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Creative Ideas Help Foster Awareness and Acceptance In 2015, a Maryland delegate introduced legislation to weaken the statewide requirement to fire sprinkler Maryland’s new homes. Knowing this technology can significantly reduce fire deaths and injuries at home, the fire service there immediately cringed. Word of the bill spread, as did …

Spotlight: Susan Schierwagen, Vice President for Coupling & Fire Suppression Systems at Victaulic Friday, June 23, 2017 is International Women in Engineering Day, a day that according to the Women’s Engineering Society “focuses attention on the amazing careers in engineering and technical roles for girls, and allows us to celebrate …

Research Continues on Larger Sizes The invent of early suppression fast response (ESFR) sprinkler in the 1980s revolutionized storage fire protection. No longer were rack sprinklers needed to protect high heat release rate commodities stored within tall racks. In addition, the ESFR sprinkler provides adequate protection for a range of …

Training Helps Students Succeed and Companies Grow Are you looking to grow your business? Do you have employees seeking advancement opportunities within your company? Do you believe in the value of training? If so, then look no further than the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) ITM (Inspection, Testing and Maintenance) …

It’s Not Always a Matter of Surround and Drown As one involved with industrial fire protection engineering for more than 25 years, you would expect very few surprises to cross your desk. However in the ever changing, technology enriched world in which we live, change is the only constant. One …

Twenty-six years ago I was given the opportunity to run a division for my company. I was 31 years old and had six months of field experience, six years of design experience, and four years of estimating and project management. As is often the case, I was given the opportunity …

AFSA Member Companies in the Age of Social Media The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has some of the best and brightest in the industry. Our members are forward-thinking individuals looking to connect with their fellow AFSA members, their customers, and their friends. In this digital age, one of the …

Awareness. Prior to being hired as AFSA’s executive vice president in late 2014, I had been employed as the executive director of the Michigan Lupus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. We operated knowing that groups focused on socioeconomic or medically based causes often rely on awareness as a driving …

Flying back from a chapter meeting last week, I began thinking about how the customer service woes that the airline industry has faced recently have become a teachable moment for businesses in general. As the manager of chapter relations for a hungry and growing national trade association, the concept of …

Fire Sprinkler Misrepresentations in the Media It seems that everyone who works in the fire sprinkler industry inevitably develops a very specific pet peeve: the blatant misrepresentation of fire sprinklers in the media. Think about it. Can you remember the last time you saw fire sprinklers all go off at …