Weeks 3 and 4 

By: The NFSA ’26 Interns: Jeremiah Allen, Wiley Hensley, Brooke Marshall, and Brookelynn Weinberg

Kicking off our third week, we assisted in preparation for the Gabriel House Burn Demonstration that is being hosted next week in Fall River, MA. July 13th marks one year since the tragic fire that struck Fall River, where the assisted living facility was found to have recalled sprinklers that should have been replaced many years ago. This burn demonstration will help show how, had the facility had been fitted with up-to-code, listed sprinklers, and the system had been properly inspected and maintained, the fire could have been better controlled, and lives and property would have been better protected.  

We were then introduced to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and its utility. It was very interesting to see how the company keeps track of customers, communication, and important project information in one place. 

On Wednesday, we met in-person with Shane Ray, the president of the NFSA. We also attended the Members Educating Members (MEME) Webinar titled Tools Down, Wellness Up: Heath, Longevity + the Future of Fire Protection. This presentation showed how long work hours in the fire protection industry can affect workers’ sleep, stress, health, and long-term career sustainability and how to stay healthy and motivated. 

At Johnson Controls (JCI), in Cranston, RI, on Friday, Wiley and Brooke met Jeff Proulx and John Silva who are training technicians for JCI. They took them on a tour of their facility where they got to see their valve room, sprinkler room, pump room, and fire burn demonstration rooms. They also got to spend some time in JCI’s museum where they had an extensive collection of fire sprinkler history. They then showed Wiley and Brooke spray demonstrations in their sprinkler room. The demonstrations started with old Parmalee and Grinnell sprinklers so they could see the development and innovations of fire sprinklers over the years. Wiley and Brooke then watched a burn demonstration where they lit two cardboard boxes on fire. They tracked how many fire sprinklers went off and how intense the ceiling temperature got before the sprinklers suppressed the fire. Wiley and Brooke then went to their valve room where Jeff and John went through all the different types of valves, and they got to trip the valves and reset them. They then left JCI and went to The Station Night Club Memorial where they got the opportunity to learn more about the tragedy that happened there and pay remembrance to the victims of that awful disaster. Wiley and Brooke then went back to Baltimore after a very interesting and impactful trip. 

Thank you to JCI for giving us a tour and thank you to Molly Hugo of NFSA for joining us on the visit.  

To start off our fourth week, we visited the Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Company in Liberty, SC. We were hosted by George Nicola, Director of Product Technology. During our visit to Reliable, we met with George and learned more about the company, including what they do, their values, and their journey in the fire protection industry. We listened to a presentation that gave us a better understanding of how Reliable has grown as a company and how their products support life safety. After the presentation, we toured the facility and got to see different parts of their operations up close, including the spray room and learned the process of tripping and resetting valves. One of our biggest takeaways from the trip was seeing how much testing, precision, and care goes into making sprinkler products reliable before they are used in real buildings. There is no room for error when protecting lives and property across America. 

One of our biggest takeaways from our trip to Reliable was the industry’s shift toward pre-trimmed risers such as Reliable’s “PrePaK” system. By paying a premium, contractors can have a nearly guaranteed working riser, saving their technicians lots of time. Additionally, with the knowledge gap growing wider as the older workforce retires, there are fewer experienced contractors available to assemble risers.  

We were also impressed by the level of automation in their factory. With much greater precision and less errors in the assembly of sprinklers, we will see a complete shift to automated manufacturing soon across the industry.  

Thank you to Reliable and George for the amazing visit! 

Code of the Week! 

NFPA 25 4.1.6.1.1: Upon discovery of any component and equipment under recall or replacement programs by the owner’s maintenance personnel, designated representative, or contractor, the owner shall be notified in writing. 

It shows why written documentation is so important: when a recalled fire protection component is found, there needs to be a clear record, so the issue can be corrected before an emergency happens.