Fire Protection Playbook

For the last several years I have made the nearly 2 hour pilgrimage to the closest Orr Protection Seminar that I could find. Why do I make this trip? Because the value this training provides is worth it.

These four hour fire protection seminars are packed with useful information on fire protection and detection systems. This years topics continued to raise the bar from previous years.  The theme of this years seminar series is Fire Protection Playbook.

The #2018SeminarSeries provides a playbook to help fire protection professionals, AHJ’s, and facility managers better understand the essential elements of fire protection and life safety systems.  A special emphasis is placed on inspection/testing/maintenance (ITM) of these systems.  Some of the systems covered include fire sprinkler systems, water mist systems, clean agent systems, fire extinguishers, air sampling, and fire alarm systems. There are opportunities for hands-on demonstrations for fire protection products and service tools. Design guidance to lower maintenance costs and improve serviceability is also provided.

At the end of the main seminar presentation is a “Q and A” panel session with the experts.  Audience questions are submitted and the panel of experts provides answers and solutions to the questions posed.

Every Orr Protection seminar series includes a bonus session. This year’s session is very timely, as it relates to the hot topic of commissioning and integrated systems testing. The presenter, Lee Kaiser, presents an overview of the commissioning process and provides and in-depth explanation of the correct sequence of operation for integrated systems testing.

If your attending the seminar be sure to use #2018SeminarSeries and #FireProtection tags so we can all follow along!

Fire Protection for Mission Critical Facilities w/ ORR Protection Systems

Interview with Lee Kaiser, VP of Engineering, ORR Protection Systems

Tell us about yourself.

I am a fire protection engineer and Vice President of Engineering for ORR Protection Systems. I fit the definition of a “fire nerd.” I grew up in a firefighting family that volunteered in their community and was a “chief’s kid.”  My father’s day job was running a hardware store, which I worked in, and that gave me lots of opportunities to develop mechanical aptitude and electrical skills. I went to Iowa State University and majored in Construction Engineering. I first worked as a mechanical engineer for a consulting engineering firm and started to specialize in fire protection systems. That interest leads me to ORR where I’m finally able to focus on special hazards fire protection systems, which is a passion I didn’t know I had until it found me.

How did you get into this career field? What attracted you to this?

In my mechanical engineering career, we had three areas of design responsibility: HVAC, Plumbing, and Fire Protection.  At the time I volunteered for my local fire department (and still do) and the leadership at the engineering firm assumed I would like getting assigned projects with more intense fire protection needs (they were right).  I started picking up more and more projects with smoke control, clean agent systems, and foam systems and eventually I tested for a fire protection engineering license after already having a mechanical engineering license.  I’ve always taken a construction-oriented approach to fire protection systems and working for ORR allows me to continue with that angle.

Tell us about ORR Protection Systems who they are and what they offer.

ORR Protection Systems is a provider of special hazards and fire alarm systems as well as a full-service provider of fire protection system inspection testing and maintenance.  We specialize in mission critical facilities and power generation plants, but we have customers in all markets. We have a strong national business and provide services for many large companies that choose to consolidate their fire protection needs with one provider for convenience and consistent quality.

What does “mission critical” mean? What is a “mission critical” facility?

In the traditional sense mission critical means data centers and telecommunications facilities that must operate with high reliability and minimal downtime. We feel that definition extends to lots of other facilities that have a high cost of downtime or perform a function critical to their business or the public. With that mindset, many of our customers value their fire protection systems and voluntarily choose higher levels of protection that exceed the minimum levels required by building codes.

What are some fire protection/life safety consideration for data centers that are different for other occupancy types?

Like any building or room, data centers cannot tolerate a large fire, but it’s the information technology equipment in a data center that is sensitive even to small fires or smoke events.  It is the ripple effects that a lost or interrupted computer process has on public safety, critical services, or economic loss away from the room the fire occurs in that makes data centers unique. Our society’s reliance on technology, in one way or another, originates in a data center and that makes them worthy of higher levels of fire protection.

What codes and standards apply to data centers?

NFPA 75 is an occupancy standard for information technology equipment rooms (data centers). It’s the primary standard, but it references several others where it borrows concepts for protection, including NFPA 76, the National Fire Alarm and Signalling Code, and the National Electrical Code.  

How do these apply?

NFPA 75 is a voluntary standard. The choice to follow the requirements in NFPA 75 is made after performing a risk analysis of the data center room or facility.  There are seven risk factors listed in the standard that help determine if it should be followed.

Have you been involved with and/or can you comment on the NFPA Research Foundations Data Center Project?

The Fire Protection Research Foundation has conducted a two-phase project on smoke detection in high airflow spaces and has completed phase one of a two-phase project on the use of gaseous suppression systems in high airflow spaces. Phase two is planned for late 2017 and 2018 and is in the fundraising stage. ORR has contributed time on a technical panel and financial resources as a principal sponsor for some of these. We feel this research is beneficial for our customers and are happy now that research from the detection project has now made it into NFPA 75.    

What do you see for the future of data center protection and design?

I think that designers plans for data centers are very creative and different. I think there will be the continued growth of modularity and data centers will be designed to grow in building blocks, such as the use of containerized data center buildings.  I also think the computing power packed into smaller and smaller footprints will force operators to consider advanced fire protection systems like clean agent systems and air sampling detectors because a single thermal event localized in one area of a room can affect so much processing output.  I also believe that it will make it more cost-justified because the more expensive fire protection approaches can protect much more financial revenue being generated by the high-density computing equipment.

