Speakers
Aaron Lee
Committee Chair,
ULC-S1001 Committee
Jack Keays
Code Expert and
Mass Timber Innovator
Luch Condarcuri
Fire Systems Sales Representative,
Troy Life & Fire Safety
Adam Murray
Project Manager –
Special Projects,
Troy Life & Fire Safety Ltd
Julia Dalphy
Technical Advisor, Codes Canada, National Research Council of Canada
Lui Tai
President IFE Canada, 1st VP CFAA, Senior Engineer, Vitalis Engineering Inc.
Brent Brooks
Acting District Chief,
Toronto Fire Services
Larry Cocco
Deputy Chief,
Toronto Fire Services
George Macris
Division Chief, Fire Prevention,
Markham Fire & Emergency Services
Len Papp
Chief of Fire Prevention,
St. Catharines
Mike O'Brian
International Director, International Association of Fire Chiefs
Sean Pearce
Vice President,
National Fire Equipment
Terrence Alger
VP,
UL Solutions
Tess Espejo
Program Manager,
Codes and Regulatory Services,
UL Solutions of Canada Inc.
Vusal Ibrahimli
Technical Specialist – Fire at Canadian Wood Council
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Aaron Lee
Committee Chair, ULC-S1001 Committee
With 20+ years of fire protection experience, Aaron currently serves as the CAN/ULC-S1001 Standard Chair and on the ULC 500F Technical Committees for Fire Alarm and Life Safety Equipment and Systems.
He is employed by AtkinsRéalis as a Fire Protection Team Lead. As a subject matter expert at AtkinsRéalis, he supports fire protection engineering at various industrial, commercial, and nuclear sites in Canada. Aaron has also served as a SFPE Chapter President, is a CFAA National Director, Chair of the CFAA Codes and Standards committee and has maintained a CFAA fire alarm technician registration since 2002.
Adam Murray
Project Manager – Special Projects,
Troy Life & Fire Safety Ltd
Adam Murray brings over 23 years of experience in Fire Protection Engineering and Building Code Consulting, specializing in the design, installation, verification, and maintenance of fire protection systems. As a principal at RJ Bartlett Engineering/RJB Forensic for more than 20 years, Adam oversaw the Fire Protection Systems, Operations, and Quality Management divisions. In this role, he served as a retained expert, consulting on numerous legal cases involving code and technical issues related to fire protection and life
safety systems.
Adam has engineered numerous fire protection systems and developed extensive fire safety and maintenance plan documents. He has also led training sessions and seminars on Fir Code and Fire Protection Systems for industry professionals and property owners across Canada. As a longstanding member of the Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC), Adam contributes to the development and interpretation of standards for Fire Alarm Systems and Life Safety Equipment.
Adam’s engineering expertise and deep knowledge of fire protection codes make him a valuable asset to Troy’s customers.
Brent Brooks
Acting District Chief, Toronto Fire Services
Brent Brooks is an Acting District Chief for the Toronto Fire Services with 29 years of service. Brent's High Rise Unit assignment has enabled him to enhance Toronto's High-Rise Operations through innovative research and development. Brent's Community of Practice has a wide reach, providing lectures and hands-on training throughout Ontario, Canada, and internationally.
He aims to educate the next generation of firefighters on best practices for occupant survival and firefighter safety in High-Rise firefighting. Brent is a proponent of best practices in the fire service and has specialized in high-rise firefighting. He presently serves on various committees national and international.
George Macris
Division Chief, Fire Prevention, Markham Fire & Emergency Services
George started his career in the public sector as a Building Inspector with the City of Markham, enforcing the Building Code for Part 3 and 9 buildings. After many years, he eventually moved on to Fire
Prevention Plans Examiner, reviewed site plan control applications, new residential subdivisions, and building permit drawings and conducted joint occupancy inspections with the Building Department. He participated in meetings with the City Planning Dept., developers, engineers, and architects with respect to Fire Dept-related issues during the development stages of buildings and subdivisions.
