Members present: Herb Canon, Randy Knighton, Roger White, Herb Schairbaum, Chris Johnson, Bill Cunningham, Mark Hoyt, Mike Fitz & Ron Greenman.
Once again the winter meeting was small and so we had a very enjoyable social evening. One big topic was the move of AFSA’s Headquarters to a new location. The new info for those of you that haven’t gotten the word yet is:
AFSA Winter 2007 Meeting
Members present: Herb Canon, Randy Knighton, Roger White, Herb Schairbaum, Chris Johnson, Bill Cunningham, Mark Hoyt, Mike Fitz & Ron Greenman.
Once again the winter meeting was small and so we had a very enjoyable social evening. One big topic was the move of AFSA’s Headquarters to a new location. The new info for those of you that haven’t gotten the word yet is:
American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Drive, Suite 350
Dallas, TX 75251
Phone: 214 349 5965 / Fax: 214 343 8898
Office Hours: M – F; 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central
The nightclub retrofit legislation was brought up. At this time it appears that the requirement to have the work done will be extended from 12/1/07 to 12/1/09 with changes to language that better define what a nightclub is. Given the current work climate the consensus was that this extension wasn’t such a bad idea. Nobody seemed too interested about a big push from nightclub owners at the eleventh hour. From having attended an NFSA meeting or two I can say that the opinion of that organization’s membership is the same.
Another topic was the high cost and disparity in pricing for residential sprinkler connections to the public supply. As you know this can run from no extra cost, to the difference in actual cost between a small meter and a larger one to, as is the case in Bellingham, $16,000.00 justified by increased impact to the distribution system. For those of you that attended the State Fire Marshal’s Forum last week this was the main panel topic. What I saw there were water purveyors that didn’t understand that residential fire sprinklers actually reduced the impact to their systems. Shawn Shepherd from Kitsap Fire District 7 (hope I got that right Shawn) came prepared with information that showed that system wide residential sprinklers could decrease the purveyors’ need for water resources development by up to 75%. Now to get that info to the 16,000 water purveyors of Washington. Maybe that’s how Bellingham sets their fees—a dollar per purveyor.
Other forum topics consisted of an open mike where AHJs and contractors could verbalize their concerns. This will hopefully elicit dialogue on the topics broached. The one that caught my attention was the ongoing question about qualifications for plans examiners vis-à-vis designers (oops!—layout technicians). This is particularly dear to me since I am NICET and State certified, I do training and I represent AFSA on the NFPA 1031 (Professional Qualifications for Fire Inspector and Plans Examiner) Committee.
We talked about the likelihood of main drain run-off capture becoming a reality in Washington. The consensus was that it’s only a matter of time. From what I’ve heard this is already a requirement in California. The logic behind this is anybody’s guess but as you already know it’s OK for the rain to wash all the dirt, rubber dust, oil, and other debris that ends up on the roads down the storm sewers but once again that horrible sprinkler water, run for a few minutes every quarter or year (depending on what standard is being enforced) will destroy the oceans. You’d think we were as evil as the organization that spent years burying toxins and radioactive materials in the Columbia Basin Watershed.
Finally, and the biggest of all: Once again there is a bill (HB 1968) in the state legislature for fitter licensing. If you want to see the history of this bill go to:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1968&year=2007
I’ve attached a copy of the substitute bill (changes made by the legislature to the original proposal) as it went to the rules committee to the electronic distribution of this newsletter. I’ll try to post a link on our website but I’m not too good with this sort of thing:
The next meeting will be on:
Tuesday May 8, 2007
6:30 PM
13 Coins
SeaTac
That’s it for now. See you in May.
AFSA Pacific Northwest Chapter 