9 Sep 2021
The American Fire Sprinkler Association is pleased to announce that Jason Williams, C.E.T., manager of ITM technical training, and Tom Noble, C.E.T., technical programs specialist, has been appointed to several 2017 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committees.

Jason Williams

Jason Williams has been appointed to serve on the technical committee for NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. He has nearly 20 years of extensive hands-on industry experience.
 
Williams manages all technical aspects of the AFSA Inspection, Testing and Maintenance (ITM) Inspector Development program, serving as the primary instructor for the live webinars and classes as well as maintaining existing program materials.

Tom Noble

Tom Noble has been appointed to five technical committees: NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes; NFPA 13R, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low-Rise Residential Occupancies; NFPA 22, Standard for Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection; NFPA 24, Standard for the Installation of Private Fire Service Mains and Their Appurtenances; and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code® Residential Occupancies.

Noble has 22 years of experience in the fire protection industry. He is tasked with preparing any and all material for the AFSA Beginning Fire Sprinkler System Planning School, as well as co-teaching the school. Noble also writes informal interpretations on technical questions.

Role of technical committee members

Technical committee members are volunteers who give their time and expertise to serve Technical committee members are volunteers who give of their time and expertise to serve. Some of their activities include participating in the work of the committee, contributing to the development of the assigned standard(s) that are revised every three to five years, and providing input on the committee standard(s) and on the ideas provided by others.

Senior VP service to NFPA

In addition to these new appointments, AFSA Senior Vice President, Engineering & Technical Services Roland J. Huggins, P.E., serves on: NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems Correlating Committee on Automatic Sprinkler Systems; NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems Discharge Criteria.
 
NFPA 101, Life Safety Code® Industrial, Storage, and Miscellaneous Occupancies; NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code® Industrial, Storage, and Miscellaneous Occupancies; and NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code® Correlating Committee on Building Code.

Senior Managers service to NFPA

AFSA’s Senior Manager of Fire Protection Engineering Tom Wellen, P.E., currently serves on the following NFPA committees: NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems Hanging and Bracing of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems; NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems Sprinkler System Installation Criteria.
 
NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems; NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection; NFPA 101, Life Safety Code® Assembly Occupancies; NFPA 170, Standard for Fire Safety and Emergency Symbols; and NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code® Assembly Occupancies.

Authority comment

"AFSA participates on 28 NFPA technical committees with the help of 32 member representatives and four AFSA staff members,” comments Huggins. “We invest so much effort for two reasons. One is to better understand the intent of the standards so we can provide accurate informal interpretations. The other reason is to attempt to improve the requirements driving our industry."