| November Meeting Slideshow | 
Click on the image above to see a slideshow of the November 2009 meeting. | |
| Newsletter Information |
| We need content for the AFSA VA Chapter Newsletter.
If your company or organization has a Fire Sprinkler Industry related news release or article, please contact George Wagner
Content may be submitted as ".PDF", ".RTF", ".TXT" or ".DOC".
Please, no Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Works files.
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| Fire Sprinklers Save Lives |  | |
| Travel Information |  | |
| $$$ Savings |  | |
| Your Website Statistics | Who's looking at us? How many? How often? When?
There are two files this month. One is the stats for the year 2009, the other for the month of Jan, 2010.
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| AFSA By-Laws | To download a copy of the current AFSA ByLaws as an Adobe Acrobat Reader file (.pdf) please follow this link.
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If you do any Inspection contracts in North Carolina you must read this!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am attaching a letter from the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors.
If you do any Inspection contracts in North Carolin
you must read and understand this letter!!!
Earlier in 2009 I uncovered a problem where the North Carolina contracting regulations prohibited a Licensed Sprinkler Inspection Contractor from taking a contract from any party other than the Owner of a property.
After significant research and discussion with roughly 20 Contractors I determined that this was an Industry issue that needed to be addressed as Sprinkler Contractors were starting to get citations from the State Board in regards to this issue.
I contacted Jeffery Dunn, the President of the North Carolina AFSA Chapter and reviewed the issue with him and we decided to ask for a meeting with the State Board to review and seek clarification.
On October 1, 2009 Jeffery Dunn, Joe Collins and John Turnage of the North Carolina AFSA Chapter and I met with Dale Dawson, the Executive Director of the State Board, to discuss this issue.
After a review of the regulations with this group it was clear that the State Board interpretation to the current regulations was that it required that an Inspection Sprinkler Contractor must do the following directly with the owner only in regards to an inspection contract;
1) Contract directly with the owner only.
2) Develop the inspection paperwork directly with the Owner to be addressed to the owner and signed by the owner
3) Bill directly to the owner
4) Be paid directly by the owner
My discussion with over 20 Sprinkler Contractors led me to the belief that as many as 50% of the Inspection Contracts in place were illegal per the North Carolina regulations.
It was our belief that the North Carolina regulations were not as clear as they need to be and we asked Dale Dawson to provide clarity.
We also asked Dale Dawson to consider allowing other entities to stand in the place of the Owner in contracting for inspections.
The letter attached is the response received and this is a serious issue!!!
Please do not disregard this letter if you do inspections in North Carolina as if you breach this regulation you could lose your Inspection Contracting License and your Inspector could lose his personal license.
Please note in this letter that the State Board will allow inspection contracts with Licensed Property Managers which is a change from the initial position at our meeting.
We all understand that this smack in the face of what your customers may want but the law is the law!!!
The State Board has made it clear that it will not tolerate illegal contracting.
The State Board has made it clear that they will take action through the North Carolina Attorney Generals office against non regulants who ignore this law.
I suggest strongly that if you have North Carolina inspection contracts you take action to correct the problem today.
Many of you have many inspection contracts and while the State Board would not agree to any grace period I do believe that if you follow the following procedure that you will be granted liencany although I can not guarantee this.
1) Evaluate all contracts to determine each one that is not directly with an Owner or a Licensed Property Manager
2) Establish a program to bring all of you inspection contracts into compliance
3) Discuss the law with the entity who you are currently contracting with and work with them to correct the problem.
4) Develop a communication to the end customer about the law and attach the PDF from the State Board for their reference
5) Determine a quantity of inspection contracts to correct each week and try to get this cleaned up in three months
6) Keep detailed records of your actions each week to clean up your inspection contracts and come into compliance with the law
If you receive a complaint you will need to be able to prove you are actively working to correct this problem.
As you will see in the text of the State Board letter they have advised that ignorance and confusion will not be an excuse that they accept in the future.
