The CFAA Fire Alarm Technician’s Podcast
Episodes
Ep 56 - Machine Learning and AI - Fire Design Implementation BEYOND the Chatbots
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have a very special episode on AI and Machine Learning. I was able to get in touch with a PHD candidate at UBC, Arwa is really great at t...
Ep 55 - Troubleshooting Ground Faults Episode 2
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode is Fire Alarm Tech talk at it's most advanced level yet on the podcast! We get into the weeds in troubleshooting tough ground faul...
Ep 54 - Changes to the Ontario Fire Code
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Melinda has joined me to discuss the changes to the Ontario Fire Code. Thanks Melinda for being on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
Ep 53 - A New Canadian, Succeeding in the Fire Alarm Industry
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we hear from a Brazilian-born technician and his journey to Canada and his successful entry into the Fire Alarm industry. We discuss how im...
Ep 52- The history of the CFAA
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode, we go wayyyy back to the begining and talk about the origin story of the CFAA, from back in preliminary meetings well before t...
Ep 51 - Intro to Ground Faults / Year End Message from CFAA president
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week we continue our series on troubleshooting by delving into the world of ground faults. This is the first episode on ground faults and we will...
Ep 50 - The Monitoring conneciton journey to the Fire Department / Codes Corner on S1001 updates in Ontario
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 50! Wow! 2 years in and 50 episodes down! This week we have Blair Falkinson from US Digital Designs to discuss the montoring connection and ho...
Ep 49 - Troubleshooting NAC and Speaker circuits
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we dig into some advanced troubleshooting techniques for NAC and Speaker circuits and even have a little chat about toners and how th...
Ep 48 What to expect when you are expecting a ULC 1001 test
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Rob Clark / Aaron Lee on Codes Corner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 47 - Addressable vs Conventional circuis when troubleshooting
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of the podcast, we dig deeper into troubleshooting techniques and differences between Addressable and Converntional fire alarm circuit...
Ep 46 - Intro to a Series on Basic Troubleshooting
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Tom Richards and Steven Lott Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 45 - Lithium Ion Battery Awareness and Safety in your home and at work
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another episode with Deputy Fire Marshall John McBeth to explore the world of batteries and devices that we use around our home that have Lithium Ion ...
Ep 44 - Test Your Smoke Alarm Day on Sept 28!
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Setpember 28th is Test Your Smoke Alarm Day! saved by the Beep is the campaign that the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office have on throughout Ontario and ...
Ep 43 - Changes to the OBC part 2
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As promised, here is the second part in our discussion on the changes to the Ontario Building Code for 2025.Thanks to Lui Tai for being on the podcast...
Ep 42 - Changes to the OBC for 2025 part 1
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we discuss the changes to the Ontario Building Code with Lui Tai. Lui has spoken on this topic in the past few months and offers many...
Ep 41 - Digital Reporting / Codes update on Alberta Standata on Smoke Dampers
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cindy Leber has been in the Canadian Fire Alarm industry providing digital solutions for reporting for over 20 years! We talk about some of the histor...
Ep 40 - Behind the scenes at ULC and the National Building Codes Committees
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this 40th episode (woah... 40 already!), we get into the codes and standards and how we go about updating them and the process of the hard-working ...
Ep 39 - Wires Vs Water - Who will prevail! - Or... let's talk Sprinklers!
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we do the ultimate showdown of fire alarm techs vs sprinkler fitters and techs! Well, not really... we get into the situations on sit...
Ep 38 - Women In Engineering
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Celebrating International Women In Engineering Day (INWED), we have 4 women with very different stories on how they moved into fire protection enginee...
Ep 37 - Soft Skills - Verbal, Written and Preparation Skills to make your job (and life) easier!
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Chris goes through the new Videos that were recorded with Edge Factor on soft skills, written and verbal communicationhttps://edgefac...
Ep 36 - 'Like for Like' Replacements? What does that mean? Is it a thing?
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week is on a very interesting and slightly divisive topic. What do we consider as 'like for like' replacement of a fire alarm control panel and w...
Ep 35 - A 'Junior' Technician's Perspective
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let's hear from someone who is new to our industry, but not new to the workforce... Aaron brings a different perspective that may help some of our tec...
Ep 34 - 2 Stage Fire Alarm Systems / Code Changes for Atlantic Canada
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a great episode with some good education on what are 2 stage systems, when are they used, and how they differ from other multi-stag...
Ep 33 - Above And Beyond Awards
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Ellis is the Above and Beyond AWard winner for Alberta for 2024. Listen to Mike's story and hear about his venture in safer battery testing with ...
EP 32 - Codes And Standards Committee
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Aaron Lee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ep 31 - The AHJ's Perspective - A discussion with Fire Safety Inspectors
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever had the chance to really listen and get to know what the fire safety officers do in your town? Today we have a discussion with two membe...
Ep 30 - Above And Beyond Award winner - with our Quebec chapter winner (in French)
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we bring the Quebec chapter of the CFAA (the ACAI in French) to the podcast to introduce us to their 2024 winner of the Above and Beyond Awa...
Ep 29 - ISO 17024 Certification for Technicians?
