Three Alumni Earn Awards from NFPA

Philip DiNenno, Fire Protection Engineering '77 of Baltimore, MD and president of Hughes Associates, Inc. is the recipient of this year's Standards Medal from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to fire safety and the development of codes and standards. It is the highest award given by the Standards Council. DiNenno is honored with this award for his longtime commitment and contribution to NFPA technical committees.

Joseph L. Scheffey, Fire Protection Engineering '78 director of R&D at Hughes Associates, Inc. led the winning project of the 2013 Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal with the project "Determination of Fire Hose Friction Loss Characteristics." Matthew Benfer, Fire Protection Engineering '09 and MS '10 also served as a member of the team. The Fire Protection Research Foundation medal recognizes a Foundation project completed in 2012 that best exemplifies the Foundation's fire safety mission and the collaborative approach to execution that is the hallmark of all Foundation projects. The winner is recommended to the chair of the Foundation's Board by an awards committee made up of members of the Board, Research Advisory Committee and NFPA technical staff members.

The research project addresses the problem of calculating friction loss in fire hoses, a common task for fire fighers responsible for operating fire apparatus pumps. The study develops "baseline friction loss coefficients for the types of fire hose commonly used by today's fire service, and identify any additional performance characteristics that should be considered for friction loss calculations." Three unrelated fire service facilities participated in the experimental program and conducted field tests, and the collective effort required to conduct this study has allowed the project to address the topic far beyond the available funding resources.

Published June 13, 2013