Christopher Culp, PE, CET

Christopher Culp is the director of fire and life safety and a principal at Henderson Engineers. He leads technical and standards development for Henderson’s 80-person fire and life safety discipline and has more than 25 years of experience at the firm in the design of fire protection systems and building code compliance. Culp also serves on multiple National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) technical committees.

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Retrofitting Backflow Preventers Without Undercutting Sprinkler Performance

Adding a new backflow preventer to an older system may negatively impact fire protection system performance. Here are some best practices to ensure existing sprinkler systems operate as intended when adding backflow preventers.

July 1, 2026

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

Some existing systems were never hydraulically calculated. Some were designed around pipe schedules. Some have little or no remaining safety margin. Add a backflow preventer without understanding the available water supply, system demand and device pressure loss, and a system that once appeared adequate may fail to deliver.

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FPE Corner

An Expert Guide to Fire Protection Systems for Data Centers

Teams must balance protection, cost and operational impact rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all solution.

June 1, 2026

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

As data center construction rapidly expands, project teams must carefully weigh the critical tradeoffs between protection, cost, and operational impact to choose the right fire protection strategy.

FPE Corner

Freeze Protection: When Is It Needed?

Designers should carefully consider when protecting fire sprinklers from freezing is required.

October 3, 2022

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

The NFPA’s 13, 13D and 13R standards spell out when fire sprinkler systems should include freeze protection. Read on to discover sources to determine an area’s minimum temperature and whether freeze protection is warranted.

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Sprinklers (Didn’t) Save Lives

The Station nightclub’s 2005 fire resulted in unnecessary fatalities because fire sprinklers were not installed.

July 4, 2022

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

FPE Corner

Fire Pump Testing at Less than Maximum Capacity

Code acceptance applies if the water supply pressure exceeds the lowest permissible suction pressure at the maximum sprinkler demand.

March 1, 2022

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

Many plumbing and fire protection professionals are familiar with the basic fire pump design standards and requirements stated in NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection.

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Improving Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Sprinkler Systems

When buildings are vacant and a pandemic restricts travel, creative ITM ideas must be considered.

June 1, 2021

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

No matter the building status, ITM is absolutely essential to ensure sprinkler systems are healthy and functional at all times. However, when buildings are vacant and a pandemic restricts travel, creative ideas must be considered.

FPE Corner

Meet the New Kids: NFPA 3 and NFPA 4

The commissioning and integrated testing of a building’s fire protection and life safety systems benefit the owner and its occupants.

June 1, 2021

Christopher Culp, PE, CET

The commissioning and integrated testing of a building’s fire protection and life safety systems benefit the building owner and its occupants by validating the intended system design, installation, performance and operation.