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to Suzanne Alfano (Executive Director of the CFAA) Stephen Ames (past President and currently working on the ISO certification proj...
Ep 28 - Above And Beyond Awards Pt 2
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to 2025! Here is our first episode of the year and we continue with interviews with the Above and Beyond Award Winners. Tony Hodder, Victoria ...
Ep 27 - End Of Year Roundup
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this Year-End episode, I have asked a few of my past guests and also Suzanne Alfano, Executive Director fo the CFAA and Jordan Klemick, Current Pre...
Ep 26 - Above And Beyond Awards Part 1
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the first of a multi-part series where we wil feature an interview with each of the award winners of our technician's committee Above and Beyo...
Ep 25 - Behind The Curtain of the CFAA Executive Board and Committees Pt 2
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Part 2 of the podcast on a behind the scenes of the CFAA board of directors and committees. This episode focuses on the technicians and how you as a t...
Ep 24 - Behind the Curtain of the CFAA Executive Board and Committees Pt 1
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a look 'behind the curtain of the CFAA Boards and Committees and see how the sausage is made! We will dive into each of the committ...
Ep 23 - AI tools being used in Fire Alarm
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode is with Pery Zerbinos and we discuss some of the best use cases for AI (currently) and how it is shaping our future in fire alarm ...
Ep 22 - Deficiencies in S536-2019 and S537 2019 (Part 2)
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week is a long-ish episode and is more of a discussion with Mark and Tom on what we have been discovering as we have started working wiht the new...
Ep 21 - The past, present and future of CFAA Education
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode is with Randy Panesar from Durham College and we go over where we were, where we are, and where we are going in education for fire...
Ep 20 - Deficiencies in the new ULC standards' updates
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Mark and I discuss some of the definitions and parameters around 'what is a deficiency?' We will have more episodes to come on this v...
Ep 19 - Elevator shaft applications using Aspiration detection
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we delve into the technical requirements of using Aspiration detection in an elevator shaft. With the new standards and the references to s...
Ep 18 - Door Mag Locks and Fire Alarm Interconnections and testing
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode is all about door mag locks and how we test these devices as Fire Alarm Technicians. Ray was able to join us and go over this pres...
Ep 17 - Fire Alarm Cabling
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk cable with Gabriel from Cerco Cable. He has a lot of information to share on the codes and types and cable that are used in Fire Ala...
Ep 16 - What is “performanced-based design” and how does it affect my inspections?
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk to Steven Forrester, a building code consultant from New Brunswick. We delve into the terminology of performance-based design and h...
Ep 15 - An Introduction to Camp Molly
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have a profile on a great outreach initiative for young women interested in the Fire Protection industry! Camp Molly is discussed and the...
Ep 14 - Software tools for Fire Alarm Sales Management
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have Frank on the podcast to discuss software tools to improve quoting speed and efficiency and general management of a fire alarm compan...
Ep 13 - Code Changes for Ontario effective Jan 2025 and Battery Testing Safety
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is on the very important subject of Battery Testing and the safety considerations when testing the batteries for our fire alarm systems. ...
Ep12 - Troubleshooting tips
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was a great discussion with Brett Roach on some tips for troubleshooting and also some tips on dealing with your clients on site when the...
Ep 11 - ULC S561 Central Station Monitoring
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode sees the return of Brent Early from Winnipeg Manitoba. Brent is very active in the local chapter of the Manitoba CFAA and brings an owner...
Ep 10 - Women In Fire Alarm Part 3
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We conclude our 3 part series in conversation with women in Fire Alarm. Recorded earlier this year in Winnipeg MB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Ep 9 - Software tools for reporting
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode is all about the latest tools being used to make reporting and compliance so much easier for fire alarm technicians, AHJ’s and...
Ep 8 - Women In Fire Alarm Part 2
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our conversation from earlier this year in Winnipeg. A look into the experiences and perspectives of women in the fire alarm industry Host...
Ep 7 - S1001 Standard for Integrated Systems Testing: An Overview
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we discuss the S1001 Standard for Integrated Systems Testing and some of the points to consider for Fire Alarm Techs as they start to...
Ep 6 - End User’s perspective on new codes
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a conversation with Brent Early, an owner’s representative who deals specifically with the fire protection for that government of Ma...
Ep 5 - Changes to 536-2019
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a discussion with Mark Wilson on some of the changes to S536. Let us know what you think at [email protected] Do you want to get more ...
Ep 4 - Women In Fire Alarm part 1
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a panel discussion on the experiences of women in the fire alarm industry. This is part 1 of a discussion that took place in Winnipeg ...
Ep 3 - CFAA position statement on qualified personnel
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, I have Derrick Bertrand , Vice President of the CFAA Manitoba Chapter. We were able to get together in Winnipeg and discuss the new p...
Ep 2 - Changes to NBCC codes coming to many provinces
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, Brett and I review the changes coming to the provinces as they adopt versions of the 2020 NBCC and associated ULC standards.This epis...
Ep 1 - Introduction to the show and interview with Mark Wilson
30 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the first episode of the show, Mark Wilson and I discuss the latest news in the Alberta chapter of the CFAA and we also summarize what we would lik...