An Association of Contractors and Manufacturers Providing Passive Fire Protection to Structural Materials

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

May 15, 2013

PDQuipment Joins NFCA as Associate Member

PDQuipment located in Oregon City, OR joined the NFCA as an Associate member. Dennis Mills is the member contact. PDQuipment is the material sprayers one-stop-shop. From tarps, parts, pumps, and more, they will supply you with whatever you need to get the job done. They are a company that provides service and equipment to the United States and across the globe. With over 25 years of experience in the business we can be your purchasing agent.

Their web site is www.pdquipment.com

Welcome to the NFCA

May 10 , 2013

New Officers and Board of Directors Elected

A new slate of officers and directors were elected during the NFCA business meeting in San Antonio on April 19, 2013. The 2013-2014 officers and directors are:

President	Paul Steele	Raymond-Southern California	Orange, CA
Vice President	Dean Lakey	T. J. Weis Contracting, Inc.	Lake St. Louis, MO
Treasurer	Bret Simpson	W. R. Grace & Co.	Cambridge, MA
Secretary	Mike Barker	Donalco, Inc.	Scarborough, ON
Director	Jose A. Lopez	AISLA Citec, Inc.	San Juan, PR
Director	Ron Van Frankfoort	Carboline, Inc.	St. Louis, MO
Director	Kurt Neff	Isolatek Corp.	Stanhope, NJ
Director	Mike Nehnevajsa	Easley & Rivers Inc.	Monroeville, PA
Director	John Taglienti	East Coast Fireproofing	Walpole, MA
Director	Howard Towler	Acme Fireproofing	Jenks, OK
Director	Bubba Winston	American Coatings, Inc.	Ashland, VA
Director	Jonathan Wohl	Lawrence B. Wohl	Port Chester, NY

April 14, 2013

Three New NFCA Members

Three new companies have joined the NFCA. The companies include contractors and associate members. The contractors are participating in both DRI training programs and attending the education conference in San Antonio. The associate member is an insurance broker. All have an interest in the NFCA Contractor Accreditation Program (CAP). The members are:
Newkem Engineers pvt Ltd located in Mumbai, India joined to learn more about the SFRM and IFRM application since many projects are designed using UL Fire rated designs. This is the first international member for the NFCA. Mr. Kush Sura is company representative.

Toman Brothers, Inc. of San Antonio has been in the business of fire protection applications for the past 35 years. Their interest lies in the DRI program and its use in the market to help distinguish their company from others. Mr. Ross Toman is company representative.

Rueter Insurance of Philadelphia, PA joined to learn how they can improve their position in the Philadelphia fire rated market. They currently write many policies for construction projects. Mr. Joseph Rueter is company representative.

View their contact information on the “MemberLists” page of the NFCA web under “About NFCA”.

December 20, 2011

NFCA Forms Canadian Committee

The NFCA President, Mike Nehnevajsa, announces the formation of a Canadian Committee within the NFCA. Canada is covered by different structural engineering principles, a national code, and some differences in the UL product approvals. These differences need to be met by the committee who can focus the issues that Canadian contractors deal with on a daily basis. Don Falconer, President of Falconer Engineering & Testing located in Whitby, Ontario Canada has been appointed chairman. Don, an Associate Member of NFCA, has years of experience in the Canadian market first with A/D Fireproofing and recently with Carboline and their respective SFRM and IFRM products.

The first meeting of the committee will take place Thursday afternoon, March 22, 2012 during the NFCA Educational Conference to be held at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Canadian contractors should contact the NFCA office if you desire to participate in this committee meeting. We also encourage discussing this committee formation with other Canadian contractors and urge them to join the NFCA and participate in the March Committee meeting in Las Vegas

December 20, 2011

NFCA Announces Accredited Contractor Program

The NFCA announces an Accredited Contractor program for NFCA members who install Spray-Applied Fire Resistive Materials (SFRM) and/or Intumescent Fire Resistive Materials (IFRM). The purpose of this program is to set a standard that requires an educational effort on the contractor’s part resulting in an improvement in application of industry products in accordance with agency product approvals and building code compliance. The heart of the program revolves around the contractor having at least one Designated Responsible Individual (DRI) in the contractor’s organization. The DRI must have participated in a NFCA DRI training program and passed an examination of the learned knowledge. The NFCA training program and examination covers agency product approvals, agency design procedures for products, and the application of fire resistive materials in accordance with industry procedures. In addition, the DRI must continue learning through yearly educational requirements. The contractor must have been in business applying industry products for two years, received training in application of manufacturer’s products, and a member in good standing in the NFCA.

Two SFRM contractors, Easley & Rivers, Inc. of Monroeville, PA and Raymond-Southern California, Inc. of Orange, CA met the program requirements and have been awarded the NFCA SFRM Accredited Contractor logo.

Details of the program and how to participate may be found under the tab "NFCA Accredited Contractor". DRI training programs for SFRM and IFRM contractors will be held March 20-21, 2012 at the MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. Check the DRI training announcement on this web site under NFCA News..

October 9, 2009

NFCA Announces Free Inspector Training for SFRM & Intumescent Products

The NFCA announces the availability of a free training program for inspectors who conduct special inspections of SFRM and Intumescent Materials. This program may be found in the ICC Inspector section of this web site along with operating instructions.

This training program was created to provide the tools necessary for a special inspector to properly conduct the inspection and testing of applied products in accordance with the IBC code requirements. The industry encourages the person completing the training to become a ICC Certified Inspector for SFRM and Intumescent materials. Information on how to become a ICC Certified Inspector is also on the instruction page.

The program covers the areas of code requirements, thickness testing, density testing, and bond strength testing for SFRM and thickness testing for Intumescent. All of this testing by a special inspector is required by code following the application of these products.

Should you have comments on the training program, contacts us via e-mail at Inspectortraining@nfca-online.com.

April 23, 2009

ICC Code Changes for 2009 International Fire Code Will Benefit Industry

Several changes affecting Fireproofing will be published in the 2009 edition of the ICC International Fire Code. These include the following:

An Annual visual inspection of accessible fire-resistance rated construction by the owner. Systems must be properly repaired, restored or replaced when damaged, altered, breached or penetrated. This change should increase the amount of patching of fireproofing throughout the life of a building.
Section 403.18 requires the minimum bond strength in high rise buildings to be as follows:

When the height is more that 75 feet up to 420 feet the minimum bond strength is 430 psf
More than 420 feet the minimum bond strength is 1000psf

The changes will promote the use of products on these high risk buildings that meet the bond strength requirements now stated by the 2009 code.

Table 503 – Allowable Height and Building Areas will have the height reduced by 1 story for Type III B buildings. More business, mercantile and storage buildings will fall under Type IIA which will require a 1 hour classification.
Section 202 – Primary structural frame – Cross Bracing. This section increases the amount of cross bracing to be fireproofed with a change in definition. This section now includes the following: “Bracing members that are essential to the vertical stability of the primary structural frame under gravity loading shall be considered part of the primary structural frame whether or not the bracing member carries gravity loads.”