How I Stumbled Into Fire Protection Engineering XI: Pioneering Property Loss Control Consulting

Posted on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Most large companies feel like they are in a delicate position with their property loss insurance company. These companies are under the impression that in order to have insurance there is no choice but to do whatever the insurance company tells them. If they don’t comply, the arrangement can be jeopardized. With an independent fire safety engineer, there is a choice. The problem is that these large companies don’t realize that somebody like Harrington Group exists. Somebody that can advocate for them and maintain the relationship with their insurance company....read the full article

How I Stumbled Into Fire Protection Engineering X: Fire Engineering Advocacy

Posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011

After making a decision that helped save a client thousands of dollars while still ensuring fire safety, my boss came into my office and nearly fired me. He said that my, “decision was 180 degrees away from conventional wisdom.” and I also, “went against another fire engineer’s recommendation and our prescriptive solution for oven fire protection.” By helping a client save money and ensuring safety, I was nearly fired just because I did not fall in line....read the full article

How I Stumbled Into Fire Protection Engineering IX: Making A Special Exception For A Client

Posted on Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

After two and a half years in Montgomery issuing prescriptions to reduce fire risks for over 250 different buildings, I wasn’t learning anything new anymore. My employer understood that I needed to move on, or move out. If they had something for me to do, great. If not, I was going to seek employment elsewhere. Fortunately, they moved me to Atlanta as a supervisor in 1980. I was one of five supervisors in the Atlanta regional office. There were five engineers under me to handle the Atlanta metro area....read the full article

How I Stumbled Into Fire Protection Engineering VIII: After WPI – Fire Insurance Prescriptions

Posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Issuing Fire Insurance Prescriptions was my first job right after graduating from WPI. I was in a year long formal training program in Montgomery, Alabama. Up to this point, the engineer training me was the sole occupier of the Montgomery territory. He wanted to go into a new territory and do something bigger, broader, and all-around different. The insurance company had told him, “As soon as you train a replacement, you can leave.” - I was his ticket out....read the full article

How I Stumbled Into Fire Protection Engineering VII: The Method Of Evaluation

Posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011

I developed an approach to evaluate the sprinkler system for our MQP. It was graphical and statistical – and remember – this was way before the use of computers was common....read the full article