I expect liquid-cooled servers will be more popular in the future and manufacturers will choose combustible oils as the cooling fluid. The oil, similar to mineral oil, is a combustible liquid and that will necessitate a change in the fire protection approach because combustible liquids have really never been a part of IT equipment rooms before.

In regard to data centers what is the most important information for the following groups:

• firefighters responding to emergencies in these facilities, should know to power down electrical equipment and when it is appropriate to do so. Can power be shut down for just the affected portion of the facility? The best way to figure this out is to have a meeting with the data center facility engineers and work it out ahead of time.
• facility managers and building owners responsible for these facilities, should understand how to operate the fire protection systems they have in place, how to train their employees and contractors to interact with them, and what not to do to cause false alarms or accidental discharges of a suppression system. Facility managers need to have written procedures for their systems and contractors servicing those systems should be able to help provide them if there are none.
• fire inspectors and plans examiners that are reviewing these occupancies, should know whether NFPA 75 has been applied or not, and the installation standards for the chosen fire protection systems. Most buildings are not data centers and the specialized systems that get installed can be rare in some jurisdictions. It is really great when a fire inspection department is big enough they can turn one person into the “special hazards” guy and he can review all those systems.

Do you have any recommended resources for further study?

I have learned a lot from reading manufacturer white pages and from the Fire Suppression Systems Association resources.  The special hazards industry is small and much of the institutional knowledge that gets handed down to the next generation is documented through the FSSA and certain manufacturers.  

#FireProtection: Technologies Impacting the Future

Every industry seems to have an abundance of conferences, events, and educational opportunities. Deciding which ones to attend and which ones will provide the greatest value, can  present a real challenge when planning out your year.  As I plan ahead, I choose my conferences and events based on three priorities:  lesson, leader, location.

• Lesson - What is the training topic? Is it something I am interested in? Is it a topic that immediately concerns my organization?
• Leader - Who is the instructor, presenter, or speaker?  Is it an expert in the field? Is it a famous personality that I have wanted to hear?
• Location - Is it local (convenient for small travel budgets)? Is it exotic (Las Vegas, Miami, New York)?  What other activities are there (all work or some fun)?

From these priorities I can easily select the handful (2 or 3) of conferences that will be most beneficial, economical, and valuable. Every year the event that quickly rises to the top, that most effectively meets these three criteria, is the “Training With the Experts Seminar Series” sponsored by Orr Protection Systems.

The lesson and training content is always timely and of great value. This years topic is “Trending Now! #FireProtection Technologies Impacting the Future”.  This topic will explore developing technology in fire protection and how it will impact the facilities that we work in and with.  Some of the technologies to be discussed include: smart devices and apps, selecting voice evacuation/mass notification systems, data center design considerations, and new developments in clean agent, water mist, and air sampling technologies.  Additionally, there is always a “bonus session” which offer just as much value as the main session.  This years bonus session will be on, “Causes and Cures for False Alarms”.

Orr Protection Systems is the leader in mission critical fire protection systems.  The expert presenter is Lee Kaiser, Engineering Manager for ORR. Lee, has a personality that is instantly likable.  With Lee at the helm one can trust that the information will be presented in an entertaining and informative manner, without the use of engineering terms and gobbledygook.  Lee has a presentation style that effectively engages the mixed audience of facility managers, architects, engineers, inspectors, public fire service personnel, and AHJ's.

The location can’t be beat! From San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix to Philadelphia, and in between, this “Training With the Experts Seminar Series” is coming to an area that is local and easy to get to. Click here to see all the locations!

Having attended this event in the past, and looking forward to attending in the future, there is no other conference that offers as much value for the investment as this!  I highly recommend this to anyone within the facilities management, contracting/design, fire protection, or public service sectors.

Register for, Trending Now! #FireProtection Technologies Impacting the Future

Become a Fire Protection Champion

This week I had the privilege of attending an ORR Protection Systems "Training with the Experts" seminar.  The theme is Become a Fire Protection Champion: Carry the Torch of Life Safety: Inspecting, Testing, and Designing for Serviceability.  This seminar is four hours packed with useful information and valuable resources. 

The expert presenter is Lee Kaiser, Engineering Manager for ORR, he has a personality that is instantly likable.  He presented the information in an entertaining and informative manner, without the use of engineering terms and gobbledygook.  His presentation style adequately engages the mixed audience of facility managers, architects, engineers, inspectors, public fire service personnel, and AHJ's.

The seminar very adequately accomplished its stated goal of helping "you understand the essential elements of your life safety fire systems, the current NFPA code changes you need to know, and what is required for inspection, testing, and maintenance to keep your facilities in compliance."

This seminars objectives are:

• Learn the key elements for Inspection, Testing & Maintenance of sprinkler, fire alarm, and suppression systems.
• Discover how to avoid the biggest fire system design problems that can cause maintenance nightmares for facility managers.
• Learn how to react properly to fire panel alarms, as well as supervisory and trouble signals.
• Learn what the NFPA code requires for building compliance.

Especially beneficial, for me, was their bonus session.  The bonus session is all about air sampling smoke detection and VESDA systems.  These are systems that many jurisdictions and AHJ's, myself included, do not get much experience with.   So, it was very helpful to get an overview of these systems and obtain an understanding of how they work.

This seminar is traveling the country through May.  They are coming to a city near you!  Click the link below for dates and to register!

REGISTER for "Training With the Experts"