USGlass - October 2008 - USGlass Magazine

Codes&Regulations
AGA, GANA Look to Collaborate
on Fire Safety Issues in the Future
Donn Harter, director of technical services for the
Americas Glass Association (AGA), reports that the
association’s board meeting saw opportunities for
forging alliances with two different groups.
On July 29, members of AGA’s Fire and Safety Glazing
Council (FSGC) steering committee met at the Orange
County, Calif., Airport Hilton with Robert Neale, deputy superintendent
of the U. S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division
of the Department of Homeland Security. The
purpose of this meeting was to promote dialogue between
the glazing industry and the USFA to develop on-going educational
programs on fire-rated glazing.
During the meeting, Neale offered the following four
major goals:
• Educate architects and code officials to make knowledgeable,
consistent and confident decisions about glass
and ceramic products;
• Improve relationships between fire and building officials
for applications and interpretations of the use of glass
and ceramic products;
• Educate architects and code officials about the capabilities
ANSI Partners with ICC
to Deliver I-Codes®
Electronically in Spanish
The International Code Council ® (ICC) has partnered
with the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) to distribute the recently released Spanish
versions of the 2006 International Codes ® in electronic
format. These codes include the International Building,
Fire, Residential, Energy Conservation, Plumbing, Mechanical,
Fuel Gas and Property Maintenance Codes. The
popularity of the International Codes globally has provided
the impetus for the ICC to pursue development of these
codes in multiple languages. In addition to interest outside
the U.S., ICC has also experienced an increase in demand
for the codes in Spanish from the Spanish-speaking
community within the United States.
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and limitations of fire-rated glazing, intumescent and
ceramic products; and
• Keep code officials informed of new products and techniques
in the use of glass and ceramic products.
Suggested means of implementation included coffee
break training sessions, online training, two-day courses
for building officials through the International Code Council
and the development of a brochure outlining a glossary
of terms, types of glass and standards that apply.
Harter described the FSGC’s development of one tool, the
“Matrix,” a listing of all of the manufactured fire-rated glazing
products and their rated use for protection, radiant heat
resistance and safety glazing. This brochure is expected to
be available online in the near future.
Representatives of the glass association agreed that the
opportunity to work more closely with the USFA in forging
close working relationships between building officials, the
National Fire Protection Association, testing laboratories,
architects and fire officials with the glass and glazing industry
was a priority.
The following day GANA executive vice president Bill
Yanek presented to the board an overview of current GANA
efforts. Additionally, Yanek discussed with the AGA board
areas where GANA and AGA should contemplate collaborating.
These areas include:
• Joint advocacy efforts by GANA and AGA on fire-rated
glazing issues. Such efforts could include a close alliance
between GANA’s Fire Rated Glazing Council and the
FSGC;
• Development of joint educational seminars;
• A concerted effort to harmonize advocacy on building
and fire code amendments to the building code between
the Glazing Industry Code Committee and the AGA;
• Developing a united advocacy effort on energy issues,
which could include producing a workable solution for
meeting the Department of Energy onsite glazing requirements
and joint efforts on issues being debated by
the National Fenestration Rating Council;
• Establishing a realistic means of offering each association’s
publications through their respective bookstores; and
• Offering GANA the opportunity to present an
educational seminar at AGA’s Glass Showcase and
potentially having AGA present its code seminar at a
GANA meeting.
“Whether the issue involves building codes, industry
36 USGlass, Metal & Glazing | October 2008 www.usglassmag.com