Growth by Design in Action

Donan Engineering Co., Inc. is proud to announce the expansion of our forensic engineering and fire investigation services with the opening of our two newest offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both offices are scheduled to begin offering forensic investigative services on August 1, 2008.

As with all other Donan office locations, these offices will provide a full array of forensic services to our clients including civil/structural engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, fire and explosion origin & cause investigations, and vehicle accident reconstruction.

“Our strategic growth plan continues with our newest office openings in Atlanta and Grand Rapids,” says Lyle Donan, President.  “With our recent office openings in Birmingham, AL and Mobile, AL and with our current presence in Nashville, TN and Knoxville, TN, the Atlanta, GA market makes perfect sense as our next service market. We believe that our price structure and commitment to exceptional customer service will allow us to become very successful in the Atlanta market from day one. Everything we do regarding our growth is done around the premise of providing our customers with outstanding service in markets where they need our expertise. Atlanta is no exception to this rule, and we have for many years been routinely asked when we will be opening a location in Georgia. When our clients speak, we listen and react accordingly if it means we have the opportunity to better meet their business needs.”

“The opening of our new Grand Rapids office will enable our firm to provide better customer service throughout the western and northern portions Michigan, as well as to parts of northern Indiana. Our number one goal at Donan Engineering is do what is best for our clients, and I believe this location will greatly enhance our abilities to provide exceptional service throughout Michigan and Indiana.”

Donan Engineering’s goal remains to offer our customers a single-source provider for all their forensic engineering and fire investigation needs. The firm continues to offer a wide variety of services falling under the main categories of engineering investigation, fire and explosion origin & cause, roofing investigation, vehicle accident reconstruction, and component testing laboratory services.

For more information on Donan Engineering locations, please visit www.donan.com/locations.

CSST versus Lightning,
"The Saga Continues"

CSST, or Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing, is a flexible gas tubing product that is relatively new in the building industry.  It is standard in sizes of ½ inch, ¾ inch, and 1 inch diameters and is typically recognized by its yellow polymer plastic covering.  It comes in rolls hundreds of feet long and is now manufactured by numerous companies.  CSST was originally developed by the engineering firm of Foster-Miller in the early to mid-1980s.  It was recognized by NFPA-54 (National Fuel Gas Code) in 1988 and was recognized by IAPMO (International Association of Plumbers and Mechanical Officials) in 2003.  Initially in 2000, the IAPMO rejected CSST due to safety reasons. Today, CSST is being widely used throughout the building industry.

Donan Engineering Co., Inc. became acutely aware of fires due to lightning-damaged CSST when we investigated several such cases in the spring and summer of 2003.  It was then that we recognized the susceptibility of the thin-walled product to lightning damage.  The thin-walled configuration (0.008 inches for ½-inch diameter tubing), is easily breached by a lightning surge discharge from the CSST.  We have often seen and documented this scenario during our investigations.

Donan Engineering’s first professionally published article regarding CSST and its inherent susceptibility to lightning damage, “Just Waiting on Lightning,” was penned in March 2004.  An interview by the Journal of Light Construction resulted in a reference to Donan’s involvement in Fire Investigations resulting from lightning damage to CSST.  “Improving the Odds” of CSST versus Lightning was written in August 2004.  This article described some early “first concepts” of improving the installation practices for CSST that would lessen this susceptibility to lightning damage.

Lightning is a result of static charges built up in storm clouds.  When a warm front and cold front meet, the result is often a storm.  Since the Midwest has considerable storms in the spring and early summer, this storm activity will generally result in lightning damage to multiple residences.  Of the lightning that we see, about 90 percent is cloud-to-cloud and only about 10 percent is cloud-to-ground or ground-to-cloud.  The “Strike-Net Reports” that we use to track lightning show the cloud-to-ground as negative (-) discharges and the ground-to-cloud as positive discharges (+).  This is normally from a very tall structure such as a radio tower or a sky-scraper. 

It was noted during our CSST fire investigations that the point of discharge was always between the CSST and a grounded metal object such as copper water lines, metal furnace ducts, and non-metallic electrical cable, commonly referred to as “Romex.”  Recognizing this fact, Donan initiated conversations with the Indiana Building Code Officials in late 2004 and early 2005.  This resulted in an approved change to the Indiana Residential Code (IRC) in October 2005 when the Gas Code Section G2411.1 was changed to include a minimum of 2-inch separation between CSST gas tubing and metal water piping, metal air ducts, and all electrical wiring methods. 

In March 2008—effective 30 days later (April 5, 2008)—the mechanical, plumbing, gas, and electrical code sections were coordinated so that all reflect the minimum separation of at least 2 inches (51 mm) and included appliance cabinets and metal building materials.  This coordinated IRC requirement will make all trades responsible for assuring that the CSST is installed properly and the 2-inch separation space is not invaded by another trade.  The new IRC changes also require the gas distribution system to be bonded (grounded) to an effective ground-fault current path in accordance with Table E3503.1, which is a conductor properly sized (same as the grounding electrode conductor) to the service entrance conductor.

This is an example of Donan Engineering not only being a conscientious professional supporter of our customers, but also a good corporate citizen for our communities.  As professional people, we are committed to being vigilant for the public health, safety, and welfare in our communities and states.