Newsletters

FSCI is a leader in fire safety plan review, building review, and consulting services for municipalities around the country. Each quarter, our team of experts writes new articles to help you understand the code books, highlight best practices, and shed insight into new products.

Fall 2022 Edition:  A lot has been happening this year here at FSCI. In the beginning of the year, we rolled our new electronic plan review services out to a small number of clients. Over the course of a few months, we had many clients requesting to use this new service. At that same time, most of our plan reviewers were provided with new computer equipment to help them perform plan reviews electronically as opposed to reviewing paper plans on a drafting table. The demand for this new service has continued to increase and in August, FSCI received more plan reviews submitted electronically than we had in any other month this year. We continue to add more clients to our electronic plan review system every day! Currently our electronic plan review service is being offered to all clients and customers.

Spring 2022 Edition: As we look back at 2021, specifically spring of 2021, we were coming out of a long COVID winter and there was thought of returning to some semblance of “normal.” As we know it didn’t turn out that way as the situation again worsened. But this spring things feel different, as we learn to better treat and live with the virus. This spring FSCI will begin offering a great new service.

Fall 2021 Edition: In the summer newsletter we reported that many more people have been vaccinated including nearly all our team members. We felt we had finally moved back into a “normal” business environment with the hope that the slowed economy would quickly recover. It appears now that may have been a little premature, and maybe a bit too hopeful. Many states have struggled with the spread of the Delta variant. Hopefully we can better control this new wave of COVID 19 cases and improve on the slow economic recovery.

Summer 2021 Edition: As the temperatures rise, and many people are vaccinated, we have
finally moved back into a “ normal” business environment with the hope that the economy will recover quickly. With the Illinois move to Phase 5 on June 11, 2021, fully lifting the COVID-19 restrictions and Michigan heading in the same direction soon, we are excited to finally be back in the office without face coverings and social distancing.

Spring 2021 Edition: Springtime is here and we are all excited to have warmer weather,
budding plants and finally putting COVID-19 behind us. There is new business blooming as well, albeit in different areas of our company. Although plan reviews plateaued earlier this year, especially with the intense winter weather across the country, our consulting division has been overwhelmed.

Winter 2021 Edition: 2020 was a difficult year at Fire Safety Consultants, Inc., both for our staff and clients. The lack of personal contact with clients and customers was especially difficult as well as maintaining a separated, safe office environment. However, our team came together and rose to meet these challenges.

Fall 2020 Edition: A Return to a “Near” Normal  As the impact of COVID 19 diminishes we have seen a return to more normal routines, although we still follow very strict safety guidelines including face coverings and daily temperature checks. Having all our team members back in the office at the same time and meeting with our customers in person is great.

Summer 2020 Edition: Since our Spring Newsletter, we have been through the most challenging time of my lifetime. From the COVID-19 virus pandemic, subsequent lockdown, massive unemployment and loss of business, to social injustice and subsequent protests throughout the country.

Spring 2020 Edition: New People & New Positions, New Clients & Large Projects, Being a Consulting Leader and the final piece of a 3 part series finishing up our First Look at the 2019 Edition of NFPA 13. Read about these topics and more in our Spring 2020 Newsletter!

Winter 2020 Edition: There is a mantra “the one constant in business is change”, and we have embraced this with a bit of a twist “the one constant in business is improvement”.

Fall 2019 Edition: Fire Safety Consultants, Inc., with the support of PSI, is investing in our future by increasing staffing and installing new equipment to continuously improve service to our customers.

Summer 2019 Edition: The first half of this year has been the busiest in our 36 year history as our FSCI team completed the most plan reviews and inspections ever.  Great job team!

Spring 2019 Edition: On February 6th, Fire Safety Consultants Inc., hosted our annual all employee meeting. We find it extremely important to review, appreciate and celebrate our team and their accomplishments. Thank you to our clients and customers for supporting us while our office was closed for the afternoon. We are very excited about this year and our future!

Winter 2019 Edition: At the close of every year, the Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. (FSCI) team looks back at our accomplishments and our challenges. We listened to our client and customer requests and discuss enhancements to the quality services we already provide.  FSCI completed our very successful first-year as an independently operating division of PSI.

Fall 2018 Edition: This past quarter has been quite busy as FSCI added several new clients in Michigan and Illinois.  Along with these new clients, many of our existing clients have been very active with plan review, field inspections and multiple, large school projects.  Although we usually have school projects over the summer, the size and volume of these projects have been greater than in previous years and included extensive field inspections.  More and more clients are interested in FSCI for 3rd party consulting, because we provide high-quality services with integrity and professionalism.