George was eventually promoted to Chief Fire Prevention Officer managing the Markham Fire Prevention Division including Plans Review and Fire Investigations. Due to a change in the structure of
Fire Prevention, he is currently the Division Chief of Fire Prevention, responsible for all the day-to-day work-load associated with request inspections, fire safety plan review, vulnerable occupancies, training of Fire Prevention Officers, training and review of smoke control reports pursuant to the Fire Code.
Jack Keays
Code Expert and Mass Timber Innovator
Jack is an accomplished fire safety engineer, building code expert and mass timber innovator with extensive project experience in Canada and Middle East.
Jack has advanced analytical skills with the ability to recognize and address fire safety challenges while developing practical engineering solutions.
With each project, Jack engages both internal and external stakeholders in constructive and collaborative relationships. Jack brings value to each project by taking a holistic approach to fire and life safety and by working closely with a cross section of disciplines to deliver optimal solutions.
Julia Dalphy
Technical Advisor, Codes Canada National Research, Council of Canada
Julia Dalphy is a Technical Advisor and member of the Fire and Life Safety Team at Codes Canada, which is part of the Construction Research Centre of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). In this role, she provides guidance to the technical committees of the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC). Her current work focuses include supporting the Standing Committee on Fire Protection and its Task Groups, including the Task Group on Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction.
Previously, Julia worked as a Structural Engineer at a building supply company, largely focused on the design, analysis, and repair of pre-engineered components for wood-framed buildings. She is a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in the province of Ontario, and holds a B. Eng. in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering from Carleton University, in addition to a certificate in Computer-Aided Design and Drafting.
Larry Cocco
Deputy Chief, Toronto Fire Services
Deputy Fire Chief Larry Cocco, Toronto Fire Services (TFS), manages the Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Division that is responsible for fire inspections and enforcement, fire investigations, public education and fire protection engineering across the City of Toronto, serving a diverse population of over three million residents, commuters, and tourists. As an integral part of Canada's largest fire service, CRR conducts thorough inspections and investigations to analyze the unique risks inherent in a metropolitan community. Utilizing evidence based findings, the division develops optimal methods for risk management, advances modernized public education initiatives, and continually refines inspection and enforcement strategies.
Larry’s career journey began as an insurance adjuster specializing in bodily injury and litigation claims before transitioning to the fire service as a fire investigator with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal. With extensive experience in managing major fire incident investigations and a focus on fire safety inspections and enforcement of the Ontario Fire Code, Larry brings a wealth of knowledge to his leadership role.
In addition to his responsibilities within TFS, Larry serves as a respected board member on the Fire and Life Safety Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, further cementing his commitment to advancing fire safety practices on a global scale.
Len Papp
Chief of Fire Prevention, St. Catharines
Len Papp has built a distinguished career in fire protection and public administration. After completing the Fire Protection Engineering Technology program at Seneca College, he began his career at Trow Consulting Engineers (now exp.) and later joined Life Safety Systems. In 1997, Len transitioned to Brampton Fire & Emergency Services, where he progressed from Fire Prevention Officer to Assistant Division Chief, Fire Prevention.
In September 2018, he took on the role of Chief Fire Prevention Officer at St. Catharines Fire Services. Len's academic credentials include an undergraduate degree in Public Administration from Western Oregon University and a Master of Public Administration Management degree from Dalhousie University. He holds various NFPA certifications, including fire inspector, fire service instructor, fire investigator, and fire and life safety educator. Additionally, he is a certified engineering technologist with OACETT and has earned the CCFI-B designation as a Canadian Certified Fire Investigator.
A lifelong learner, Len is completing his final two courses in the Humber College Fire Services Executive Management program. His commitment to the field extends to his involvement in various national and institutional committees. He also serves as an adjunct instructor with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) and teaches in the fire programs at Dalhousie University's Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development.
Luch Condarcuri
Fire Systems Sales Representative,
Troy Life & Fire Safety
Luch began his career as a technician with a national fire alarm system manufacturer after graduating from the Electronics Engineering Technology program at Centennial College. With 35 years of experience, Luch specializes in delivering comprehensive Fire & Life Safety solutions to customers.
