News

The 40th Annual USCAiken SEED STEM Festival showcased an impressive array of participation and demonstrations including the SFPE-CSRA Chapter who presented the topics of fire science, safety, and prevention. The event brought together students, educators, and science enthusiasts to celebrate and explore the wonders of STEM. Participants engaged in hands-on activities, interactive exhibits, and educational workshops, fostering a deeper understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The fire science demonstrations captivated the audience with thrilling displays of controlled burns, fire behavior experiments, and safety techniques including an encouraging challenge for families to create a Home Fire Escape Plan. Experts in the field provided insightful explanations, emphasizing the importance of fire safety and prevention. The festival not only ignited curiosity and passion for STEM but also highlighted the critical role of fire science in protecting communities and the environment. Overall, the event was a resounding success, reaching 3,352 attendees, inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators.

The Society of Fire Protection Engineering CSRA Chapter actively participated in College Night for area students, where they showcased the diverse career opportunities in fire protection engineering. The chapter members engaged students with informative presentations, and active discussions that highlighted the importance of fire safety and engineering principles. They also provided guidance on educational pathways and scholarship opportunities in the field, aiming to inspire and recruit the next generation of fire protection professionals. The event fostered awareness and enthusiasm among students about pursuing careers in this critical and impactful industry.

SRNS employee & SFPE CSRA Chapter Fire Protection Engineer Will Cosey participated in the 2024 Discover Engineering Week at New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School on February 2, 2024. Students were engaged and amazed with the fire science & engineering demonstrations. The SFPE-CSRA Chapter highly values the opportunity to influence new engineering generations of the future. Additionally, home fire safety was addressed such as: Stop, Drop, and Roll; Home Fire Safety Planning with their parents; and safely Exiting an enclosure where there is a fire.

SRNS employees & SFPE CSRA Chapter Fire Protection Engineers participated in the 2024 Engineers Week at Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School on February 2, 2024. FPE’s supported 3 separate sessions during this Friday’s activities. Students were engaged and amazed with the fire science & engineering demonstrations. Additionally, home fire safety was addressed such as: Stop, Drop, and Roll; Home Fire Safety Planning with their parents; and safely Exiting an enclosure where there is a fire.

SRNS & SFPE-CSRA provided a presentation on Fire Protection Engineering and demonstration on Fire Chemistry to the elementary students and parents in attendance at the Brookdale Elementary Family STEM Night on January 25, 2024. There were 220 students participating and 40 Educators.

The CSRA SFPE Chapter attended the 2022 College Night in Augusta, GA, to inform high school students and parents about the variety of careers in Fire Protection Engineering and Fire Science. The event returned this year after not being held in-person for the previous two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 90 colleges and universities were represented and thousands of students attended the event. Victoria Zawacki, Brianna Zawacki, and Wilfredo Ramos represented the Chapter at this event.

On 6/12/19 Ralph Foster taught a class on sprinkler system inspections to the Upper State Code Officials. The class was attended by 28 code official from Greenville, Spartanburg and the surrounding area. The class covered inspections need during the sprinkler system installation and final inspections. The class also covered the difference between a contractor’s NFPA 25 inspection and an inspection by a code official on existing sprinkler systems. The class is accredited for 7 hours of CEU by the SC Building Code Council and the SC State Fire Marshal’s Office. The class is offered as part of the chapter’s outreach to code official in South Carolina

Members of the CSRA SFPE Chapter attended the 2017 College Night in Augusta, GA, to inform high school students and parents about the vast array of careers in Fire Science and Fire Protection Engineering. Bob O'Neill, Dave Hoang and Rob Hanson represented the Chapter at this event. Students and parents were given information on colleges that offer degrees in fire protection and career opportunities available upon graduation. Over 6,000 students were in attendance.

On May 11th, two CSRA-SFPE chapter officers, Rob Plonski (Vice President) and Rob Hanson (Secretary), volunteered to participate at an event called STEM Fest. Located at Paul Knox middle school, this teach-in was to encourage middle school students to consider a future career science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. CSRA-SFPE had a display table promoting fire protection engineering. Throughout the 3-hour event, over 500 students were exposed to a 5-minute overview of fire protection engineering through thought-provoking questions and exciting experiments. As part of this presentation, fundamentals of combustion, flame propagation, extinguishment principals, and general fire safety were explored. Students of all backgrounds left with newfound knowledge of the four components required for a fire to occur (heat, fuel, oxygen, and chemical reaction) and the fundamental understanding that removal of any one of the four is sufficient enough to extinguish a fire.

The CSRA SFPE hosted our annual NCEES problem writing session in Columbia on Tuesday February 21. Thank you goes out to the SimplexGrinnell office in West Columbia for being our host again this year. Chris Jelenewicz, SFPE International, served as the moderator for the problem writing session. Jason Butler and Thomas Allison submitted 11 new problems to the question pool for the Fire Protection Engineering Exam. NCEES would not be able to offer a PE exam in Fire Protection without the help of volunteers writing questions for the exam.