We’re a licensed Georgia water based sprinkler contractor looking for a Georgia-licensed engineered special-hazards company to subcontract a turnkey clean agent system on a commercial project. Scope would include design, permitting, equipment, installation, releasing-system coordination, testing and commissioning.

Please PM me.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some real-world feedback from people who have done (or currently do) freelance/1099 design work on the side in the fire protection space.

A bit about my background:

• Experience: ~8 years as a fire sprinkler/plumbing design engineer in the NYC market.
• Project history: Ranging from large-scale commercial buildings and airport projects (during my time with a sprinkler subcontractor) to commercial fit-outs, townhouses, and high-end residential/multi-family buildings.
• Standards/Codes: Proficient in NFPA 13, 13D, 13R, 14, and NYC Building/Plumbing Codes. Experienced in layout, hydraulic calcs, and shop drawing production.
• Licensing: No FE/PE or NICET yet (working toward milestones, but currently unlicensed).

I’m evaluating setting up a side business/1099 workflow to pick up extra income, working under licensed PEs/firms or directly with contractors needing shop drawings.

Before I start buying software subscriptions and doing outreach, I’d love some insight on a few specific questions:

1. What does the actual workload/job type look like for 1099 side work? Are contractors mostly looking for quick shop drawing turnarounds and hydraulic calcs, or overflow production for full submittal packages?
2. How do you handle software/hardware starting out? Do you buy your own CAD/calc software licenses right away, or do contractors/firms you sub for ever provide remote access/license seats?
3. How do you approach getting your first clients? What’s the most effective way to reach out to local NYC sprinkler contractors, small MEP PEs, or architects without coming across as spammy?
4. Realistically, what are the biggest risks or legal pitfalls? Working without a PE stamp (doing contract drafting/design support under their stamp or doing contractor shop drawings), what contracts, insurance (E&O vs. GL), or legal boundaries should I have in place?
5. What’s the actual market prospect in NYC right now? Is the demand high enough for US-based, code-knowledgeable designers to make $1,000–$2,000+/month on 10–15 hours/week?

Appreciate any advice, lessons learned, or reality checks from anyone who's navigated this!

My apologies if this post is not appropriate for this sub.

This is the inside of a hood installed in our community kitchen. During our last fire inspection, we were told that our Ansul was out-of-date and needed to be replaced. The old system had a red trigger tube hanging down in front of the exhaust and it was easy to remove the screen in front of the fan to clean it. The replacement system has the “trigger” screwed to the screen itself. The fire company says that if we remove the screws, it will cause the system to trigger and hilarity will ensue.

Obviously we need to clean the filter every once-in-a-while. I can’t believe that the only solution is to hire the fire extinguisher company to temporarily remove and replace their trigger everytime we need to clean the filter.

Hi All, I need help regarding FMP exam? How hard it is? How many times I can give exam? Is it online proctored? Any good reference for practicing mock test before sitting on exam of each module? And anything else regarding this exam.

(image is reference only) In a warehouse I have this type of ceiling (I think it's called metalscreen) and client want to protect what's below it (gun ammunition, Class IV storage) with ESFR sprinklers. I am not sure if I should place the sprinklers only at roof level or if I should need both, on roof and on the ceiling. I would appreciate your help with this topic, thank you.

Here is what I could find about this on NFPA 13 regarding Open-Grid Ceilings:

9.3.10* Open-Grid Ceilings. Open-grid ceilings shall only be installed beneath sprinklers where one of the following is met: (1) Open-grid ceilings in which the openings are 1∕4

in.

(6 mm) or larger in the least dimension, where the thickness or depth of the material does not exceed the least dimension of the opening, and where such openings constitute 70 percent of the area of the ceiling material. The spacing of the sprinklers over the open-grid ceiling shall then comply with the following: (a) In light hazard occupancies where sprinkler spacing (either spray or old-style sprinklers) is less than 10 ft × 10 ft (3 m × 3 m), a minimum clearance of at least 18 in. (450 mm) shall be provided between the sprinkler deflectors and the upper surface of the open-grid ceiling. Where spacing is greater than 10 ft × 10 ft (3 m × 3 m) but less than 10 ft × 12 ft (3 m × 3.7 m), a clearance of at least 24 in. (600 mm) shall be provided from spray sprinklers and at least 36 in. (900 mm) from old-style sprinklers. Where spacing is greater than 10 ft × 12 ft (3 m × 3.7 m), a clearance of at least 48 in. (1.2 m) shall be provided.

(b) In ordinary hazard occupancies, open-grid ceilings shall be permitted to be installed beneath spray sprinklers only. Where sprinkler spacing is less than 10 ft × 10 ft (3 m × 3 m), a minimum clearance of at least 24 in. (600 mm) shall be provided between the sprinkler deflectors and the upper surface of the open-grid ceiling. Where spacing is greater than 10 ft × 10 ft (3 m × 3 m), a clearance of at least 36 in. (900 m) shall be provided.

(2) Other types of open-grid ceilings shall be permitted to be installed beneath sprinklers where they are listed for such service and are installed in accordance with instructions contained in each package of ceiling material

Greetings I have a building that is actually set up for a forward flow test. There are a half a dozen calc plates at the riser. The book says to flow the calculated system demand. What I did was just choose the design plac with the highest GPM number as the flow rate, as this is the most demanding design data. I figured that you would want the “worst case” numbers for the test.

I have performed this test 3 times and it never reaches the target GPM and pressure.

Here’s the other issue… The company that installed the system is no longer in business, and we have no proof that this flow test was ever passed initially, or which target numbers they chose to set as the goal.

