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Justin Biller- New SFPE Fellow

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Justin Biller- New SFPE Fellow

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

SFPE has recognized 8 of its members as Fellows for 2019. SFPE Fellows represent a distinguished group of members who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to Fellow not only recognizes the achievements of fire protection and fire safety engineers as individuals, but also their significant contributions to fire protection engineering and society globally. Out of a total SFPE Membership of over 4,600, there are only 313 fellows. There are 8 members recommended to Fellow by the 2019 Qualifications Subcommittee and approved by the SFPE Board of Directors.

Congratulations Justin Biller, P.E., MSc. FPE, MCP, CFPS, CLSS-HC! Chosen as the new SFPE Fellow, Justin Biller, P.E., is the owner and principal engineer for Emerson Graham & Associates, PLC, established in 2015 as a fire protection engineering and code consulting firm with offices in Roanoke, VA and Charlotte, NC. In addition, Justin is an adjunct faculty lecturer for University of North Carolina-Charlotte and Eastern Kentucky University in each of their respective fire protection engineering technology programs and has taught a host of undergraduate and graduate courses in fire protection systems, building/fire codes, fire dynamics, human behavior in fire and performance-based engineering design. Mr. Biller is also co-founder and technical director of AEGIS, a fire door/barrier management company serving the Mid-Atlantic, and is associated with a forensic consulting firm and volunteer for Roanoke County in work related to post-fire investigations. Justin is a 2014 graduate of the MSc. Fire Protection Engineering program at California Polytechnic State University, and holds registration as a professional fire protection engineer in multiple states on the east coast. He is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) and a Certified Life Safety Specialist for Healthcare Facilities (CLSS- HC) from NFPA. He additionally holds the Master Code Professional (MCP), Certified Building Official (CBO), and Fire Code Specialist (FCS) certifications from ICC. Justin has served on numerous NFPA technical committees including Safety to Life and Alternatives to Life Safety, and likewise on several SFPE committees including the Research, Tools & Methods and Professional Qualifications working on several SFPE guidelines, ABET program evaluation, and the on-going development of the PE exam in fire protection.

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Complying With Fire & Building Codes

Monday, February 18th, 2019

Justin Biller, P.E., CHFM, CLSS-HC, CFPS will be teaching a class in Roanoke, VA-Friday March 29, 2019. Registration is open! Register online at www.halfmoonseminars.org

  • Enhance your understanding of fire protection and life safety design.
  • Explore general requirements and criteria related to occupancy classifications.
  • Understand the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Virginia state codes and standards.
  • Learn about exit access, discharge and other components of means of egress.
  • Discuss fire protection features and equipment.

(more…)

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A Code Update that’s a Boost to Building Owners!

Friday, September 28th, 2018

A Code Update that Provides a Boost to Building Owners.

Doors are a major concern for building owners and facility managers. Ongoing maintenance of doors and architectural hardware represents a significant cost margin to building owners and nowhere is this truer than for healthcare facility and engineering managers where building footprints are vast – often in excess of 1 million square feet or more. Maintaining all doors in large facilities is always a challenge, but of even higher concern for healthcare engineers is fire and smoke barrier management, wherein door maintenance is a critical component. This point is not lost on a highly accomplished architect, Amanda Adams AIA, who has spent much of her career in significant restoration projects – she has noted first- hand how important fire and smoke door assemblies become in sustaining code compliance, providing a safe and healthy environment for building occupants and in achieving her overall architectural vision for a space. Ms. Adams highlighted this point to us at AEGIS, wherein she states,

“The foremost requirement of architecture is shelter. This ranks above aesthetics and creative efforts. All building occupants – users, visitors, tenants, residents – expect a building to provide shelter from the elements. At times, emergency situations arise that cause a building to offer shelter or protection from internal threats (often this is a fire threat)….whether that be protect in place or provide a safe exiting scenario. Passive life safety systems hold top priority in life safety; active systems increase safety and provide additional time. Properly functioning fire doors are a critical basic component to the passive system. A door must fit properly in its frame. Closing hardware must work properly. Positive latching hardware completes the barrier.”

Amanda Adams, Architect

The added strain on fiscal responsibilities for healthcare facilities to “do more with less” heightens theneed to challenge installers to do the work right the first time – it is often noted on our annual inspections of fire and smoke door assemblies that the ongoing challenges to maintenance stem from improper installation (i.e., improperly plumbed door frame and jamb, incorrect or insufficient hardware, incorrect door or glazing type, etc.).

According to the Door Security and Safety Foundation, although doors only represent 2 percent of a typical construction budget, more than 30 percent of punch-list items are on average door-related. It is therefore the opinion of many within the industry that it is in the best interest of building owners to verify fire and smoke doors are installed properly from the outset – a determination that committee members of NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives also found imperative. In its most current published editions (2016 and 2019), NFPA 80 prescribes in section 5.2.1 that “upon completion of the installation” these assemblies are to be inspected and tested.

Here at AEGIS we believe as well that a comprehensive survey of door installation during construction benefits the building designer and can dramatically decrease ongoing maintenance costs associated with fire and smoke door assemblies. We are here to help you implement this on your next project and can work with your design team through specification and installation through final punch-out.

What is Fire System Commissioning (FCx)

NFPA 3, Recommended Practice for Commissioning of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems delineates that the commissioning and
integrated testing process would include both active and passive components of fire protection systems. Commissioning is a procedure of verifying a quality process from design inception through development and construction and even extends through the life of the building by ongoing maintenance and operations. Passive fire protection systems, including fire and smoke rated door assemblies, serve as a primary component for most building life safety systems with varying degrees of complexity dependent as such things as occupancy and building geometry. Fire and smoke rated doors are often integrated with fire and life safety systems such as fire alarm, sprinkler, smoke control and emergency electrical systems, and it thus becomes imperative for the fire commissioning team (FCxT) to include qualified fire door commissioning agents (Cx) to be employed. Along with NFPA 3, NFPA also developed NFPA 4, Standard for the Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety System Testing to work in concert with the recommended practices of commissioning in NFPA 3 to accomplish this task.

AEGIS with its partnerships with engineers and architects, has the practical experience and expertise to support your commissioning team with passive fire protection system components.

– Justin B. Biller, P.E., CHFM, CLSS-HC, CFPS | AEGIS Technical Director

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Fire Door Safety Week 2018. SUPERHEROES

Monday, September 24th, 2018

INTRODUCING THE FIRE SAFETY SUPERHEROES! Follow along with their adventures to learn more about fire safety.

#FireDoorsSaveLives  #firedoorsafetyweek

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