I do plan on posting this on the Virginia Chapter Web site and I am available for your questions if I can help you in regards to this issue.
I am sorry that I am the bearer of bad news but it is going to be far better to hear it from me than to lose your licenses.
George Wagner
George Wagner
Executive Director
American Fire Sprinkler Association
Virginia Chapter
To download an Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) file of this letter, please follow this link.
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Upcoming Vendor Presentations
| Tommy Strange--Dan Morrison |
Leonhardt Pipe & Supply |
FEB 2 |
| Tom Fields--Phil Linduska |
Reliable Automatic Sprinkler |
APR 6 |
| Paul Decamera-Bo Gibson--Bruce Allen |
Atlantic American |
JUN 1 |
| Lanny Gault |
Victaulic |
SEP 14 |
| Jim Dooley--Amber Brock |
Viking |
NOV 9 |
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A Letter from the Burn Camp
Mr. Timothy Loscomb
10343-A Kings Acres Road
Ashland. VA 23005
November 11. 2009
Dear Hooper,
On behalf of the Central Virginia Bum Camp, I would like to thank you so very much for your part in organizing and running the Annual Bum Survivors Golf Tournament again this year. I know how much work you put into making this awesome event a success and truly. we cannot thank you enough. I know that you felt disappointed that the amount of money raised this year was not more, or as much as last year. But, please know that the amount of $20,000 is a fortune to us and to the children that benefit year after year from burn camp - you are OUR hero!
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AFSA scholarship contest for high school seniors
September 17, 2009
The Virginia Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is sponsoring a scholarship contest for high school seniors. Students could receive Virginia prizes of $1500 for 1st place, $750 for 2nd place, and $500 for 3rd place. The requirement is to write a 700 to 1000 word essay on the following subject:
Write a creative, interesting and convincing essay on the history of automatic fire sprinklers and why they are important.
The deadline to postmark entries is February 1, 2010.
Requirements for submission are a completed application form and the essay. All essays must have a bibliography. The essays will be judged on accuracy, content & creativity, and spelling/grammar/punctuation. Particularly CREATIVITY! The AFSA scholarship awards are not based on financial need. Applications can also be found at Essay Application
SEND ESSAYS TO:
RON REYNOLDS-SFMO
1005 TECHNOLOGY PARK DRIVE
GLEN ALLEN, VA. 23059
AFSA is dedicated to the educational and professional advancement of the automatic fire sprinkler industry. You are also encouraged to enter the AFSA National contest. For contest information on the National contest, go to http://www.firesprinkler.org/, where 10 students will win $2000 each.
If there are any questions, please call Ron Reynolds at 804-612-7268. Good Luck!
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Your Right To Work is in danger!
The agenda of the current administration is to pave the way for legislation that favors unions and destroys the "Right to work" in all states.
Please OPPOSE the "Employee Free Choice Act" that would take away a worker''s right to a supervised secret ballot when deciding whether or not to join a union. You can sign a petition and get more information at www.MyPrivateBallot.com |
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AFSA Calls for Support of Center for Medicare and Medicaid
CMS Proposal Seeks to Mandate Fire Sprinkler Systems in All Long-Term Care Facilities
DALLAS–The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) endorses a proposal by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that aims to equip an estimated 2,500 older long-term care facilities with life-saving fire sprinkler systems and end an exemption in existing law that mandates sprinklers for new nursing homes but not older facilities.
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Virginia Legislature Contact Info
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Senate |
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News: AFSA 2010 Economic Relief Program
Thursday, February 04 @ 12:09:03 PST by howard (5 reads) |  Now AFSA is extending support to individual company members. AFSA will be absorbing a significant loss of income to assist our members in this difficult economy.
Specifically, the AFSA Economic Relief Program offers members:
- Free AFSA Educational Webinars, a $75 value each webinar you attend. CEU’s are awarded for each technical seminar;
- AFSA Bucks coupons equal to 10% of annual dues amount that can be used for any product or service produced by AFSA. AFSA Bucks coupon will be sent upon dues renewal and must be used within one year of issuance (associate and contractor members only);
- Critical, time-sensitive training. Educate your supervisors on labor and union issues at exclusive AFSA prices Click here for details on these two new training programs.
