An FSCI update from Keith S. Frangiamore, President

New Clients, Staff Changes and Life Safety!

New Clients and Projects

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 3^rd party consulting, because we provide high-quality services with integrity and professionalism.

Staffing

These past few months, FSCI has continued to add new staff positions in the Illinois office including two new fire protection plan reviewers and two new field service members.  Although Ryan and Kyle come to FSCI with different backgrounds, they bring a strong professional approach to their work and are actively in their FSCI training program.  Jake and Michael, the new field services staff members are immersed in their field training program.  FSCI’s training includes both technical training and staff mentoring.

Life Safety

In late August, I attended the two-day NFPA Life Safety Code – 101 and NFPA 5000 Education and Day Care committee meetings in Minneapolis, MN.  The focus of this Committee has been dealing with the opposing issues of fire/life safety compared to active shooter/hostile event safety.  At this first draft meeting for the 2021 Edition, we dealt with the many proposed Tentative Interim Amendments and numerous Public Inputs related to life safety in both new and existing education and day-care facilities.

Major concerns for this code cycle include targeted-violence events and options for protection of students and staff while maintaining life safety from fires. Specifically included in this code cycle are life safety options for egress doors and fire alarm systems such as allowances for locking of doors and potential removal of manual pull stations.

Focus on Wisconsin – Foxconn Lands in Mt. Pleasant  

Wisconsin became a big winner when Taiwan-based, electronics manufacturing giant, Foxconn announced last year that they would be building a large manufacturing complex in Mt. Pleasant along with their North American Headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Foxconn supplies a number of major electronics manufacturers and retailers with their products, including Apple and Amazon. Foxconn is expected to bring 13,000 new jobs to the southeast Wisconsin region and will result in additional manufacturing and warehouse projects. Located close to the state line, northeastern Illinois residents may also benefit from employment opportunities.

The approximate 1,200 acre manufacturing campus is anticipated to take three years to complete.  In March 2018, Foxconn started the infrastructure work on the site. When complete, the site will have multiple manufacturing, warehouse, and office buildings totaling over 20 million square feet.  Due to the size of the project, it is anticipated that multiple sprinkler, fire alarm and special suppression system contractors will be involved.

FSCI has been pleased to provide third-party plan review and inspection services in southeast Wisconsin for over 20 years.  We have been providing service to the South Shore Fire Department for the past 7 years.  South Shore protects Mt. Pleasant and Sturtevant.

FSCI’s role at Foxconn started with the review of sprinkler, fire alarm, and clean agent system plans for an existing 150,000 square foot building that includes manufacturing, storage and office space. The building includes a large clean room which will likely be a common feature in the future manufacturing buildings.  FSCI field inspectors also performed inspections and witnessed the required acceptance testing for each system.  More recently, FSCI has begun the reviews of fire protection systems to be installed in the first of many new buildings.  This building will be approximately 100,000 square feet and will also include manufacturing, storage and offices.  ESFR sprinkler systems will be installed in the warehouse area for the protection of high piled storage of Class 1 through Class 4 commodities, as well as for Group A Plastics up to 35 feet, and for tire storage up to 25 feet.  A hose valve system for fire department use is also to be installed with connections located at each exterior man door to the warehouse and manufacturing areas.

The plans for all systems to be installed are reviewed by FSCI in accordance with the codes adopted by the State of Wisconsin, as well as local amendments that may be applied under Act 270.  The state adopted the 2015 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) with amendments effective May 1, 2018.  The IBC calls out the requirements for fire protection systems, and references the 2013 editions of many National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards, including NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, NFPA 20, Standard for Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, and NFPA 14, Standard for Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems.  For some standards, different editions may be referenced.  One example is the 2015 edition of NFPA 2001, Standard for Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems.

Existing building at 13315 Globe Drive now occupied by Foxconn

Large projects such as these can pose many challenges.  They can be very complex and time consuming for the building and fire code officials.  Projects that are completed in phases require more attention and coordination between the AHJ and contractors.  This is particularly true when it comes to the inspection and testing of numerous systems.  Careful tracking of completed inspections and testing is critical.

FSCI has substantial experience reviewing, inspecting, and tracking projects. A recent example was a 2.3 million square foot Amazon Fulfillment Center in Monee, Illinois.  The sprinkler protection included 45 system risers fed from an underground private fire loop around the building that was pressurized by a 2,000 gpm fire booster pump driven by a diesel engine. The fire alarm system was very large and complex, requiring extensive testing. The system was powered by one fire alarm control unit located in the fire pump room and approximately 60 remote power supplies located throughout the facility.  The acceptance testing of these systems took place over many months with many FSCI team members spending more than 24 days on site inspecting the various systems. In total, over 200 hours of inspections were necessary by ten FSCI inspectors to accomplish the objective of meeting the acceptance testing requirements of several NFPA codes and standards.  Contractors from different trades were necessary for integrated system testing.  Interfaced systems included sprinkler, fire pump, fire alarm, HVAC, and electrical systems.  When compared to Amazon the Foxconn project will be nearly ten times larger.

As a result of our large project experience, and with the Foxconn project underway, FSCI has hired and trained additional staff so we can meet the needs of our clients and meet the desired client timeline.  FSCI is well positioned to grow and support our client’s future growth.

-Fred Hoegler

Vice President of Fire Protection and Inspection Services

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