Samuel Dannaway

Sam is the vice president of fire protection engineering and serves as a principal engineer in Hawaii responsible for the design and engineering of fire protection systems.

Technical aspects of his work include the design of automatic fire sprinkler systems, smoke control/removal systems, gaseous fire extinguishing systems, fire alarm and detection systems, fire protection engineering surveys of existing facilities, and consultation on various facets of building and life safety codes including exit facilities and fire ratings of materials of construction.

Sam was the Founder and President of S.S. Dannaway Associates, a leading fire protection engineering firm that joined Coffman Engineers in 2016. He brought with him a staff of 14 including two partners that became principals.

Sam has worked tirelessly to establish the fire protection engineering discipline in Hawaii. In 1985, when Sam established the first full service fire protection engineering consulting firm in Hawaii, he was the only licensed fire protection engineer working in consulting. Today, there are more than 40 licensed fire protection engineers practicing in Hawaii.

For decades, Sam has been a strong advocate of the professional development of the engineer. He strongly believes that mentoring and nurturing younger engineers is the key to continued success. He has brought numerous training seminars to Hawaii from National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), National Fire Sprinkler Association, International Code Council, Automatic Fire Alarm Association, and others. He has also organized fire protection engineering PE exam study groups assisting many engineers in obtaining their fire protection PE licenses.

Sam is also active in the development of building and fire codes nationally and is a principal member of several NFPA Technical Committees.