Summer 2018 Edition: This Spring and Summer, FSCI embarked on two major customer service improvements included within our website. First, the Online Fee Schedule will enable contractors to estimate our plan review fees for various projects. Second, the Pay Now feature, powered by PayPal, allows clients and customers to self pay using credit cards. Look for these new features coming soon!

Spring 2018 Edition: On February 6, 2018, we gathered nearly all FSCI employees at the Chicago Marriott Northwest for an employee celebration to look back at and celebrate 2017 accomplishments.  Some of the celebration included welcoming our newest team members, achievements of our existing staff members, the recent FSCI acquisition by PSI, business activity, and a look ahead at 2018.

Winter 2018 Edition: Recently, FSCI hired two new consultants in the Illinois office to augment our fire protection plan review staff.  Michael Carnduff and Suzie Gardner joined our Illinois office team and have already begun intensive training.  This was an exhaustive search and interview process and we are confident that we have found two highly motivated people to fill our team in the Illinois office. Both bring exceptional technical knowledge and excellent customer service skills.

Fall 2017 Edition: We have some exciting news that we would like to share with you! Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. (FSCI) has been acquired by Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI) as of September 16th, 2017. FSCI will continue to operate as an independent division, and our working principles will remain the same as part of the PSI group of companies.

Summer 2017 Edition: FSCI continues to expand our third party municipal plan review services with new municipal clients.  FSCI now has municipal clients in nine states, and has received interest from state and municipal agencies in two additional states.

Spring 2017 Edition: In the past two years, FSCI’s client base grew by over 15% and we struggled to meet our time commitments on projects.  At first, the delays were confined to peak times, but as our work increased the delays became more prevalent. Our team members worked diligently to minimize the plan review process delays without affecting the quality of our work. We strive to add great people to our FSCI team, so as part of our strategic planning process, we began to search for new team members in late 2016.  As a result, we hired additional staff to enhance our work process. Be sure to review the President’s Message to read more.

Winter 2017 Edition: On behalf of our team, Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. (FSCI), we would like to thank you, our clients and customers, for a great 2016. Whether you joined us as a new client or continue as a long-term customer, FSCI is committed to providing you with the best customer service, from promptly responding to code questions to tackling challenging consulting projects. Be sure to review the President’s Message to read more.

Fall 2016 Edition: The very busy year has continued at Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. Through September of 2016 we have experienced the busiest 9 month plan review period in FSCI history, and we continue to increase our client base. Thanks to you, our clients and customers, Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. continues to expand to 8 additional states. We continue to work hard, and we are even more committed to providing the highest quality services in a timely and efficient manner. Be sure to review the President’s Message to read more.

Summer 2016 Edition: Thank you to all FSCI’s loyal clients and customers for your patience and understanding! When we started the year, we planned for growth. Our first quarter was the second busiest in the 33 year history of FSCI, and the busy pace has continued through the summer. Thank you to our clients and customers for relying on FSCI to perform your key plan reviews, inspections, and consulting projects.  Be sure to review the President’s Message to read more.

Spring 2016 Edition: As many of you may already know, Fire Safety Consultants founder Jimbo Schifiliti officially retired this past October marking the end to an illustrious career that spanned over four decades.  Despite his retirement, Jimbo intends to stay connected to the fire protection community.  Be sure to review the President’s Message to read more.

Winter 2016 Edition: 2016 will be a notable year for FSCI as we celebrate James “Jimbo” Schifiliti in his recent announcement of retirement. Check out the feature article on what can third-party services do for you? Be sure to review page 4 to uncover technical insights to codes.

Fall 2015 Edition: FSCI is hard at work training and developing staff, seminars and services to take care of our municipal clients around the country. Check out the feature article on what makes for a perfect building plan submittal. Be sure to review page 4 to uncover technical insights to codes.

Summer 2015 Edition: Learn more about FSCI’s growing number of clients and staff achievements.  Read insights from Fred Hoegler, VP of Fire Protection Review and Field Service to ensure a quality third-party plan review submittal. Be sure to review page 4 to uncover technical insights to codes such as NFPA 72, 13 and 13D.

Winter 2014-15 Edition: In this issue read about the Year In Review by Keith Frangiamore, gain technical insights on how to reduce nuisance smoke alarm activations by Warren Olsen, get to know Matt Davis, learn about our current seminars and inquire about a job opening in our Michigan office.