Luch is also a compliance expert in Building Code and ULC standards, having managed and sold numerous large-scale projects in the Greater Toronto Area, throughout Ontario, and across Canada.
Lui Tai
President IFE Canada, 1st VP CFAA, Senior Engineer, Vitalis Engineering Inc.
Lui Tai is a Professional Engineer with 35 years of practical experience working in the Fire and Security industry in Canada. In the past few years, Lui has given technical presentations on smoke control at SFPE, IFE, CFAA and PEO, sharing his real-world experience from conducting hundreds of evaluations and assessments of smoke control systems for existing buildings.
Lui actively volunteers in the industry and has won the Order of Honour from PEO. Lui is currently the President of IFE Canada, as well as the first VP of CFAA. He was the Chair of PEO York Chapter in 18-20. Lui also chaired the TC21/SC11 technical committee for Standards Council of Canada in 2022 and is currently on the ULC committee for ULC-S1001. Lui is also a part-time professor in Seneca’s School of Fire Protection Engineering.
Mike O'Brian
International Director,
International Association of Fire Chiefs
Working as a code consultant with Code Concepts Group, owner of code savvy consultants and the Fire Chief for the Brighton Area Fire Authority and serving the Fire and Life Safety section as the International Director with International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Specialties include Fire Protection, Fire and Building Codes, Code Development, Development of Inspectors and Web-Site Management.
Sean Pearce
Vice President,
National Fire Equipment
Sean has been involved in fire protection and safety for more than 30 years. He is a husband, father, and lifelong learner of fire protection. Sean started in the fire service and transitioned from a firefighter to the Fire Chiefs, Executive Officer. He has worked on building code changes like high-rise sprinkler requirements and retrofit of care homes in Ontario. He has helped to design and negotiate the sprinkling of more than 5000 homes in Alberta.
Sean worked for Lubrizol and was an active member of the product development teams including listed antifreeze
Freezmaster, burn testing, and listing advancements for BlazeMaster and Altalyte ACM cores. Currently, Sean is the Vice president at National Fire Equipment Ltd. Sean is also an active member of 5 UL technical committees.
Terrence Alger
Vice President,
UL Solutions
Dr. Alger is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers and is the Vice President for Applied Research and Development at UL Solutions. His team focuses on developing practical, physics-based safety solutions across the variety of industries and supports the UL Solutions teams performing safety testing, inspection and certification. Prior to joining UL Solutions, Dr. Alger spent over 20 years at Southwest Research Institute where he was engaged in developing solutions for low-CO2 transportation.
He graduated from the US Military Academy and received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 2001. He has been awarded over 30 patents and authored over 70 technical papers. He was awarded the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award for Technology Innovation from TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Science, Engineering and Technology) in 2019 and his team have been 5-time R&D 100 ® award finalists and 3-time winners for the D EGR ® Engine, the DCO ® Ignition System, and SwRI’s Eco-Mobility with Connected Powertrain concept.
Tess Espejo
Program Manager,
Codes and Regulatory Services,
UL Solutions of Canada Inc.
Tess has more than 20 years of experience in standards, codes, regulatory and project management. She has worked for 17 years as Program Manager with Fire and Security Service Solutions at UL and developed certification and training programs including Integrated Systems Testing of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems (S1001), Safety, Security and Sustainability of Cannabis Facilities and Operations, and Emergency Responder Communication Enhancement Systems (ERCES).
Tess is also a Director-at-large and honorary life member of Canadian Fire Alarm Association (CFAA) and Member in CANASA, SFPE, CFSA, CAFC and TSSA.
Vusal Ibrahimli
Technical Specialist – Fire at Canadian Wood Council
Vusal is a Technical Specialist – Fire at Canadian Wood Council whose work supports market acceptance of wood buildings in Canada via the advancement of prescriptive Code solutions, transition to performance-based designs, as well as by developing practical and strategic Code and Standard initiatives and publications.
Vusal is an Engineering Intern in the province of Ontario and holds M.A.Sc. in Fire Safety Engineering and B.A.Sc. in Honours, Chemical Engineering, both obtained from the University of Waterloo.