Garner A. Palenske

Experience

Garner Palenske brings more than thirty-two years of experience in the fire protection and life safety consulting field. Mr. Palenske’s experience includes building and fire code analysis, performance-based design, fire protection/detection system design, fire modeling, fire testing, wildland fire analysis, origin and cause, and other forensic work. His publications include numerous fire sprinkler projects exploring ESFR sprinkler performance, high-piled storage fire behavior, and lithium-ion Energy Storage System fire hazard analysis.

 

 

 

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Fire Protection, Detection, and Alarm Systems Design/Analysis

• Confidential Project - Orange County, CA: Fire sprinkler system evaluation
• Manchester Pacific Grand - San Diego, CA: Code consulting, fire sprinkler system design, AND smoke control design for six high-rise buildings *
• Sunroad Arriva - San Diego, CA: Fire sprinkler and fire alarm system design for high-rise residential building, including fire pump and tank design *
• Lowe's Home Improvement Centers - Nationwide: Fire sprinkler and fire alarm system design *
• San Diego International Airport, Customs Area - CA: Fire sprinkler, fire alarm, smoke control system design *

 

Facade Investigation

• High-Rise Building - San Diego, CA: Facade field investigation

 

Hazardous Materials Analysis

• Watson Pharmaceuticals - Corona, CA: Hazardous material analysis for industrial and laboratory buildings *

 

Code Consulting

• One Paseo Retail Development - San Diego, CA: Code consulting and smoke control system design for three office buildings *
• Downtown San Diego Public Library - CA: Code consulting and smoke control design *

 

Awards and Honors

• California Preservation Foundation Award, UCSD Geisel University House Rehabilitation, 2017
• Gold Nugget Grand Award and Award of Merit Honors, Battle of Midway Theater, 2014
• California Preservation Foundation Design Award, Juniperro Serra Museum, 2014
• Fire Protection Research Foundation Best Project Medal, 2012

 

Publications and Presentations

• “Storage in the Presence of Horizontal Barriers or Solid Shelves,” NFPA National Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2018
• “Obstructions and ESFR Sprinklers Phase 1,” NFPA National Conference, Chicago, IL, 2015
• “Obstructions and ESFR Sprinklers Phase 2,” NFPA National Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2106
• “Use of Actual Delivered Density to Predict ESFR Sprinkler Performance,” Suppression and Detection Symposium, NFPA Fire Protection Research Foundation, Orlando, FL, 2015
• NFPA 13 Automatic Sprinkler Systems Handbook 2013, Contributing author
• NFPA 13 Sprinkler System Density Design Curves – Where Did They Come From?” Fire Protection Engineering Magazine, 2012
• “Warehouse Challenge,” NFPA Magazine, Contributor, 2011
• “High Challenge Warehouses,” Fire Protection Research Foundation, Orlando, FL, 2010
• “HVLS Fan and Sprinkler Operation,” NFPA Fire Protection Research Foundation, 2009

* Indicates with previous firm

Professional Affiliations

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)

Registrations

Fire Protection Engineer in AZ, CA, HI, MN, and UT

Education

California State University, Fullerton
Bachelor of Science, Civil-Structural Engineering, 1986
Bachelor of Arts, Business, 1979

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Master of Science, Fire Protection Engineering, 2019, with honors