Join us for the NCN SFPE Monthly Presentation and Happy Hour! 

Presentation Title:  Fire Department Access: Bridging the Gap between Codes and Operations, sponsored by Jensen Hughes

Date: Thursday, May 14, 2025
Time: 5 pm. Presentation starts at 5:30pm
Location: Jensen Hughes - 1220 Concord Avenue Jensen Hughes_Concord CA_SFPE Event Guide.docx

Presentation Summary: 

This 1-hour course will cover fire department access requirements including fire water supply, vehicular access, and special use access provisions from the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) and 2025 California Fire Code (CFC), as well as some local amendments, operational approaches, and typical experiences.  The IFC and CFC provides the general criteria for designing fire department access established as the primary method for fire department response to a fire event in a building.  Where code-compliant fire department access is not achievable, a fire access variance may be permitted by the authority having jurisdiction.  Please note that this presentation addresses code requirements from the IFC and CFC but does not include a thorough evaluation of jurisdiction-dependent requirements or preferences.  Each fire authority will apply their operational goals to support their firefighting team.

Upon completion of this course, attendees will be able to:

• Define various fire department access components.
• Understand requirements for firefighter safety during a fire event.
• Evaluate whether a building or facility is provided with adequate fire department access.
• Apply fire department access requirements to a variety of building configurations.

Presenter Bios: 

Mati Shaeffer, PE, PMP, is a senior fire protection engineer and civil engineer with nearly a decade of engineering experience at Jensen Hughes.  She went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, to complete a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in fire protection engineering. Her area of expertise at Jensen Hughes is fire / nonstructural life safety code consulting and she has worked directly with fire code officials across the West Coast to review project designs and negotiate alternative design requests related to fire department access.

Don't miss out the fun, networking, appetizers and drinks*! This event is sponsored by Jensen Hughes and is free to NCN-SFPE members. Donations will go toward our annual scholarship.  

*Tickets include two drinks and snacks.