AFSA values its members. These are tough economic times, and we will work together to make sure the fire sprinkler industry has a bright outlook for the future. Only members in good standing can take advantage of these offerings.
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News: Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Disputes Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Determinatio
Tuesday, December 22 @ 04:56:36 PST by howard (110 reads) |  Elmsford, New York – December 2009
The Virginia State Fire Marshal has recently issued a memoranda concerning dry sprinklers. Reliable Sprinkler strongly disagreed with the Fire Marshal’s Memoranda which appear to call for a statewide replacement of all Reliable G-3
dry sprinklers, particularly in state owned buildings, and after discussions with Reliable, the
Fire Marshal issued a clarification Memorandum on November 23, 2009.
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News: MEMORANDUM TO Fire and Building Officials from Ed Altizer, State Fire Marshal
Tuesday, December 22 @ 04:40:22 PST by howard (72 reads) | On October 14, 2009, the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) issued a memorandum to Fire and Building Officials regarding failures of dry sprinkler heads. Dry sprinklers are generally installed in locations subject to fluctuating environmental conditions such as extreme temperature variations, high humidity and/or corrosive conditions. Dry sprinklers may be found in cold storage warehouses, loading docks, balconies, attics, parking garages, and unheated portions of buildings. Today’s communication provides additional information for building owners.
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Technology: 2010 AFSA Fire Sprinkler System Planning Schools Announced
Tuesday, December 22 @ 04:29:23 PST by howard (94 reads) |  New Residential Schools Added. Plus, Special Member Offer!
DALLAS - The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) announces the
2010 schedule for both its traditional Beginning Fire Sprinkler System
Planning School as well as its new System Layout School for Residential
One- & Two-Family Dwellings.
Four 2010 Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning Schools have been
scheduled for February 22 - March 5, April 19-30, July 12-23, and
October 11-22; in addition, three sessions of AFSA's new System Layout
School for Residential One- & Two-Family Dwellings will be held
March 22-26, June 21-25, and August 23-27, 2010.
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News: A Letter from Ronny J. Coleman, Pres. IRCFSC
Saturday, October 31 @ 03:04:01 PDT by howard (120 reads) | WE WON AGAIN!!!
Words cannot describe how great if feels to have won the sprinkler vote again in Baltimore. Even better, to our surprise, we won the committee vote by a margin of 7 to 4. EVERY member of the IRC Committee not representing NAHB voted in favor of sprinklers!
ICC's message to residential sprinkler opponents is now very clear, "don't come back...we're done arguing residential sprinklers!"
We won in Minneapolis, we won the committee vote in Baltimore and we defeated (by an overwhelming majority) a floor motion by NAHB to overturn the committee vote in Baltimore. Let's maintain this level of commitment at the state and local level so that we can get the IRC adopted "where the rubber meets the road."
Thanks to EVERYONE who took part in and supported this historic event!!!
Ronny J. Coleman
President
To see this and several other pertinate stories please follow this link.
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News: A Message from George Wagner
Tuesday, October 20 @ 03:50:52 PDT by howard (137 reads) |  Ladies and Gentlemen,
I wanted to report to you that the AFSA National Convention in San Diego was a huge success in spite of the economy!!!
While attendance was slightly off the Trade show was basically sold out. The Trade show was very good. The Apprenticeship competition was excellent. The Seminars were all full and were excellent. Friday night at the Midway was very interesting as you gained a perspective of how big an Aircraft carrier really is. Saturday night at Sea World was fun.
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The 2010 Convention is back to the East Coast in Providence Rhode Island and I encourage everyone to try to attend.
These are well planned and every educational events.
Let me know if you have any questions.
