Episode 7
Mike Kerrison - Unifrax
Welcome to The Burn, Beyond Fire Stop. Our show is dedicated to life safety and code compliance in the built environment, which puts me on a mission to find the most interesting people in this space to get their unique perspective. Our hope is that our listening audience walks away with an understanding of how our guests and their businesses and organizations contribute to the promotion of life safety of whatever is being built. Our show is brought to you by Specified Technologies, Inc. Also known as STI Fire Stop. And since 1990 STI has been a leading global provider of innovative fire protective solutions that help stop the spread of fire, smoke and hot gases.
My guest today is Mike Kerrison, the Global Fire Protection Application Engineering Manager at Unifrax. Unifrax is global specialty fibers company focused solutions that make the world – and your business – a greener, cleaner, safer place.
Key Takeaways
- Mike’s Background
- Grew up in the Niagara - Buffalo area. Attended SUNY Buffalo.
- Always had an interest in Math. Took a liking to Physics and Mechanics while at Junior College. Went into Engineering at Buffalo.
- Interned for a year at Unifrax before being hired in the Industrial Products Group.
- About Unifrax
- Unifrax manufactures products for automotive, (catalytic converters). They serve industrial markets such as steel mills.
- High temperature products.
- Specialty Fibers Division, filtration etc.
- Mike’s work at Unifrax
- Started in the Industrial group.
- Went from application engineering, to out in the field, back to product management and now an engineering management role.
- Involved in technical support, fire testing, certification management.
- Grease and Air Duct Wrap Products
- Two main categories in the commercial space. Grease (commercial kitchens) and All Other Duct Types (life safety ducts, stairwell pressurization, etc.)
- Testing and Codes
- Testing goes beyond just what happens when a duct goes through a wall or a floor.
- Protecting the entire duct system.
- Different standards for the duct systems.
- Work with the IFC
- Duct Committee Chair.
- Helps creation of standards for air ducts.
- Cleaning up mis-information.
- Webinars
- Unifrax is publishing a series of webinars for the built environment. The series was kicked off with passive fire protection.
- Additional webinars coming on air ducts co compliance and dryer protection systems.
About Mike
Global Fire Protection Application Engineering Manager at Unifrax I LLC
About Unifrax
Unifrax is a global leader in high-performance specialty fibers and inorganic materials used in high-temperature industrial, automotive, and fire protection applications. Our purpose, mission and values are based on our commitment to produce high-quality products that help our customers save energy, reduce pollution, and improve fire safety.
International Fire Stop Council
About STI Firestop
Since 1990 Specified Technologies, Inc. (STI) is a global leader in the firestopping industry. The company manufactures a wide array of products and technologies to provide passive fire protection. Headquartered in Somerville, NJ, STI has sales offices all over the globe. STI Marine is a Division of STI that specializes in marine fire protection in the cruise line, offshore oil and gas, and general maritime industry. STI Marine’s product line consists of a full range of products used for penetration seals and cable transits in fire-rated bulkheads and decks, including water-tight firestop sealants, firestop collars for plastic piping, and an innovative cable transit device. All products comply with the IMO FTP Code and are subject to various Type Approvals include MED, DNV GL, Lloyds Register, ABS, USCG, BV, RINA and more…
