PLC Fire Safety Engineering (PLC) had the honor of being the esteemed gold sponsor of The CNS Fire Safety & Emergency Preparedness Conference for the Nuclear Industry (FSEP). The importance of this distinguished international conference, which occurred from October 18th to 20th, 2023, at the Hilton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls should not be underestimated. It served as the sole platform globally that unites world-renowned professionals in both Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness to deliberate on advancements aimed at enhancing fire safety and emergency preparedness for the Nuclear Industry. This pertains to a wide spectrum, encompassing new and operational nuclear power plants (NPPs), Small Modular Reactors, research facilities, decommissioned facilities, uranium production, and mining facilities. The conference facilitated the exchange of information among nuclear industry professionals, fire protection and emergency preparedness experts, suppliers, government officials, regulators, students, and various stakeholders. The 2.5-day program covered vital presentation topics for advancing fire safety, emergency preparedness, and facilitated discussions on advancements in safety codes, standards, guidelines, and technical tools at both the Canadian and international levels.
PLC’s voluntary contribution to this conference was spearheaded by our VP of Business Development, Rudy Cronk, who, along with Shahina Kurien; Program Manager from Bruce Power, tirelessly served as the Conference Co-Chairs for the FSEP organizing committee. Mohit Gogna, Marketing Manager at PLC played a key role in the promotion of the conference, in addition to managing the conference app & admin system.
PLC was also the Student Sponsor along with Ontario Power Generation. At the conference, students showcased their posters and discussed their work during the designated Wine and Cheese event. Awards, recognizing technical quality and presentation skills, were presented at the closing luncheon on October 20th at 12:00 pm. Raja Hamady, PLC’s Vice President of Engineering Services presented a few of the hard working students with awards for their innovative posters. The Student Poster Awards included a $1000 scholarship for the winner and a $200 gift card for the runner-up.
PLC also participated as an Exhibitor and in plenary and technical presentations. Grant Roach, Regional Director at PLC, engaged in the event by delivering an fascinating plenary presentation titled “Insights from a Fire Protection Engineer.” Grant is a registered Professional Engineer in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, and Ontario. Grant is also a Principal Member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Explosion Prevention Systems and serves as an Alternate for the CSA N293 committee. Grant’s Plenary presentation offered valuable insights drawn from his extensive career in the field of Fire Protection Engineering consulting spanning nearly 20 years and was well received and enjoyed by the conference attendees. Grant also took part as a technical presenter, delivering a presentation titled “Fire Protection Water Supplies for Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Plants.”
Mohamed Mushantat, Senior Fire Protection Engineer at PLC, delivered a technical presentation titled “Application of Gaseous Fire Extinguishing Agents.” Mohamed has over twenty years of experience in the fire protection field with over 8 years of experience in the nuclear sector. He is a registered professional engineer in Ontario, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. He is a principal member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Committee on Gaseous Fire Extinguishing Systems (NFPA 12, NFPA 12A, and NFPA 2001) and the NFPA Committee on Marine Terminals (NFPA 307). He also serves on the Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) technical committee on fire alarm and life safety equipment and systems. Drawing from his extensive and distinctive experience, Mohamed’s presentation was so well-received that an additional session was later included in the program.
In summary, the FSEP conference served as a platform to unite global experts and stakeholders, facilitating vital information exchange and discussions on safety standards and tools. In general, the conference was a great success and very well-received by attendees, exhibitors and technical presenters. PLC is proud to sponsor and participate in The FSEP conference as it helps to advance fire safety and emergency preparedness in the nuclear industry.
