Impairments and property damage caused by the freezing of water-filled piping are some of the most common issues impacting facilities. To explore how water-based fire protection systems can be protected against freezing, fire protection industry expert and Telgian Engineering & Consulting Chief Engineering Officer Tracey Bellamy PE, CFPS, CWBSP will present a Fire Smarts “Freeze Protection for Fire Sprinkler Systems” webinar. The event will be held on Thursday, January 13, 2022, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm (Eastern). Bellamy has more than 25 years of experience in the fire protection community including all areas of the fire sprinkler industry. He has…

Telgian fire protection experts recently weighed in on essential fire alarm system design components for the healthcare industry in Medical Construction and Design magazine. The article explores how fire alarm systems have become increasingly complex, incorporating a series of sensors and state-of-the-art technology. The new additions allow fires to be detected more quickly, alerting both occupants and the authorities, which is crucial in healthcare facilities, as they are frequently filled with non-ambulatory patients. Two of the more common key components in fire alarm design are the use of private and public notification operating modes and the defend-in-place strategy.   Private…

Telgian Engineering & Consulting, LLC (TEC) Chief Engineering Officer Tracey Bellamy recently explored how parking structure fires can lead to large economic losses in the article Fire Protection Evolution: New Vehicle Materials & Power Sources Drive Increased Risk for Parking magazine, the official publication of the National Parking Association. Two parking garage fire protection factors identified include the increased flammability of today’s auto parts (including a greater reliance on the use of plastics) and the potential instability and long burn time of newer alternative fuel vehicles, which have created unique fire hazards that older structures were never designed to withstand.…

In response to the recent Champlain Towers condominium complex collapse in Surfside, Florida, Telgian Engineering & Consulting LLC Regional Practice Leader April Musser recently explored the roles of architectural and structural elements in facility fire protection for STRUCTURE magazine. In the article “Structured for Protection,” she discusses the basics, existing buildings, archaic building materials, fire-resistance-rated building elements, facility lifecycle and the weight of sprinkler water. “While this collapse was not due to a fire scenario, preliminary news reports indicate that damage to the building structure may have been a significant contributing factor in the collapse,” says Musser. “In this case,…

The recent fatal shooting of a nursing assistant at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University Hospital was a stark reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is not the healthcare industry's sole challenge. In fact, according to the OSHA, about 75% of nearly 25,000 US workplace assaults reported annually occur in healthcare settings. Beginning in 2022, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals will need to abide by new workplace violence prevention requirements. Telgian Engineering & Consulting security expert Lauris Freidenfelds recently weighed in with The Philadelphia Inquirer on this crucial topic in the article “Jefferson shooting is the latest example of workplace violence in health care." Freidenfelds…