January 2024 SFPE Chapter Meeting

This is the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Middle TN Chapter of SFPE. 

**This month we are MEETING AT THE TN STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE** Check-in at the lobby desk and the meeting will be on the 9th floor. Recommended parking is the parking deck on Harrison Street.

Our speaker this month will be Tom Gardner, P.E. with Harrington Group. Tom is an SVP/Director of Business Development with the Harrington Group. He holds a BS in General Science from Fordham University and a BS in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is a registered Professional Engineer (Fire Protection Engineering) in 17 states and has over 43 years of experience. Tom is the Past Chair of the SFPE’s Engineering Education Committee, Past Chair of the NFPA’s Health Care Section, and is a Fellow in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

Conflagration to Code: How Historic Building Fires Shaped Modern Codes

This presentation offers an in-depth analysis of the causes and contributing factors in some of most

notorious structure fires in the U.S. and outlines how the lessons learned eventually translated into

modern code requirements. The discussion will include many well-known fires such as Coconut Grove,

Our Lady of the Angles, Iroquois Theater, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, The Winecoff Hotel, and others.

Learning Objectives: After this session, attendees should be able to:

1. Recall historically significant fires (in terms of their impact on Codes).

2. Understanding the building’s pre-fire configuration.

3. Understand the causes and contributing factors that led to the severity of these fires.

4. Understand the lessons learned because of these fires.

5. Understand what eventually translated into code requirements as a direct result of the fires. 

6. In addition, session attendees will be able to recognize the resulting requirements in modern

codes as some have changed due to more than one fire.

7. With this knowledge, attendees will be able to apply these code requirements in a manner

consistent with their intent.

Lunch will be provided by Gresham Smith.