Welcome to the Web page for the British Columbia Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. This webpage is for members of the chapter and for those interested in fire protection engineering in British Columbia.
Nicole Testa Boston C.E.O. of SFPE is visiting Vancouver as part of her mandate as CEO of SFPE's national body. Part of her work is visiting existing and new Chapters in the SFPE network. This is the first visit from a CEO since Peter Lund- then Executive Director- visited the Chapter back in the 1980s.
SFPE is reaching out to meet the burgeoning demands for international skills and expertise in fire protection engineering.
Over the last 80 years, prescriptive height and area limitations have remained relatively unchanged in North American building codes while technological advances and fire service capabilities have improved considerably. Through an examination of historical code development and identification of the risk factors on which codes are based, we can set the stage for a re-examination of public perception with regard to combustible construction.
The risk of involvement of cladding in non-combustible construction has long been an issue culminating in the advent of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS) in the 1980s and 90s. The development of the CAN ULC S- 134 test method for use in non-combustible construction enabled representation of the typical scale of exterior fires and is generally indicative of the potential hazard arising from cladding in non-combustible construction.
Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid Fixed Extinguishing Systems for property protection, fire and life safety.
The protection of special hazards has long utilised various clean agents that will suppress and control the fire while significantly reducing equipment damage.
Since the phasing out of halon extinguishing systems due to environment and ozone depletion issues, various clean agent with limited ozone depletion potential have been developed.
The Canadian model building code (NBCC) has provision forcompliance using Alternative Solutions that achieve a level of performance required by comparison to Acceptable Solutions. The level of performance is defined by Objectives statements which are specified in terms of minimising the PROBABILITY of risk exposure that the design and construction of the building would pose to occupants (and in some situations properties) in or adjacent to the building in case of emergency.
