|
|
|
|
|
The Houston Chapter of SFPE was officially charted on September 20, 1974 as the 23rd SFPE local chapter. Jim Nolan and Chet Schirmer presented the Charter to the Chapter. The local group that initially organized and provided leadership for our Chapter included Paul Leonhardt, Frank Walters, and Leo Brown.
The Past Presidents of the Chapter are as follows:
| Year | President |
| 1974-75 | Frank Walters |
| 1975-76 | Leo Brown |
| 1976-77 | Paul Leonhardt |
| 1977-78 | Frank Walters |
| 1978-79 | Nick Bacille |
| 1979-80 | David Fiedler |
| 1980-81 | Ronald Hansen |
| 1981-83 | John Echternacht |
| 1983-85 | Laurence Watrous |
| 1985-87 | Randolph Tucker |
| 1987-89 | James Coco |
| 1989-91 | Christopher Vollman |
| 1991-93 | Jay Jablonski |
| 1993-95 | Larry Owen |
| 1995-97 | Kevin O'Neill |
| 1997-99 | Michael Crowley |
| 1999-2001 | Sandy Jones |
| 2001-2003 | Debra Miller |
| 2003-2005 | Charlie Gerschefski |
| 2005-2007 | Todd Peiffer |
| 2007-Present | Ed Cope |
Our Chapter meetings are mainly dinner meetings, but occasionally we have mixed in lunch meetings. Over the years, our meetings have usually been held at the Houston Engineering & Scientific Society Building (HESS). HESS was originally located at 2615 Fannin Street. Our membership was delighted when HESS moved to a new location on Buffalo Speedway. In the old building, it was always a gamble as to whether the elevator would make it up to the floor on which we held our meetings or as to whether we would just die on the way up! Recently, HESS relocated again from its Buffalo Speedway location to it’s current location near the Galleria. Recently, many chapter meetings have also been held at Brady’s Landing.
The Chapter has sponsored and co-sponsored SFPE functions at the NFPA Annual meetings in Houston (1976) and San Antonio (1990). Throughout the years the Chapter has held seminars on High-Rise Fire Safety, Texas State Board of Insurance Supplemental Rules to NFPA 13, Industrial Fire Protection, Fire Protection for Offshore Platforms, and Designing Fire Protection Systems. In 1980, the Houston Chapter held its first seminar on Offshore Fire Protection, in which over 100 professionals attended.
A chapter newsletter was initiated in 1987 entitled "Hot Stuff," and in 1998 the newsletter's name was changed to "Bayou Blaze." Some of our major chapter events throughout the years have included fire protection trade shows, golf tournaments, and the awarding of student scholarships to further the education of fire protection. The Chapter has also held meetings in conjunction with tours of various facilities in the Houston area, such as the Anhuesher-Busch brewery, the Houston Fire Museum and Port of Houston Authority fire boats.