History


The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers was chartered in 1964 with the following charter members.


Roger W. Parlee, P.E. Edward Danzinger Richard Soelberg
Douglas V. MacMahon, P.E. James Belew Eugene Plischke


Other earlier members included Frank Sommerfield (the last Fire Marshall in Hawaii), Newton Pratt, George Kono, Keith Swanholm, Carl J. Smith.

In 1976 the chapter became inactive for nine years. In 1987 the chapter was re-energized and from a nucleus of seven SFPE members has grown to 49 SFPE members and 78 chapter friends. Our 49 SFPE members consist mostly of consulting engineers with some representation from government, insurance, and contracting sectors.

Major accomplishments of SFPE Hawaii include:
  1. Ongoing participation in the Honolulu Building Code Advisory Committee.
  2. Ongoing participation in the Hawaii AIA Codes Committee.
  3. The establishment and maintenance of the only NICET proctoring site in Hawaii.

SFPE Hawaii Chapter Past Presidents
Roger W. Parlee (Deceased)1964 - 1966
Eugene Plischke (Deceased)1967 - 1968
Ed Danzinger (Deceased)1969 - 1976
Chapter was inactive for 9 years1977 - 1986
Samuel S. Dannaway1987 - 1988
Joseph Sem1989 - 1990
Michael J. Orlowski1991 - 1992
Samuel S. Dannaway1993 - 1995
Robert M. Miller1996 - 1998
Jay T. Higashi1999 - 2000
Robert Lohaus2001 - 2003
Melvin K. Harano2004 - present


A Long History of Seminars:
1998NFPA 25 Seminar (NFSA)
199?Alarms & Signal Systems
Spring 1999Overview of the 1997 Uniform Fire Code and 1997 UBC Update
Nov 1999Design of Smoke Management System (Milke)
June 2000Introduction of Fire Protection Engineering (Bryan & Milke)
June 2000NFPA 13 and NFPA 72 Changes (SFPE)
July 2000Advance Fire Behavior and Modeling (Mowrer)
February 2001Sprinkler Plan Review/Fire Protection Hydraulics (NFSA)
  For a continuation of this list of previous seminars, please visit our "Seminars" page.

Dates of Note:
1964 -Hawaii Chapter Chartered as the xx chapter in SFPE.
1987 -Chapter has first meeting since 1977.
1991 -First Issue of Ka 'Elele O Ka Maluahi published.
1992 -Chapter began serving as protection for NICET exams in the fire protection category.
1994 -Chapter started the Chapter Friend program.
1996 -Scholarship Established. First scholarship awarded.
1998 -
1998 -


Local Activities

Kahuku High and Intermediate School Natural Resources & Industrial Tech. & Engineering Career Fair 2006

SFPE Hawaii attended the Kahuku High and Intermediate School Natural Resources & Industrial Tech. & Engineering Career Fair on Thursday April 27, 2006. Kahuku divided the their career fair program into seperate events to allow a focus on particular career fields. SFPE Hawaii particiated in this event along with other engineering companies and societies, contractors, trade unions, the Board of Water Supply, etc. Students were presented with information to pursue their career interests and also introduce them to careers in a field they may not have considered yet.

Kahuku High School Career Fair.


Kailua High School Career Fair 2006

SFPE Hawaii attended the Kailua High School Career Fair on Tuesday October 17, 2006. The focus was to educate, as well as expose, the students to the various careers which have genuine possibilities to intrigue and motivate them. The school's goal is to help students make connections of their future plans to their academic classes. Students inquired about employment outlook in Hawaii, career advancement, benefits, job locations, types of courses to take.

Kailua High School Career Fair.

Other attendees included Engineering, Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Police Department, Military, Government Agencies, Trade Unions, Hospitality, Restaurants, Cosmetology, etc.


Waipahu High School Career Fair 2007

SFPE Hawaii attended the Waipahu High School Career Fair on Monday January 22, 2007. The career fair provided an opportunity for students to learn about the many career opportunities available. Students were encouraged to find out what preparation is required for their careers of interest including high school courses to take, college education requirements, licensing and certification requirements, etc.

Waipahu High School Career Fair 2007.

Other attendees included Engineering Societies, Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Police Department, Military, Government Agencies, Trade Unions, Hospitality, Restaurants, Cosmetology, etc.


King David Kalakaua Middle School Career Day 2007

The Kalakaua Middle School Career Day was held February 28, 2007. SFPE Hawaii, together with the ASME Hawaii Section and IEEE Hawaii Section, provided a presentation on engineering. The presentation consisted of an introduction to the field of engineering and an overview of UH engineering student projects including the SAE Mini-Baja design project and national competition by mechanical engineering students and the Micro-Mouse design project and national competition by electrical engineering students. Students were provided handouts from the University of Hawaii College of Engineering.


University of Hawaii College of Engineering Spring Career Day 2007

SFPE Hawaii, respresented by Thermal Engineering Corporation, S.S. Dannaway Associates, and FPE Hawaii, participated in the UH COE Spring Caree Day on Friday, March 16, 2007. Students were introduced to the field of fire protection engineering and were able to inquire about internship and employment opportunities.


50th Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair 2007

SFPE Hawaii attended the Hawaii State Science and Engineering Fair on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. SFPE Hawaii involvement dates back over 10 years starting in 1995. SFPE Hawaii provides cash awards for research and display projects related to the field of fire protection engineering. Award recipients included Rylan Yamada of Highlands Intermediate School for "The Breaking Point and Flammability of Wood" in the category of Junior Research and Kathy Lin of Highlands Intermediate in the Category of Teacher Award.


University of Hawaii College of Engineering Open House 2007

The UH COE Open House event was held Saturday, April 7, 2007 and is a event for incoming freshmen engineering students (who are still attending high school) and their partents to visit and learn about the UH College of Engineering. SFPE Hawaii participated in the career information session, which was a question and answer session with students and parents asking questions to UH College of Engineering alumni. Questions ranged from employment opportunities in Hawaii to student life on campus.


Kailua High School Career Fair 2007

SFPE Hawaii, respresented by S.S. Dannaway Associates, participated in the Kailua High school Career Fair on November 7, 2007. Students were able to learn about the field of fire protection engineering through our poster board display and "Careers in Fire Protection Engineering" magazine handout, which is produced by SFPE headquarters.


University of Hawaii College of Engineering Spring Career Day 2008

SFPE Hawaii, with special guest Chris Jelenewicz (SFPE Engineering Program Manager), attended the UH COE Spring Career Day on Friday March 14, 2008. SFPE Hawaii introduced the field of fire protection engineering to UH engineering students and answered questions. Chris was also able to meet with Assistant Dean Song Choi.

UH COE Spring Career Day.     UH COE Spring Career Day.



SFPE Chapter Excellence Awards

Established in 2005 by the SFPE Board of Directors, the SFPE Chapter Excellence Awards recognize Chapters that demonstrate excellence in contributing to the needs of their members and the Society. Three levels of recognition are awarded: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

The Hawaii Chapter is proud to have received the following SFPE Chapter Excellence Awards.

2007Bronze
2006Silver
2005Silver
SFPE Hawaii Chapter Excellence Award Patches



Communications:

The Chapter Newsletter, "Ka Elele O Ka Maluahi", has been published since 1991.

The Chapter website went online April 2001



If you have additional information to fill in some of the voids or to correct information contained in this website, please e-mail us at SFPE Hawaii.