary, sometimes the hardest part about a code call is just finding the right person to speak with who is actually responsible for plan review of fire protection systems and getting a few minutes of their time. Not to pick on New York City because I love the people there and speak with a handful of you regularly, but if you're trying to get a hold of someone to verify or coordinate a few particulars of your system... well... good luck! Maybe it's because they knew I can't stand the Yankees.

I also sometimes get AHJs who simply say all they do is 'per code' and they aren't interested in talking specifics. The whole point of the call is filling in the gaps where a code or standard does not direct but rather defers decisions to the AHJ.

Want a siamese fire department connection with national thread, or a Storz-type? Either way is code compliant. As an engineer I can make either way work.

Is a wall-mounted FDC permissible, or does it need to be freestanding? Either location is compliant, but NFPA 13 says the location needs to be coordinated with the AHJ. 

The Cheatsheet

What I've gathered and refined over hundreds of code calls is my cheatsheet I currently use today. Just like the design cheatsheet, if you're using the Toolkit you can quickly highlight categories for your record keeping.

What's even better about this tool, though, is that you can quickly fill in the content (while on the call) and then right after save as a PDF and email to the AHJ themselves. Want them to have a record of the call and a quick way to verify your notes? Great! You now have a logged code call and the AHJ has an opportunity to review your notes.

The process of calling, taking notes, and composing the email used to take close to an hour total. This tool alone brings that total time to about 15-20 minutes. That's three-quarters of an hour you could save on every job you make the call! 

A Radical Big-Picture Concept

One of my longer big-picture ideas to help the industry is to beta test and, if successful, open up a larger code-call database. I envision this as a database that brings designers and code authorities together to make local requirements clear and help jurisdictions get installations that reflect their preferences and mandates.

Want to know what hydraulic safety factor is required for sprinkler systems in Springfield, Illinois? Great - a quick query in the database reveals that and a clean list of other local requirements. 

Want to know what type and location for FDC's that Tucson, Arizona requires? Great, we'd have that too.

This would clearly have a huge value for designers and engineers - but what I'm really curious about is how to incentivize code authorities to take the survey or help us populate the database. If you're an AHJ, email me ([email protected]) or comment below about whether you'd be open to the idea of making your local requirements public in a database. 

I would have to think that AHJ input would only help local authorities get installations that match their needs - but I also know that getting action out of anyone is only possible with mutual benefit and sometimes incentives.

Just like the Design Cheatsheet posted a couple weeks ago, this form is integrated into the updated version of the MeyerFire Toolkit ready for download today. Below is a blank and filled-in template.

​If you're already a Toolkit user, you can download the code call cheatsheet today by logging in here. If you're not using the Toolkit, you might consider joining in on what's quickly becoming what some consider the best tool for fire sprinkler design for $500. See more about it here.

The Questions on My List

The current code call checklist I use today has had items added and scratched over years of finding out what's important and what questions always get the same answers. 

​That being said, there's no real one defined list that matches everyone's preferences. What questions do you ask that you feel are important to the design that's not explicit in code? Comment below.

Join the Cause

​Our line of work in helping save lives and property is extremely important, but you already know that. This site is built to help you excel in fire protection. If you're not already subscribed to these free weekly resources & articles, you can do so here for free.

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you might already know about the Toolkit that has really taken off lately. This past week I've incorporated some (great) user feedback and now have a new version to present:

I've revamped the organization and it's FAR easier to navigate and use now.

With a new main menu and crisp pages the Toolkit is FAR easier to navigate. Now you can get what you need, quickly.

If you're already a subscriber to the Toolkit, use the download link below to get the latest version right now. No need for any new access codes - it just updates the Toolkit right over your current version.

​What is the Toolkit, and what does it include?

The MeyerFire Toolkit is a downloadable series of excel-based tools that allow fire protection designers, engineers and code authorities to quickly calculate a myriad of regular applications. With this tool you can save time with quick but powerful tools that you can save, PDF, or print.

The Toolkit contains all of the tools you see on this website - plus the popular Fire Sprinkler Database - which is a live collection of all fire sprinklers on the market where you can sort and filter to see what products exist for your application, and then specify or design the ones that best match your design goals.

What's Next?

There's a few new additions to the Toolkit I hope to debut in the next couple weeks based on suggestions from users just like you. If you're an expert in fire flow calculations or water storage tank design and are interested in early testing, email me at [email protected]. 

Subscribe

If you know someone who might be interested in giving the Toolkit a try, email them about downloading it today. As always, you can subscribe to these weekly articles & resources here.