Samuel S. Dannaway

Samuel S. Dannaway, P.E., FSFPE, is a licensed fire protection engineer and mechanical engineer with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland Department of Fire Protection Engineering. He is a past president and fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. He is vice president of Fire Protection Technology at Coffman Engineers Inc., a multidiscipline engineering firm with over 360 employees across eight offices. Sam can be reached at dannaway@coffman.com.

FPE Corner

The FM Handbook and Early Sprinkler Hydraulic Calculations

Browse through the handbook and glimpse the basis for many of the things we still do today.

January 31, 2019

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

In this column, I would like to focus on the handbook’s approach to sprinkler system hydraulic calculations. Note that hydraulically calculated sprinkler systems did not appear in NFPA 13 until the 1972 edition.

FPE Corner

Thoughts on Wildfires

Managing our forests properly and understanding the dangers of fires can help us all be more prepared.

January 5, 2019

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

At the writing of the column, the death toll in the Camp Fire is 84 people with 475 people missing. It has burned more than 250 square miles and destroyed more than 14,000 homes.

FPE Corner

The Trouble With (Some) AHJs

Young fire protection engineers need mentors to help them use good judgment.

December 3, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

Ah yes, AHJs. You cannot live with them and you most definitely cannot live without them. The official NFPA definition of an Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is “An organization, office or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation or a procedure.”

FPE Corner

2019 Editions of NFPA 20 and NFPA 14

Code changes for stationary pumps and standpipe/hose systems.

November 3, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

The National Fire Protection Association Standards Council issued the 2019 edition of NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, with an effective date of May 24, 2018.

FPE Corner

2019 NFPA 13D and 13R

Code changes for residential sprinkler systems.

October 5, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, is effective as of Sept. 3, 2018. NFPA 13R. Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low-Rise Residential Occupancies, is effective as of May 24, 2018.

FPE Corner

Revised 2019 NFPA 13, Part 2

A look at technical changes of interest to designers of fire sprinkler systems.

August 27, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

A look at some of the technical changes and clarifications in the soon-to-be-published, updated standard.

FPE Corner

Revised Format for 2019 NFPA

Chapters are now organized in the order of how a system is put together.

July 27, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

The new format of the 2019 NFPA 13, which reduced the document by nearly 50 pages, now organizes chapters in the way a fire sprinkler system is put together.

The FPE Corner

Ordinance 18-14: Safety Gaps

Honolulu’s first retrofit fire safety legislation for high-rise apartments leaves room for tragedy.

June 26, 2018

Samuel S. Dannaway

No Comments

Honolulu’s first retrofit fire safety legislation for high-rise apartments needs to serve as a building block for the inevitable complete sprinkler mandate that is to come.