HGI’s “Think Upstream”: The Difference Between Water Flow Tests & Design Basis Water Supply in Fire Protection Engineering

What is the difference between a water flow test & design basis water supply & why do we require a safety margin after adjusting a water flow test? A water flow test when performed in accordance with NFPA 291…

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New Hire Spotlight: Lori Carella – Controller

Harrington Group, Inc. is excited to welcome Lori Carella, CPA, to our team! Lori may be new to the world of fire protection engineering, but she's no stranger to numbers. As our Controller at HGI, she brings a wealth of…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Surge Suppression for Fire Alarm Circuits

Why do we provide surge suppression on fire alarm circuits? The simple answer is to protect the fire alarm system from power surges caused by nearby lightning or a power surge originating from within the protected premises.…

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New Hire Spotlight: John Jeng – Senior Property Loss Control Consultant

Harrington Group, Inc. is excited to welcome John Jeng, Senior Property Loss Control Consultant, to our team! Before joining HGI, John worked for a global fire protection engineering company, gaining valuable expertise in his…

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Did You Know Next Week is Home Fire Sprinkler Week?

The National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”) and the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition have come together to champion Home Fire Sprinkler Week on May 14-20, 2023. This event is dedicated to promoting the importance of home…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Communicate Early and Often to Help Avoid Mistakes

Fire protection engineering design/contract documents, including clear drawing notes and specifications, can go a long way toward ensuring the applicable code requirements are met. One example is the Underground Material and…

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Evacuation of Multi-Story Buildings

Phased evacuation was first presented as a possible egress approach in 1935 by the National Bureau of Standards, which later became the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”). The same report also gave…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Spare Sprinklers

  Who thinks about spare sprinklers until they are needed? The spare sprinkler cabinet is one of the last features of a fire sprinkler system to be installed and stocked. Often overlooked, the spare sprinklers become a…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Venting Air from Fire Sprinkler Systems; Manual or Automatic?

  Don’t let an ad campaign fool you. An automatic air vent installed in accordance with NFPA 13 requirements on a gridded system will only remove air from the cross mains, and the highest branch line on which it is…

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New Hire Spotlight: Michelle Combs – Project Coordinator

After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Special Education and Master of Education in Classroom Teaching, Michelle gained many new relationships and skills over the years. With a background in education and patient services,…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Flanges and Flanged Fittings

  Flanges and flanged fittings are rated by pressure class. The 125# pressure class flanged fittings carry a 200 psi pressure rating, while the 250# pressure class fittings carry a 500 psi pressure rating. When a fire…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Baffles, Barriers, Water Shields & “Heat Collectors”

  Baffles, Barriers, Water Shields & "Heat Collectors". These terms are tossed around on shop drawings & in the field interchangeably. They are different even if the result is similar. Baffle: Used between…

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HGI’s “Think Upstream”: Occluded Outlets

When performing an installation review, HGI also reviews the condition of the material not yet installed. There are some jurisdictions that still perform an outlet inspection of all delivered material. When fabricating welded…

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Gigi and Husband

New Hire Spotlight: Gigi Soukaria – Building Information Modeling (BIM) Technician

Ghazal Soukaria, who goes by Gigi, joined Harrington Group as a Building Information Modeling (“BIM”) technician in early April. Her background is in architecture — in 2014 she earned a bachelor’s degree from Al-Ba’ath…

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Matt Graham

New Hire Spotlight: Matt Graham, Fire Protection Consultant

Matt Graham (left) with his brother at the Golden Gate Bridge Matt Graham has been on both sides of fire protection: first as a firefighter, and now as a fire protection consultant for Harrington Group. A local career center…

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