To the members of VFPA,
I would like to start off by saying I hope each of you are doing well. I would like to take a minute of your time to bring you up to date on a few items and to ask for you help.
If you have not already heard, Fire Team USA will be in Richmond on April 14 and 15th. They will be talking about and demonstrating residential sprinkler systems. With the ICC passing the new residential sprinkler requirements this is good opportunity to educate yourself and other local officials on this important issue. Please see the main page of our website for more information.
The Spring Conference is May 18-20, 2009. It looks to be a really good school with topics on fire protection systems, fireproofing, fire stopping, wildland-urban interface and a presentation on the Charleston Sofa Store fire. Though we don’t use the Wildland-Urban Interface Code (WUIC) in Virginia, there have been several localities looking at this code as a guide. As more homes are built in wooded areas, the WUIC may become a guide for education material to homeowners and builders. It should be interesting and I am sure we will all learn from this class. I have personally seen the Charleston Sofa Fire Presentation from the Charleston Building/Fire Official. This is sure to be an eye opener and is a very good class to bring your boss(s) to see. I look forward to seeing each of you at the beach!
Have you updated your membership? Is there a person in your office that is not a member of VFPA? If you have not updated your membership or a person in your office is not a member, please consider joining today. I feel having a membership in VFPA is a must; it has allowed me to grow in my code knowledge as well as a person. By joining VFPA and attending our conferences, you develop friendships and resources. Do you need to bounce a question off someone to see how they handled a certain situation? Give one of your friends you met at the last conference a call, I’m sure they’ll be glad to help. VFPA has great people who are very knowledgeable in the fire and building codes arena. They are great resources and support if you need them. So, please join or become more active in VFPA.
Have you been keeping up with the General Assembly this year? Several bills related to fire prevention and fire marshal safety have passed this year to include the assault on fire marshal’s bill and novelty lighters just to name a few. Please watch these bills to see if they are approved and signed by the Governor. I would like to acknowledge our lobbyist, Mr. Ed Rhodes, for his excellent work and communication with us during this General Assembly session.
Lastly, I am looking for a person(s) to appoint to a committee to document the history of VFPA. We have some of our history documented but I feel there is more that should be done. I would like to get the history updated and put a mechanism in place to update it on a regular basis. If you are interested in this endeavor please contact me.
Thanks for your time and all you do to make Virginia a safe place to live, work and play. Together we become stronger and better friends.
Thank You,
Daniel Rakes
President, Virginia Fire Prevention Association
