David Sylvester - In Memoriam
1965 - 2014
It is with heavy heart and deep regret that we announce the passing of our dear friend and respected colleague David Sylvester, on Monday November 17, 2014.
After a long and courageous battle with cancer, David succumbed to his illness at Credit Valley Hospital on the evening of November 17th, 2014.
He leaves behind his loving wife Lucia, his two daughters Samantha and Madison, parents Gina and Len Sylvester, brother Paul (Audra), mother-in-law Wanda Wiszniewski, brothers-in-law John Wiszniewski (Cristina and Andrei Belcin) and Peter Wiszniewski (Ursula and Maxwell). Pre-deceased by father-in-law Feliks Wiszniewski.
VIEW CFAA MEMBER TRIBUTES
These tributes will later be incorporated in a presentation which will be given to David's family from the CFAA community.
ADD YOUR OWN TRIBUTE AT THIS CFAA EMAIL LINK
View tributes in the 'Guestbook' at the Glen Oaks funeral home website
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DAVID'S CAREER IN THE FIRE SAFETY INDUSTRY AND HIS WORK WITH THE CFAA
It is with deepest sorrow that we mourn the loss of a great visionary, colleague, teacher, friend, David Sylvester.
Over the past ten years, you have probably heard the name Dave Sylvester when exploring CFAA education. That’s because Dave was a proud supporter of CFAA technicians since 1997. As a past 1st CFAA National Vice President and a past Chair of the CFAA National Education Committee for six years, there is no doubt that Dave made an instrumental impact on the organization as well as the industry.
In the early 1980s, Dave started out installing fire alarm systems as an apprentice electrician. In the 1990s, the federal government benefitted from Dave’s trouble shooting expertise as he maintained over 500 fire alarm systems at Pearson International Airport. In the early 2000s, Dave joined the Leber Rubes Life Safety Consulting team and developed his fire alarm design skills on various large scale fire alarm projects such as Square One Shopping Mall, Toronto Eaton Centre, and the Toronto Dominion Centre to name a few.
In the mid-2000s, Dave initiated a new type of fire alarm design process at Morrison Hershfield, utilizing tablets and geospatial databases to design pick-and-place fire alarm devices in real time while reviewing a building. This resulted in Dave receiving the 2010 Carson F. Morrison Award of Excellence for Innovation.
Currently, David was the Director of Research and Industry Affairs for Mircom Group of Companies.
Dave is best remembered for his knowledge sharing with over 2000 technicians across the country. Many people benefitted from David’s dedication, energy and passion for the fire safety industry. He was a people person with incredible charisma. He was a “connector” and mentor to many.
Within the CFAA David had many accomplishments namely; he developed the CFAA Codes and Standards Online Course, from inception to completion, and delivered it in 2009 following significant peer review, he was a favourite speaker at CFAA Technical Seminars and AHJ Presentations nationwide, his insightful articles published in the CFAA Journal were always incredibly well received, and David co-wrote three of the five CFAA Course manuals plus the CFAA on-line Life Safety Electronics Course. He was instrumental in the design and development of the current CFAA website.
The Canadian Fire Alarm Association mourns the loss of a truly extraordinary person.
GOOD FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE
EDUCATOR / TEACHER / SPEAKER / TRAINER
A LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME, AMONG HIS PEERS
(A page from the CFAA Journal – 40th Anniversary Edition – December 2013
WITH CFAA SEMINAR FRIENDS
EXPOUNDING ON HIS FAVOURITE TOPICS
WITH CFAA SEMINAR FRIENDS
