Highlighter Summer2016

12 Pond | www.pondco.com S afety is an important component of maintaining and operating Department of Defense (DoD) facilities, and must be considered during design. Facility safety often includes physical security, explosive safety and antiterrorism measures. Safety also involves protection from emergency events such as fire, both during construction and after. To minimize or eliminate the risk to building occupants, the federal government requires the involvement of a qualified Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) in the design process. A FPE specializes in designing passive and active fire protection systems to save lives and property. Relying on a professional that isn’t qualified is risky. If a fire protection or life safety system is not properly designed, installed and maintained, the inadequacies will often not be apparent until an emergency occurs. This is why the federal government has set forth strict requirements for FPE qualifications and early involvement in all building design projects. For the purposes of meeting this requirement, and according to the latest edition of the DoD’s Unified Facility Criteria (UFC) 3-600-01, Fire Protection Engineering for Facilities, a FPE is defined as meeting the following requirements: „ „ “A registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) who has passed the fire protection engineering written examination administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveys (NCEES).” „ „ “A registered P.E. in a related engineering discipline with a minimum of 5 years of experience, dedicated to fire protection engineering that can be verified with documentation.” It is important to emphasize the requirement to provide documentation verifying not only a minimum 5 years of engineering experience, but also experience that is dedicated to fire protection engineering. This ensures that an engineer meets an acceptable level of experience to qualify as a FPE as defined by the DoD. This responsibility is not taken lightly by the DoD, which is why the Department requ i res an expe r i enced and knowledgeable FPE professional take part in all DoD building projects. The FPE is an integral part of the design team and is required to perform analyses and submit documents at several major milestones throughout the project’s timeline. Coordination in the design process starts prior to the first design submission. The project architect is required to coordinate with the FPE to analyze the type of construction, life safety codes, and building codes required for the type of building being designed. This analysis includes looking at the distance to exits, common travel paths, locations of fire extinguishers, compartmentalization and other life safety factors. At the first design submission, an FPEis required to analyze the minimum fire protection provisions of the project and submit a Basis of Design document. This detailed document must be separate from other disciplines’ design submissions to clearly show where and how the emergency systems will be put into place. As the Architect of Record (AOR) completes the design portion of the project, the FPE is required to review the 100% Design Submission. The project FPE must review the plans and specifications and certify in writing that the design is compliant with all applicable criteria. The project’s AOR is responsible for certifying the Architectural and Life Safety Plans by placing his or her registered seal on the drawings, but the FPE is responsible for certifying in writing that the plans and all of the life safety and fire protection aspects of the project’s design meet the applicable codes and standards. This letter is submitted to the project’s owner representative with the 100% Design Submission to confirm that the building has the appropriate and compliant fire protection and life safety systems in place to protect its occupants. By Chris Butts, FPE, PE, CFPS, SET Senior Fire Protection Engineer and Code Consultant FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER The Role of the