George Wagner
George Wagner
Executive Director
American Fire Sprinkler Association - Virginia Chapter
4558 Sandy Valley Road
Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111
Home--804-779-3921
Cell--804-514-3154
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Technology: FM Global Webinar November 18
Tuesday, October 20 @ 02:54:47 PDT by howard (142 reads) | from AFSA - Oct. 14, 2009
AFSA will present the "Updates to FM Global Data Sheets 2-0 and 8-9" Webinar on November 18, 2009 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Central time. This 90-minute seminar will provide an understanding of what changes are taking place with the combining of FM Data Sheets 2-2, 2-7 and 2-8N into a single data sheet numbered Data Sheet 2-0, as well as expected modifications to FM Data Sheet 8-9 and other similar storage-related data sheets. For further details and to register, visit http://www.firesprinkler.org
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SprinklerAge News Briefs
Tuesday, October 20 @ 02:48:28 PDT by howard (110 reads) |  Sprinklers Extinguish Commercial Building Blaze in Kent, Wash.
from KCPQ - Oct. 8, 2009
A fire that broke out in a processing plant near the downtown Kent, Wash. area was extinguished by the building's sprinkler system. Investigators say it appears no one was inside the building. More
Firefighters Tout Life-Saving Potential of Sprinklers
from the Winona Daily News - Oct. 8, 2009
Firefighters torched curtains in a trailer at Central Fire Station in Winona, Minn., during the department's annual open house. The lesson showed visiting children - and their parents - just how quickly a fire can spread. But the demonstration also showcased a fire-safety feature officials recommend for every house in Winona. More
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New research study to help determine if fire sprinklers are "green"
Tuesday, October 20 @ 02:40:46 PDT by howard (118 reads) | NFPA's Mike Hazell chronicles in several blog entries the research test conducted at FM Global in West Glocester Rhode Island earlier this month where two 15x20 foot living rooms, each furnished with a flat-screen television, comfortable furniture, and bookshelves and family photos, were set on fire as part of a groundbreaking research project that's looking at the environmental impact of home fires.
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News: Support Needed to Keep Sprinkler Provision in the IRC Sprinkler
Tuesday, October 20 @ 02:39:40 PDT by howard (120 reads) | Sprinkler advocates all across the country are gearing up to defend the inclusion of the life-saving sprinkler provision which was included in the 2009 International Residential Code. Proposals have been submitted to delete the requirement for the 2012 edition and will be considered at the International Code Council (ICC) hearings in Baltimore later this month. It is expected these hearings will take place on the 28th or 29th. It is critical that sprinkler supporters show up and vote at these hearings to preserve the sprinkler provision. All ICC members present at the hearings are eligible to vote. For more information on efforts to keep the sprinkler provision in the IRC visit www.ircfiresprinkler.org.
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Fire Protection Engineering
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| Welcome to the AFSA Virginia Chapter Website | |
If you are a member of the Virginia Chapter of AFSA and would like to participate in the content of this site. We need stories and articles about the work that you do in your community.
If you have sprinkler related items of interest, employment opportunities or press releases, please contact George Wagner.
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| Meeting Dates for 2010 |
- Apr 6
- Jun 1 (in Hampton/Newport News)
- Sep 14
- Sep 14 —Trade Show(Tenative)
- Sep 15 — Golf Tourney(Tenative)
- Nov 9
Watch for the details for each meeting as the meeting time approaches.
Meeting information will be posted in the center column of this page and will be available for download as it becomes available.
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| Nov '09 Meeting Minutes | | To read the minutes of the November meeting please follow this link.
To read the minutes of the November Board Meeting please follow this link.
By following either link you will be able to read, or download, an Adobe Acrobat Reader Document (.PDF). | |
| Sept '09 Meeting Minutes | | To read the minutes of the September meeting please follow this link.
To read the minutes of the September Board Meeting please follow this link.
By following either link you will be able to read, or download, an Adobe Acrobat Reader Document (.PDF). | |
| Mission Statement |  | |
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