NOVEMBER 5, 2015

FIRELINE

Volume 11/15

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

When people think of safety, they most often think of the field employees and their day to day tasks. It is true

there are many obstacles field people face and have to confront, however safety does not just pertain to the

field. We have had recent accidents and near misses at the shop and office, as well. As employees, we must

all continue watching our surroundings and identify hazards as they come up. Some will be more obvious

hazards, where others are small and tend to go unnoticed. Those unnoticed issues can and do lead to

accidents or near misses, including careless co-workers and other trades. If you see someone doing something

unsafe: Stop them, point out the hazard(s), and help them find an alternate route of completing a task. “It

takes a village” to ensure the safety of its inhabitants.

As members of the Fire Engineering Family, it is our duty to change the culture of the company and bring it into a

more safety conscious society. Safety regulations are not getting easier, nor will

they become lax again. They are getting stricter than ever before. In fact, some

projects require 100% tie off at elevations of 4 feet and higher, some require

goggles to be worn when the wind picks up. For some of us, these changes have

been known and are nothing more than a nuisance. The truth is, these changes

are only implemented to help keep us safer.

Safety needs to be a conscious action that leads to habit, thus becoming

natural.

-Steve Pincock

Celebration of Thought and Expression

Thoughts of Life’s Journey

 Initial failure, is a price you pay for learning anything new.

 A person’s strength and energy are not necessarily related, a person can

have little strength and much energy.

 Learn to bend your rigging with the wind of change, feel the weather in

your soul.

NEW VACATION POLICY

One item that is on everyone’s mind is, when is my next vacation? Starting

January 1, 2016, we are implementing a new vacation policy.

1. If you have been here for 20 years you will now receive 3 weeks vacation.

2. After you have been here for 16 years, you will receive 2 weeks of

vacation plus 1 additional day for each year, up to the 3 weeks total.

Your time, energy and dedication is valued here. Keep up your hard work!

WE NEED YOUR

PICTURES!

Did you know we are on

Facebook & Twitter? We

are trying to update

constantly on what is

going on, as well as

educating about Fire

Safety. Please send us

any photos while on the

job to have them posted

on our social media sites.

Text Kylie @ 413-297-3804.

Make sure to

check us out!

PAPERLESS FUTURE & SIMPLIFICATION

Going Paperless!

As you all know, we do a lot of paperwork to track our progress and make

sure we do things safely. It makes us a better company, but unfortunately

it also takes a lot of time to fill out and fix mistakes. As some of you have

heard. We have developed a system that allows us to fill out and turn in

paperwork remotely with Ipads. We have been using the new system for

Time Cards and Service Order / Work Orders for some time now.

We are excited to let everyone know that we will be using this paperless

reporting system for JPRs, Safety Sheets and Foreman Reports, starting the

beginning of the year! Initially we have Mike Memmott and Sheldon Scott

testing things out on the Sprinkler Side. Mike Wolf and Todd Oborn will be

testing on the Special Hazards side. It will take some getting used to, but

once you get the hang of it, it will make your life easier. Just ask our

Special Hazards & Service / Inspection guys!

I’m sure everyone will be happy to know that you no longer have to hand

fill out a JPR or many other reports! Sweetness!

-Tom Brancheau

“TO ANTIFREEZE OR NOT ANTIFREEZE”, THAT IS THE QUESTION.

So all of us have heard the debate. Antifreeze has been in the national

headlines and Utah seems to be under the microscope. So is Antifreeze

dangerous? Should it be used in fire protection systems? Well, if you

believe all the hype, feel free to overreact. Yet it seems that everyone has

done exactly that….

To make a VERY long story short(er), here are the facts:

1 Antifreeze systems are still legal when using premixed antifreeze solutions which Fire Engineering

conveniently manufactures. (See NFPA 13 TIA 13-1)

2 All NFPA test reports indicate that premixed antifreeze solutions of 48% Glycerin and 38% Propylene

Glycol, or less, do not ignite in a fire scenario.

3 All antifreeze use is governed by State and Local health regulations.

4 Some local agencies, like Park City, take exception to the required 48% Glycerin and 38% Propylene

Glycol requirements, due to the minimum expected

temperatures in their region.

5 Utah State has arbitrarily limited the size of

Antifreeze Systems in Utah to 150 Gallons.

6 Antifreeze systems require additional testing and

inspection to insure the proper concentration is

maintained.

As the use of antifreeze is still an evolving issue, I’m sure

we haven’t seen the last of it. We’ll be sure to keep you

posted when the antifreeze settles.

-Craig Atkinson

DATES TO REMEMBER:

NOV. 26

& 27

– CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING

DEC. 24

– SHOP PARTY – 12:00 (NOON)

DEC. 25

– CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS

JAN. 1

– CLOSED FOR NEW YEARS DAY

Welcome New

Employees!

 Brian Rasmussen

 Jacob Lyman

 Ronald Smith

 Joshua Davis

 Steve Randal

 Michael Johnson

 Trent Owens

 Erick Moreno

 Andrew Simper

Welcome Back!

 Daniel Milbrandt

 Richard Cole