Welcome to Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union
669
PROVIDING QUALITY FIRE PROTECTION INSTALLERS SINCE
1915
Breaking News
Message of the Business Manager
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Three University Related Fire Incidents in One-week.
Newburyport, Massachusetts …. In less than one week, three major campus related fires occurred, including two on campus.
May 7, 2008 - Syracuse, NY - Three State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry students were hospitalized as a precaution this morning after they escaped from a burning home. Seven college students lived in the home. The fire started on the second floor shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters said. In a desperate attempt to get out of the house, one of the residents jumped from a second floor window.
May 6, 2008 – San Antonio, Texas - More than 100 students were displaced from their dormitory when a fire damaged a historic building on the campus of Our Lady of the Lake University, officials said. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said arson investigators are looking into the cause. The four-alarm blaze broke out early Tuesday night in the Main Building, which housed a dorm and administrative offices. Students say there had been false fire alarms for weeks. A bomb threat was discovered in a bathroom on Monday and led to an evacuation, but nothing was found. A trash can fire also was reported earlier on Tuesday in a building across the street from the one that burned. It was quickly doused, students said. The Tuesday night blaze was reported at 7:44 p.m. by a security guard who said there was heavy smoke on the fourth floor, Hood said.
The third incident, in Wilberforce, Ohio on May 1 involved a dormitory fire that injured five Central State University students, including one who jumped from a third-story window. It started about 6 a.m. in a storage room of three-story Hunter Hall, according to Xenia Fire Capt. Roy Colbrunn. Officials went door-to-door to wake students and evacuate the building. "There was never a situation where we were concerned that someone was not going to get out," said school spokeswoman Fran Robinson. "But people panicked because the building was on fire." Investigators determined the fire was deliberately set after inspecting evidence and interviewing students, said Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the Division of State Fire Marshal. Kentrell Manuel, the student who jumped from the third-floor window, said the door to the stairway was hot and he didn't know how long it would take for rescuers to arrive. "The smoke was just so thick and so intense that it was intimidating," Manuel told WDTN television of Dayton after he was taken to a hospital. "That was a last resort - jump out of a window.
"Fortunately no one was killed or seriously injured in any of these fires, and even as classes wind down for the summer and students begin to leave campus, The Center for Campus Fire Safety wants to remind everyone of a few simple, yet vital fire survival tips that should be exercised - regardless of where you live, work or play.
- Always know two ways out. Have an exit strategy!
- Install, maintain and regularly test smoke alarms and portable fire
extinguishers.
- Live in housing protected by a fire sprinkler system.
- Inspect exit doors and windows and make sure they are working properly.
- Conduct fire drills and practice escape routes.
- Take each and every alarm seriously.
- Treat all intentional fire setting behavior as the crime it is.
“All three incidents involved evacuation related difficulties”, said Michael J. Halligan, President of the Center for Campus Fire Safety, “awareness of egress procedures and respect for alarm signals – even in the early hours – are key factors in avoiding loss of life”.
The Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS) was formed to provide a central point for fire and life safety on college and university campuses. CCFS is committed to the free exchange of information to support the professionals dedicated to protecting life and property from fire at institutions of higher learning.
CCFS is supported through the generosity of our sponsors: National Fire Sprinkler Association Inc., Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, SimplexGrinnell, Kidde, Tyco Fire and Building Products, International Code Council, National Fire Protection Association, Honeywell Fire Systems, and the Michael Minger Memorial Foundation.
Contact Information:
Amy M. Hamel
Executive Director
ahamel@campusfiresafety.org
Please visit www.campusfiresafety.org
Local 669 bids farewell and God Speed to former Business Agent, Secretary-Treasurer and Manager H. V. Simpson. Following is the eulogy delivered by Brother Simpson’s long time friend and retired former District 4 Business Agent and Western Regional Representative Max Jenkins.
H A R O L D V . S I M P S O N
Vern was initiated into Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union No. 669 in December, 1963. He was employed by Grinnell Fire Protection Systems, Inc.
He completed his Apprenticeship In 1967 and was advanced to Journeyman Sprinkler Fitter status. Soon after, he was promoted to Field Superintendent of Grinnell and then later at Dahn Brothers, Inc.
In 1973, Vern was appointed Business Agent of Local Union No. 669. He was one of the eight original Business Agents to serve Local Union 669. He represented the Sprinkler Fitters in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and El Paso County, Texas.
It was an impossible job, but by working many long hours and too many days in a row he won the respect and support of the sprinkler fitters in those States.
He was rewarded for his hard work and timeless efforts in 1975, when he was elected as Financial Secretary-Treasurer and moved his family to Maryland, where he began a long and distinguished career serving the membership of Local Union No. 669. He wisely invested the Local Union Dues money and charted this union’s future on a sound financial course.
As Secretary-Treasurer he also served as Chairman of the Local Union No. 669 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, where he supervised the training of hundreds of apprentices across the Nation.
He served as Financial Secretary- Treasurer until May 1983, when he was then appointed as Business Manager and served until August, 1983. In July, 1984, he was again elected as Business Manager and served until 1993.
As Business Manager, he was also Chairman of the Trustees of the National Automatic Sprinkler lndustry Health and Welfare Fund and the Chairman of the National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund. As Business Manager he was instrumental in the purchase of the Local Union 669 Headquarters Building in Columbia, Maryland, where it is still located today.
He was elected as a delegate to the United Association Convention in 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, and 2006. He was selected by the United Association General President to serve on several committees that established the direction the International Union would pursue.
Vern retired in 1995 and had just completed his 44th year of membership at the time of his death. So today we celebrate a 44 year journey that began in Colorado and ended in Colorado. WELCOME HOME FAITHFUL BROTHER. May you rest in peace knowing that you were the best that you could be!
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