Tech-News & Views

JANUARY, 2020

“The newspaper is not just for reporting the
news as it is, but to make people mad enough
to do something about it!”
-- Mark Twain
 

BRITISH COLUMBIA’S NEW FIRE COMMISSIONER!

Victoria, British Columbia - British Columbia’s new Fire Commissioner is Brian Godlonton.  He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having served with the Langley City Fire Rescue Services and  Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services in a career spanning twenty-eight (28) years!  Fire Commissioner Godlonton will be working out of the EMBC Office in Surrey starting on March 2, 2020.

CFAA HAS A NEW LEADER!

Toronto, Ontario - The Canadian Fire Alarm Association has a new Executive Director!  Her name is Suzanne Alfano and she represents a couple of “Firsts” for the CFAA (at the very least).  The “First” woman in the role.  The “First” time (in recent memory) that the CFAA hasn’t recruited someone from the provincial (or municipal) Fire Services!  In looking over her LinkedIN! profile, I’d say she represents a stirling choice for the role.  We certainly look forward to working with her!

PREMIUM FIRE PROTECTION LTD. (OKOTOKS) MAKING HEADLINES AGAIN!

Calgary, Alberta - In a letter dated October 27, 2015, obtained by the CBC, Premium Fire Protection’s general manager, Kurt Bertrand admitted that the company had been performing unqualified work on fire extinguishers in Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, and Cochrane.  He states that “I am sorry the violations had occurred.” and “I have learned from this mistake and will ensure the violations will not take place again.”

Premium Fire Protection, along with a number of their customers, have been charged with over sixty (60) violations of the Alberta Fire Code stemming from an investigation by the City of Calgary’s Fire Department last summer.  Two of their technicians had pleaded guilty in an Alberta Court in November to performing unqualified work on fire protection equipment (including building fire alarm systems).

The company is back in Court next month (February).

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/premium-fire-safety-code-charges-2015-letter-1.5428665

Stay tuned for more!

LINKS AND INFORMATION ON SPRINKLER HEAD TESTING!

Surrey, British Columbia - We’ve added some information for building owners and fire protection service providers regarding the required sprinkler head testing mandated in NFPA 25.  For buildings that have a large number of quick response type heads installed, the service life for these units is twenty (20) years.  You can either replace all the heads or submit some random samples for testing by UL.  The information for this is available on our TOOLS page.  We’ll update our FAQ to include this as well.

QUICK LINKS!

AHJ Training Courses are being offered by two (2) Canadian national associations:

• The Canadian Fire Alarm Association (CFAA) - Please visit their website (link below) for information on one being held in your area.
• The Fire Technicians Network (FTN) - Feel free to visit our Training Centre for available dates and cities!  To make arrangements for us to present our two day Course Programme in YOUR municipality, please Contact Us for details!

Canadian Fire Alarm Technician Certification:

• The Canadian Fire Alarm Association (CFAA) website is at http://www.cfaa.ca
• Learn more about a Fire Technicians Network National Certification Programme

Fire Protection Equipment Technicians (Extinguisher Service):

• Transport Canada website  is at http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/3/fdr-rici/cylinder/requalifier.aspx
• Warnock Hersey (Intertek) website is at http://www.intertek.com/iqp/ahj/
   

Fire Protection Equipment Technicians (British Columbia):

• The Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC) website is located at http://www.fireprotection.asttbc.org

INTERESTED IN COMMENTING ON THIS ARTICLE?  QUESTIONS?  GOT A STORY?  SOMETHING OF INTEREST AND/OR NOTE-WORTHY?

Contact Us!