Peter A. Vallone, P.E.

Senior Fire Protection Engineer
Vice President

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CURRICULUM VITAE

Pete Vallone’s fire protection engineering career has spanned over 35 years. He joined Protection Development, Incorporated (PDI) in 1995 as a Senior Fire Protection Analyst, after having completed a very successful 25-year career with the Fire Prevention & Engineering Bureau of Texas. He was promoted to Senior Fire Protection & Code Analyst in 2000 subsequent to earning certification as a Building Plans Examiner from the International Conference of Building Officials, and at that time also assumed corporate responsibilities as a Vice President.

Mr. Vallone has earned an excellent reputation in assessing the hazards presented by manufacturing processes and storage, and in selecting, designing, and optimizing fire sprinkler coverage to protect those hazards. He has over 30 years experience in evaluating and designing fire protection systems and in counseling owners on how to cost-effectively protect their investment.

Pete earned licensure as a Texas Professional Engineer in 2003 with a fire protection branch specialization. Having been associated with the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) since 1982, he was elected to the professional grade of “Member” by the Society in 2003, and is a past president of the SFPE’s Austin / San Antonio Chapter. A tireless advocate for community fire and life safety, Pete served on the San Antonio Code Task Force for the adoption of the 1997 editions of the Uniform Building Code and the Uniform Fire Code. Mr. Vallone currently serves on the Board of Adjustment for the City of San Antonio.


Education

1967

Bachelor of Arts - Chemistry
St. Mary’s University
San Antonio, Texas

1985

Undergraduate Courses
Mathematics/Engineering/Computer Science
University of Texas
San Antonio, Texas


Licenses and Certifications

Texas Licensed Professional Engineer (No. 91620) – Fire Protection Branch

Certified Building Plans Examiner, International Code Council (No. 5057234-06)


Professional Experience

1995 – Present

Protection Development, Incorporated
(formerly dba Cochrane & Associates)
San Antonio, Texas

Over his tenure, Mr. Vallone has worked in all of PDI’s areas of expertise. Through this diversity, he has broadened his experience in applying the principles of fire protection engineering. Specific design projects have included automatic sprinkler systems, aircraft hangar fire protection (suppression and fire alarm), hydraulic analysis of water systems, safety of hazardous operations and processes, and detailed evaluations of fire protection systems.

1969 – 1995

Fire Prevention & Engineering
Bureau of Texas
San Antonio, Texas

The FP&EB was a property insurance company supported by approximately 180 member fire insurance companies. Underwriters with these member fire insurance companies charged the FP&EB with the responsibility of conducting fire protection evaluation and fire prevention services. In 1994 this Bureau was restructured, and all operations were transferred to Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) with very little change in duties.

Mr. Vallone was a field inspector, specializing in the design and performance of fire protection systems. These systems included automatic sprinklers (wet-pipe, dry-pipe, and preaction), standpipes, fixed pipe systems (Halon, carbon dioxide, dry and wet chemical), fire alarm systems (manual, automatic rate-of-rise, supervisory), fire pumps (diesel engine and electric motor driven), and both public and private water supplies, conducting over 3,500 individual fire protection engineering projects. This role required familiarity with many National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, codes and recommended practices and the knowledge of which were appropriate to the specific operation.

In addition to normal assignments, he was responsible for investigating large value fire losses. Specifically, Mr. Vallone investigated, analyzed and provided technical reports of findings and a diagram for losses that included the following types of facilities: 1) steam turbine electric generating power plant, 2) warehouse, 3) electronics assembly plant, 4) high rise building, and 5) a grain terminal facility that included grain dust explosions and loss of life.

The products of this engagement were complete and accurate technical reports that comprehensively communicated the fire protection features to property insurance


Professional Memberships

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (National)

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (Austin / San Antonio Chapter)

National Fire Protection Association

National Society of Professional Engineers

Texas Society of Professional Engineers

Professional Engineers in Private Practice