Sacramento wholesalers' holiday lunch

MORE CHEER at lhe Sacramento wholesalers' holiday luncheon: (1) Earl Moore, Sid Johnson. (2) Spencer Williams, El Louise Waldron. (3) K.C. Frisk, Tom Atkins. (4) Frank Solinsky, Patrick Custer. (5) Don Kathlean, Bob Allison, David West. (6) Jim Murk, Lori Souza, Lew MacDonald. (7) John Monison, Rick Kavooras. (8) Dave Hildbrand, Bob Maurer. (9) Pat Damon,

Ann White. (10) Paula McCauley, Dixie Tibbets, Larry Mead. (11) Bill Gaittens, Duane Duff. (12) Bob Long, Mike Massa. (13) Dave Westlake, Steve Prado. (14) Doug Hanson, Tom Williams. (15)Jim Waterman, Tom Callow, Dick Smallridge. (16) Greg Passmore, Rick Richter, Charlie Brittain. (17) Kevin Dolan, Len Adamo, Gary Palmer. (18) Hank Muller,

Mike Benton. (19) Scott Daley. (20) Dennis Duchi, Robert West, Wayne Murphy. (21) Tom Von Moos, Kathi Neel, John Casey. (22) John Souza, Karl Drexel, Tom Knippen. (23) Russ Slurdyvin. (24) Rick Chackel, Jim McVey. (25) Patrick Hunter, Carolyn Michaeledes, George Hammann. (26)Jerry Ensworth. (27) Rick Wilson, Debbie Donnell, Pat Zan. Jnruunny

We welcome your letters tu the editor. Just FAX your comments about the magazine or particular orticles to 714-852-0231 or mail to Editor, The Merchant Magazine, 4500 Campus Dr., Ste.480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660.

Tiie Burning Issue

As a reader of The Merchant Magazine, I would like to take this opportunity to address the article ("Fireproof Wood: What a Concept," Nov. p. 12). First and foremost, I would like to point out that there is no such thing as "fireproofl' wood; might I suggest that the term "flame resistant" wood would have been a more accurate description of the FRTW available on the market today.

As a consultant to a manufacturer of a three-in-one product (i.e., wood preserver, insect repellent and flame retardant), I am baffled by the continued industry-wide support of "pressure treated" wood. Enclosed please find two reports by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service describing in detail the problems associated with this process (i.e., "thermally degraded plywood roof sheathing"). These government studies negate even the most modest claims of Dressure

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As you may or may not be aware, the major corporations involved in the "wood treatment" industry have successfully held a monopoly over the market since its inception and are now faced with the long-term consequences of their products' inherent degradation of wood over time. By setting the standards/requirements enforced by ASTM, these entities have virtually eliminated any opportunity for new technology to penetrate the industry. Rather than addressing the proven defects of the existing treatment methods of working to find a solution in order to remedy the situation, they seem to continue to uphold the self-defeating "our way or the highway" attitude.

There are alternatives. For example, has anyone considered the possibility of a spray-on application which will not degrade the wood? Of course not. Due to the present code structure, there is no spray-on test method currently in place to validate this as an "accepted and approved" application. Members of the fire retardant community must, therefore, go to great lengths (and expense) to now develop new standards in order to have a product recognized as an effective "sprayon" or alternate fire retardant/wood preserver.

Considering the fact that the cost of this "problem" is estimated to exceed $2 billion, I feel that the "Big Boys" should neither ignore nor neglect their responsibility in remedying the situation. In the meantime. the focus should be on those who are devoting their efforts to offering new and innovative technology to the industry in order to reverse the negative, downward spiral associated with "pressure treated" wood.

Christina Cuddy

1977 Coldwater Canyon Dr. Beverly Hills, Ca. 90210

Editor: Concerning the article's title, "Fireproof Wood," we attempted to simplify the author's headline which was "Wood That Won't Burn." As for Ms. Cuddy's other comments, the author replies:

Ms. Cuddy chastises the industry for ignoring thermal degradation. While this was a huge problem for the industry, it involved basically one application (roofs) and only certain brands.

However, the industry did respond. Those products that failed were either pulled from the market and replaced by new formulations, or the companies simply got out of the business. One brand introduced in 1981 continues to be sold and has continued to perform today without problem and without reformulation. When product failures first surfaced in 1989, the industry immediately began developing new standards, resulting in the publishing of a rare ASTM emergency standard which has become the basis for today's model code evaluation reports.

Even with the problems noted by Ms. Cuddy, the model codes still do not favor coatings in these applications because coatings are field-applied and cannot be inspected. Coatings gain their listing by much less stringent criteria than those for FRTW. Coatings have other problems, such as wear, maintenance, coverage, and shelf life, which are outside the building officials overview.

Quite simply, FRTW is presently the most dependable and economical altemative for a flame retardant buildine material.

Scott Hoffman Manager-Dricon Fire Retardant Hickson Corp.

1955 Lake Park Dr., Suite 250 Smyma, Ga. 30080