Associations
SAIRAC JHB CENTRE FIRED UP!
By Ntsako Khosa
The SAIRAC Johannesburg Centre’s monthly Technical Talk saw an
impressive attendance ready to discuss fire ventilation with keynote
speaker, Ron Burns.
H
eld at the Bryanston Sports Club in February, the conference
room quickly became too small to fit all attendees. More
chairs where sourced to accommodate the overflow.
To begin proceedings, coordinator Robert Fox introduced new
members and handed out course certificates.
New memberships went to:
• William Aphane,
• Farai Chikopfa,
• Rampuru Mpuru, and
• Clement Olutosoye.
www.hvacronline.co.za
Rampuru Mpuru
was one of the
recipients of the
New Member
certificates.
The Byranston
Sports Club
conference room
was packed
with industry
professionals.
A completed course certificate was handed out to Chris van
Heerden. Fox gave an update on what the Centre has been up
to, stating that a site visit to Danfoss was well-attended. Alfa
Laval, Danfoss, Uniclamp International, Ibara, ebmpapst and
Carel Controls are some of the presentations members can look
forward to this year as well as a golf day and various courses.
“There are still 4 balls and banner holes available for those who
want to sign up, spaces are filling up very fast,” said Fox. He
emphasised that members should update their details with the
Association as it becomes challenging when email invites or
invoices are sent out.
Grant Laidlaw introduced the speaker, Ron Burns, after
encouraging guests to sign up for FRIGAIR 2021. “We had record
attendance last time – many have signed up, so be there or miss
out. It’s as simple as that”.
Before getting into his presentation, Fireserve MD, Ron
Burns made it clear that his intention is not to point fingers. Any
information shared is part of educating the industry. His talk
looked at basement smoke clearance system pitfalls; challenging
the thinking of the industry by asking difficult questions. He
looked into:
• The fundamentals of moving large volumes of toxic gases,
smoke, carbon monoxide and other effluents;
• Understanding the importance of high temperature cabling,
preventing cable collapse and ensuring the control panel
does not overheat; and
• Removing complexities whilst refining system performance
with the assistance of CFD Modelling.
Ron Burns,
speaker at the
SAIRAC Joburg
Centre Talk.
Continued on page 37
RACA Journal I April 2020
35