Doug H. Evans, Fire Protection Engineer with the Department of Development Services – Building Division (CCDDS-BD), was elected a “Fellow of the Society” by the Board of Directors of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) in April.  

SFPE Fellows represent a very distinguished and exclusive group of SFPE members who have attained significant stature and accomplishment in engineering. As of 2007, only 194 members have been bestowed the honor of “Fellow of the Society,” which represents the highest grade of SFPE membership.  

Just to become eligible for election to the grade of SFPE Fellow, individuals must be professional members of the SFPE for at least 10 years, and be nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to the advancement of fire protection engineering and valuable service to SFPE.  Elevation to the grade of Fellow requires nomination by at least five Fellows or Professional Members, review by the SFPE Honors Committee, and action by the SFPE Board of Directors.

Doug has worked for the CCDDS-BD for 16 years.  In his position as Fire Protection Engineer, Doug is primarily responsible for the coordination of fire protection approaches for major structures, including malls, atria, arenas and mega-resorts, as well as numerous high-rise residential and office towers.  Some of his areas of specialization include: review of code alternates/performance-based designs, smoke management systems, grease duct enclosures, product listings/applications for use within structures, foam plastics as building materials, and unique interiors.  He is also responsible for developing fire protection-related policy statements and guidelines for internal and external use.

In addition to his duties at CCDDS-BD, Doug currently serves on the SFPE Publications Committee, the NFPA Technical Committee on Smoke Management Systems (NFPA 92A and 92B), and the Editorial Advisory Board for HPAC Engineering magazine.  Throughout his career, Doug has also written a number of articles that were published in trade journals and he has given several professionally-related presentations.  In 1999, Doug co-authored an interpretative guide to the smoke control provisions outlined in Section 905 of the 1997 Uniform Building Code, which has since been updated to correlate with the 2000, 2003 and 2006 editions of the International Building Code.

Doug was one of the “founding fathers” of the Southern Nevada Chapter of the SFPE (SNSFPE), which was started in 2000 and officially recognized by SFPE in 2001.  He served as President of the SNSFPE Chapter in 2002-2003.  Doug has made significant contributions to the field of Fire Protection Engineering and to the local SNSFPE Chapter, and he is clearly deserving of this tremendous honor.  

Doug will be presented with a plaque recognizing this honor at the Fellows Reception on October 13, 2008, as part of the 2008 SFPE Professional Development Conference and Exposition in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

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