British Columbia Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers

The provincial push for exploration and development of natural gas in British Columbia requires significant investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG).  The hazards of liquefied natural gas are well documented but the extraction, processing and storage hazards as well as fire prevention and fire protection of LNG facilities require careful analysis and engineering judgement.

Don Delcourt of Jensen Hughes Consulting Canada will present an overview of Liquefied Natural Gas plants, LNG properties, LNG plant hazards, fire & explosion risks and typical mitigation measures.  He was involved in a three year project with BC Hydro to determine the fire & explosion risks, and major fire protection upgrades to the Tilbury Island LNG plant before it was sold to BC Gas/Terasen/FortisBC's.  Don will also provide lessons learned on our current approach to risk assessment and deterministic gas  modeling.

Come to Montreal to learn and network during the presentation of this world class course.

Summary

The first day seminar identifies and characterizes the fire hazards in demanding industrial occupancies varies widely and presents quite a challenge for specifying, insuring or approving fire professionals. Participants will gain a perspective and understanding of useful fire protection options from Fire Suppression Systems Association experts.
This intensive seminar will not only help you to understand the application of NFPA Standards but also how to transpose this knowledge, on your own, so that you can compare it to the requirements of others codes from NFC (National Fire Code of Canada) as applicable in Quebec and other areas of Canada to new or existing installations. The seminar material will be of assistance in your future projects as reference material.

Jack Mawhinney, P. Eng., FSFPE, will provide a retrospective of his nearly 50-year career in fire protection in Canada and the United States.  Between 1965 and 2015, Jack’s career included 19 years in fire protection contracting in B. C., five years as technical advisor to the fire code committees at IRC in Ottawa, six years as a Senior Research Officer at the National Fire Laboratory in Ottawa, and 19 years in the U.S. as a senior engineer involved in fire testing of suppression systems and forensic analysis as an expert witness.  Mr. Mawhinney will reflect on the people, opportunities and personal decisions involved in the evolution of an interesting career in fire protection engineering.

This will be a rare opportunity to attend a presentation from an internationally renowned fire protection engineer, speaking on a variety of subjects.

Date: January 26, 2016
Time: Registration and Reception 5:30pm 
Location: Langara Golf Club (6706 Alberta St, Vancouver) 
Cost: Members - $30; Non-members $35. Please bring cash or a cheque payable to BC Society of Fire Protection Engineers to cover the cost of dinner.
Registration Deadline: January 22, 2016

The development of more sophisticated networks for fire alarm and

communications systems may have widened the gap between the manufacturer

and the electrical engineer/fire protection engineer responsible for defining the

project requirements and articulating this is the design and specifications. The

complexity of codes and standards also makes this an increasing challenge for manufacturers, engineers and authorities.

Donald Brown has spent the last 30 years in the fire alarm industry. He worked his

way up through the technical side of various fire alarm companies including

Edwards and Siemens.

He was has acted as the Branch Sales manager for Siemens and is now in Siemens

Control Products and Systems in the position of Western Canadian Territory

Manager. Don is a founding member of the Canadian Fire Alarm Association BC

Chapter and is currently the CFAA secretary in BC.

The assessment of fire risk in municipalities and grading of public fire protection services have a long history in Canada and the USA. Towns and cities are mapped and assessed in terms of their impact on fire risk on behalf of the Canadian insurance community. The actual fire risk reflects the relationship of risks and how spatial separation, construction and other factors manifest themselves at the block level and beyond. The aim is quantify the degree to which the public fire protection resources would be effective in controlling fully involved structure fires and conflagrations..

The various factors considered in developing the grading/classification of infrastructure and related services have evolved to address development in outlying areas, the provision of sprinklers -to offset the distribution of fire halls- seismic risk and other factors. The assessment of water supplies in various jurisdictions is relatively complex and may not be fully understood by those fire protection engineers more focussed on individual construction projects.

The understanding of municipal fire strategies is important as it provides a context for other measures such as building regulations, sprinkler system water supplies and fire risk control in individual properties including risks with private supplies.

Michael Currie of Fire Underwriters Survey will address how municipal risks are changing and how the fire department, water supplies and other aspects of the grading system have evolved to reflect the needs in 2015.

Speaker

After joining the IAO in 1999, Michael worked with the BC Ministry of Finance Universities, Colleges and Institutes Protection Program (UCIPP) as well as the Schools Protection Program (SPP) and the Canadian University Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE) programs.  In 2002 Michael began evaluating municipal jurisdictions for their fire risk and public fire protection programs.  After the IAO group of companies was purchased by CGI, Michael worked on the development of a new digital model of fire insurance grading.  Now the National Technical Director, Michael continues to be the architect of the new, digital Canadian Fire Insurance Grading Index.

Date: November 10, 2015
Time: Registration and Reception 5:30pm

Location: Langara Golf Clubhouse, 6706 Alberta St, Vancouver, BC
Cost: Members - $30; Non-members $35. Please bring cash or a cheque payable to BC Society of Fire Protection Engineers to cover the cost of dinner. 
Registration Deadline: November 6, 2015