Making It Work! Troubleshooting Design & Construction Details

What You Don’t Know Could Burn You: NFPA 285 - Code Required Building Envelope Assembly Testing

Summary

This presentation will identify important aspects of new requirements for building envelopes having weather resistive barriers and/or exterior insulation.  Jesse Beitel will brief us on critical knowledge needed with the implementation of the 2012 Code Series.

Topics

• History of NFPA 285 requirements
• Requirements and conduct of NFPA 285 tests
• Applicability of NFPA 285 in the International Building Code
• Applicability and use of NFPA 285 to various materials and assemblies

About Our Speaker

Jesse Beitel is a principal and senior scientist at Hughes Associates Inc. in Baltimore, Md.  An expert on fire performance and the flammability of materials, Beitel’s work focuses on experimental programs, the development of fire tests, technical studies and code representation. He has done work for manufacturers, trade associations, private industries and the U.S. military.   A graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, where he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Beitel was a process chemist at E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. in Chattanooga, Tenn., and held various scientist positions in the Fire Technology Department at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, before joining Hughes Associates in 1992.

In 2011, Beitel received the ASTM International Walter C. Voss Award for his outstanding contributions to fire safety in the areas of building construction, building code development and shipboard applications.  The Voss Award is presented annually by ASTM International to an engineer or scientist who has made notable contributions in the field of building technology.   Beitel currently serves as second vice chair of ASTM Committee E05 on Fire Standards and is also a member of Committee D20 on Plastics. Committee E05 has recognized his contributions with a Certificate of Appreciation in 1986 and an Award of Appreciation in 2007.  Beitel is also a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the National Fire Protection Association, the American Chemical Society and the International Code Council.