Presentation: Regulating Laboratories - A Challenge for Designers and Enforcers
It can be a challenging assignment to design an NFPA-compliant laboratory in a high-rise building for a large university setting. General, and sometimes competing, requirements can be difficult to interpret and implement to accommodate a modern, ever-evolving, highly flexible laboratory design. NFPA 101, NFPA 30, and NFPA 45 each add to or complement the others with fire protection and life safety requirements, thus calling for a balance between the end-users and the design's code and building limitations. This session presents an overview and logical approach to applying major fire protection and life safety features and systems to a modern, flexibly designed university high-rise laboratory.
PRESENTERS: Joshua Lambert, PE (Fire Protection Engineer - University of Texas) and Warren Bonisch (Vice President - Jensen Hughes)
Joshua Lambert, Fire Protection Engineer - University of Texas at Austin: Joshua Lambert is a fire protection engineer in the Fire Prevention Services department at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to UT Mr. Lambert was previously with the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office where he provided his expertise to the licensing and inspections divisions and oversaw the inspection programs for state facilities in the Austin area. He currently serves as the chair of the committee on Assembly Occupancies for NFPA 101 and 5000 and committees for Residential Occupancies, Means of Egress, Fire Protection Features, and the Correlating Committee on Safety to Life. He has previously served as a member of NFPA’s Southern Regional Fire Code Development Committee. Joshua has a degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Warren Bonisch, Vice President - Jensen Hughes: As Vice President, Mr. Bonisch establishes and maintains business relationships for a variety of commercial, governmental and institutional clients. Project work includes warehouses, mercantile facilities, health care, correctional and judicial facilities, multi-use projects, hotels, convention centers, office buildings, shopping malls, and colleges. His work includes the development and presentation of equivalencies, fire/smoke computer modeling, code interpretations and compliance, sprinkler designs, review of construction plans, evaluation of existing buildings and systems, and analysis of overall building life safety and fire protection features.