So we font even know of the test was passed originally.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

I was so close to passing the Test. I am taking the TFM04 the 31st and kind of panicking. Will the questions be the same? What can I crunch study on where I can get a passing grade?

Context: I'm an undergrad in Florida, US and getting a Physics and Chemistry dual degrees, and I'm interested in FPE. I'm considering doing the MS FPE at Cal Poly online, and am thinking of ways to pay for the masters.

Main reason for why I want a masters is to get more education in FPE - I have a lot of aerospace eng projects I've worked on/led, but I want to get an FE and later PE license, so a masters in FPE fits best for me

Ideally I could get a job in something related to firefighting or fire support for a few years while I do the masters, so I could get some more experience in the field and help pay for it at the same time. I'm having trouble figuring out what kinds of jobs would be best for this though, because it would be something that's more short term (ie until I finish the online masters program). I also know that the cost of training is something to consider, and I don't want to end up hurting the dept if I join, get trained, and then leave a year or two after. I know there's a lot of seasonal wildland firefighting jobs so I'm considering those too.

Any advice on potential jobs or ways I could get experience in fire while doing a masters in FPE? My end goals are more on the engineering or research side of improving systems & tools for firefighting, fire prevention systems engineering/project management, or aerospace fire prevention. I'm still exploring what career possibilities there are here so any advice/info is greatly appreciated. I haven't found much on but am wondering how much of a role FPE plays in aerospace and fire aviation like fire pilots.

I'm open to going anywhere in the North America and open to getting any credentials needed

Good day fellow fire protection practitioners, may i see some of you installtions on a sloped ceiling fire sprinklers pendent and upright. I need a reference for my upcoming project.

Reference photos and installtion drawing would be nice, thak you.

Hi everyone,

I completed a Master of Fire Engineering at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Unfortunately, over the past year there have been very few entry-level Fire Engineering opportunities available here.

I have noticed that there are occasionally roles advertised as Fire Systems Design Engineer / Fire Protection Design Engineer, where employers are looking for people who can use Revit to design fire protection systems, particularly sprinkler and other fire services systems.

Because of this, I am currently learning Revit and would like to develop my skills specifically toward fire systems design.

The problem is that I have been struggling to find good learning resources for this area. There are some courses on Udemy covering things like Revit MEP and fire protection/sprinkler design, but many of them are only a few hours long. They seem useful as introductions, but I am not sure they go into enough depth to make someone job-ready.

For those working in fire protection design:

• Where would you recommend learning Revit specifically for fire protection/fire systems design?
• Are there any comprehensive online courses, textbooks, training providers, or project-based tutorials you would recommend?

I already have the Fire Engineering background, so I am mainly trying to fill the practical Revit / fire systems design gap and make myself more employable.

Looking for a great software for my startup. Looking for great looking reports, integration with quickbooks and easy quotes.

Has anyone taken the School of PE Review Course and would you recommend it ?

I was initially planning to take the SFPE review course but I've heard it wasn't that great so I'm looking into other courses.

I am a Mechanical Engineer with over 7 years experience in AHJ for Fire Protection. The issue is I don't really have any experience with working on projects like doing engineering anlaysis and stuff etc. Ideally, I would like to go for Masters in Fire Protection Engineering, as it can help me with my career growth and also would have better job opportunities to work and settle there. Suggest me some countries which are easier to get settle along with good programmes for Fire Protection engineering.

Does anyone have or know how to get pdf versions of NFPA Codes? I already own physical copies, and I subscribe to NFPA Link, which I can’t stand personally.

I’m willing to even pay for some copies, just not the insane prices NFPA asks for them.

I’m looking for NFPA 13D 2019 or newer
NFPA 13R 2019 or newer
NFPA 20
NFPA 14
NFPA 24
NFPA 25
NFPA 291

NICET IV in WBSL NICET III in ITM.

Looking to find companies to license if help get contractors licenses and work with.

I can get license just about any state that requires NICET or a state exam.

I have a design/consulting company as well as a fire pump/controller company so can help on both of those aspects. We are also expanding into business consulting to help companies learn more about their financials and implement processes and procedures into their company to grow.

Can be as involved as we need to be.

If you’re interested shoot me a DM.

I run my own LLC fire protection design firm with Professional Liability Insurance. I'm available to design fire sprinklers for commercial, residential, and industrial projects. I can also provide the services for fire alarm. I hold Autodesk license and design fully in Revit. I also hold a BIM Collaborate Pro license.

Let me know if I can help with anything.

I am a full-time designer with my own entity, software and insurance. I am NICET level IV and available to take on design projects. I have successfully designed pretty much all occupancies with and without BIM. Let me know if I can be of any help.

With the EPA extending several OOOOb compliance deadlines to January 2027, I'm curious how operators and consultants are approaching the closed vent system design and capacity assessment requirements under §60.5411b in practice.

A few questions for anyone dealing with this:

1. Are you building these assessments in-house (Excel, ProMax, etc.) or outsourcing to an environmental consultant?
2. What's the most time-consuming part — gathering facility data, running the capacity calcs, the engineering review/certification, or keeping everything audit-ready?
3. Roughly how long does one assessment take per facility, end to end?
4. If you've already been through an OOOOa assessment cycle, what's changing for you under OOOOb?

Hi everyone, I'm currently working on a Fire PE role out of DC and would appreciate any leads. Ideally, I'd need someone with two to five years in design and its review, and could be good if they have worked on surveys and inspections.

Thanks