An Association of Contractors and Manufacturers Providing Passive Fire Protection to Structural Materials
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An Association of Contractors and Manufacturers Providing Passive Fire Protection to Structural Materials |
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The NFCA represents contractors who install passive fireproofing products to protect building structural materials from fire and manufacturers who provide those products. Member contractors install sprayed fireproofing, intumescent coatings and fireproofing board products. Contractors are approved to install these materials by fireproofing product manufacturers and some are covered by the UL Qualified Contractor Program. The NFCA works to improve the proper use and application of industry products through development of standard practices and educational programs for both product users and members. |
NFCA News |
March 10, 2008 Guidance Information Bulletins Now Online The NFCA has created bulletins detailing proper design information for SFRM and Intumescent fire protection materials. The Guidance Information Bulletins may be found under the “Technical Information” heading on this web site. The Bulletins provide design information on specific issues that may have been unclear in the past or on new design positions that need to be headed. Currently four Bulletins have been developed and include the following:
February 21, 2008 UL Publishes Qualified Contractor Program Articles UL has created and published two recent articles that describe the Qualified Contractor Program. The articles discuss the benefits and provide details on how the programs operate. Both articles show how NFCA participated in the program development and in providing continued support for the program. The articles appear in the spring 2008 Quarterly of the International Fire Marshals Association (IFMA) and UL’s Fire and Security Authority publication. Click on the following to view. February 14, 2008 NFCA Participates in UL Fire Symposium Hubert Dudley, Executive Director of the NFCA presented a program on passive fire protection provided by NFCA represented products at the UL Fire Symposium in Alhambra, CA January 31 and February 1. The Symposium was attended over two days by 150 fire marshals, ICC code officials, architects and building managers. The message by Mr. Dudley covered the importance and benefits of SFRM and Intumescent in fire protection. He also covered the role of the NFCA and the new UL Qualified Contractor Program. February 1, 2008 NFCA Executive Director Appointed to ICC Exam Development Committee Last year the NFCA completed an ICC co-sponsor agreement for their SFRM and Intumescent inspector certification program. Hubert Dudley, Executive Director was appointed as a member of the Exam Development Committee. His will be responsible for reviewing exam questions and initiating new questions pertaining to structural steel fire protection. January 23, 2008 Clayton Coatings, Inc – First UL Qualified SFRM Contractor Underwriters Laboratories recently bestowed upon Clayton Coatings, Inc. of Everett, WA the title of 1st UL Qualified SFRM Contractor. The UL program requires the contractor to pass a written test, place into operation a quality management program, and pass a UL audit annually. Clayton Coatings completed all phases of these actions. Details of the announcement can be found in the NFCA Press Release. December 17, 2007 Three Contractors Join NFCA The following contractors have recently become members of the NFCA. They are: ACME Fireproofing & Insulation - Fairmont City, IL We welcome these new members to the growing list of contractors who support the activities of the NFCA.
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March 21, 2008 North Carolina NFCA Training for SFRM Contractors and UL Qualified Contractor Examination The NFCA announces that the next SFRM Contractor Training Program and UL Qualified Contractor Examination will take place on May 8-9, 2008 at Underwriters Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, NC. This will allow contractors located on the East Coast to more easily take the first step in becoming a UL Qualified SFRM Contractor. At this time 41 contractor personnel have successfully completed the NFCA training program and passed the UL examination. One contractor has been approved by UL and many are working to complete the process to become a UL Qualified SFRM Contractor. Program Details and Registration Package November 12, 2007 Presidents Message We have just completed a very successful 2007 NFCA annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. All of our attendees and spouses found San Antonio a unique and pleasant location and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We thank Carboline/AD, W. R. Grace, and Isolatek International for their sponsorship of our conference. Our technical, standards, and education committees held very productive meetings discussing and taking action on items including NFCA 400 (Standards for application of Intumescent Fireproofing), Quality Management System templates, review of UL certification check sheets, NFCA web site improvements, ICC Certified Inspector Program training, UL test design clarifications, and restrained versus unrestrained UL test system selection. Special thanks to Don Falconer, Johnny Lopez, and Kurt Neff for leading these committee meetings. Betsy Titus, UL Program Manager for the UL Qualified Contractor Program, gave us an update on the UL Qualified Contractor Program and announced that we currently have 41 NFCA members from all over the United States and Puerto Rico that have passed the UL examination and that we will have one member receive a UL site audit by years end. UL also announced that the price charged by UL to NFCA members for on-site audits will be lowered to $3,000.00 for the next year! The UL reduced price offer expires November 2, 2008. This is very exciting news and clearly demonstrates how much support UL is putting in to the program. NFCA members are being rewarded for being leaders in our industry! Overall, our 2007 conference demonstrated that the NFCA continues to gain momentum, increase our membership, benefit from our members active participation, and play a vital role in improving our industry. In 2008 we hope that all our members will continue to encourage non-members in their local marketplace to join the NFCA to ensure we all benefit from improved industry standards and quality management practices. Moving forward, our association has a bright future and our growing membership will provide and even stronger voice to better our industry. November 12 , 2007 UL Announces a One Year Cost Reduction for Qualified Contractor Program Betsy Titus, Underwriters Laboratories Manage of the SFRM Qualified Contractor Program announced a 50% reduction in the first year cost of the UL program. This announcement at the NFCA San Antonio Educational Conference reduces the first year cost to $3000.00 from $6000.00. This announced reduction will only be in effect for 12 months and end November 2, 2008. Mrs Titus stated that UL wanted to clearly demonstrate its support of this program by providing assistance to those contractors who participated during the early years of the program. She stated that 41 DRI's have been approved by UL following the completion of the NFCA Training Program and passing the UL written examination. Contractors must contact UL directly to take advantage of this cost reduction opportunity.
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