Dear Storm Stoppers® Customers:

On Monday, March 23, I emailed the following letter to Mr. Bill Feeley, the President of the International Hurricane Protection Association. The IHPA, based in Lantana, Florida, is a trade group representing the bolt-on shutter industry. During the last 3 years, the IHPA and its Officers have attempted to intimidate Storm Stoppers® through disingenuous bullying tactics. One bullying tactic was to send us a letter in 2006 claiming that “all hurricane protection products are required, under Florida Law, to be Florida Building Code or Miami Dade approved.” When our attorney responded requesting proof of their assertion, we got a vague “it’s in the Florida Statute” nonsense response and they backed down. A review of the IHPA Officers at http://www.inthpa.com/listofficers.asp reveals that all of their officers are directly involved in the bolt on shutter industry, so it is no surprise that the IHPA isn’t a fan of Storm Stoppers®. What is a surprise is their continued lack of commitment to the safety of homeowner’s lives and property.

The basic thrust of the IHPA is they do not want Storm Stoppers® to exist. Our low price points and high buyer values are a threat to their industry. The IHPA fears what would happen if customers had a choice between spending an average of $6 a square foot for an easy Do-It-Yourself (DIY) hurricane protection product such as Storm Stoppers®, versus paying a traditional hurricane shutter company $12 to $50 per square foot to install heavy and difficult to use bolt on shutters. Because the shutter industry derives the majority of their profit on their installation, they are not in favor of any company that promotes, as Storm Stoppers® does, a homeowner-installed hurricane protection product.

If you read the Hurricane Shutter Tragedies news stories above, you will learn that almost a dozen people have died in the last decade, trapped behind plywood and bolt-on shutters. A Melbourne, Florida family lost their home and their possessions in early March because the local fire department couldn’t remove the bolt on shutters to fight the fire. Amazing and sad! It is very interesting that Mr. Feeley’s industry has chosen not to innovate an affordable hurricane shutter that offers a safe exit, like Storm Stoppers®, from every protected opening. How many homeowners have to die before the IHPA takes a stand and promotes a safe exit shutter? How many homes does a fire have to destroy before the IHPA makes an easy-release shutter?

The International Hurricane Protection Association’s Mission Statement says, in part, “Provide quality hurricane protection systems, information, and education to insure the publics' welfare and safety, therefore minimizing the loss of life and the destruction of property.” My email below was requesting confirmation from President Feeley on what his organization plans to do to help this family, as well as mandate that his industry’s bolt-on shutters have a safe exit release on the inside and the outside of every hurricane shutter that is manufactured. Like most bullies, Mr. Feeley and his International Hurricane Protection Association are noticeably silent when they are challenged. However, I will reprint Mr. Feeley’s response to the safety concerns raised in my email if I hear from him.

Sincerely,
John D. Smith
President & Inventor
Storm Stoppers® The Plywood Alternative®

To: Mr. Bill Feeley, President of the International Hurricane Protection Association

Email: bfeeley@easternmetal.com

(Note: Mr. Feeley works for Eastern Metal Supply, a noted bolt-on shutter company in South Florida).
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 2:06 PM
Subject: What is the International Hurricane Protection Association's position on this consumer safety issue?

Dear Bill:

Almost 2 weeks ago, there was yet another Hurricane Shutter Tragedy in Florida, this time in Brevard County. A home, protected by the Miami Dade or FBC bolt-on shutters your organization endorses, caught fire. Read the story here: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090312/NEWS01/903120315/1006 . The Melbourne FD Battalion Chief, Greg Anglin, was quoted as saying, “Unless there’s an imminent hurricane, the shutters need to be off. They had shutters on every window, so it did slow down our efforts to save the home. There probably would have been a little less damage but the shutters turned the house into an oven, trapping the heat on the inside and keeping the smoke from going out of the windows.”

Since the International Hurricane Protection Association claims to be concerned about public safety and since you are their President, I am writing to you to inquire about what your organization plans to do to eliminate FBC and Miami Dade shutters from being the unsafe fire hazard they are. I’m also curious what your organization plans to do to make this Melbourne family whole. You were quoted in a December 23, 2008 Insurance Journal news release/article as saying, "The difference in choosing approved or non-approved Hurricane protection systems can dramatically affect the survival of a home and its contents and in some cases can be a life or death decision. This type of deceptive trade practice needs to stop and the companies profiting from this should be held accountable." This article also mentioned that you had formed a “Consumer Safety Task Force.”

Since your Mission Statement on your website says, in part, “Provide quality hurricane protection systems, information, and education to insure the public’s welfare and safety, therefore minimizing the loss of life and the destruction of property,” I believe your organization bears responsibility when property is destroyed as a direct result of the hurricane shutters your organization promotes and profits from. Since bolt-on “approved” hurricane protection shutters impeded the Melbourne Fire Department’s ability to fight this fire and caused the destruction of this property, I’m curious what your organization will be doing to help this Melbourne family recover from their devastating loss. It stands to reason that the International Hurricane Protection Association should make a significant financial contribution to this family, and also require your member shutter manufacturers to mandate that all bolt-on hurricane shutters have safety releases on the inside and the outside of the home to eliminate these ongoing hazards. The time has come to stop the lip service about how the unsafe hurricane shutters your industry promotes “shouldn’t be left up.” If there were safety releases on the inside and outside of the shutters your industry manufactures, a homeowner could easily get out and a Fire Department could easily get in.

In light of this Melbourne family losing both their house and their home’ contents to a fire, I’m curious when the IHPTA and your Consumer Safety Task Force will be rallying support around this family with fundraising, an offer of a temporary home and an Extreme-Makeover-rebuild of their destroyed home. Since you do not list any sort of community support programs on the IHPTA website, this would be a great opportunity for your organization to contribute to the community. I’m also curious if your organization will be making contact with Melbourne Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Anglin so that you can assure him, as well as the other Fire Departments around the state and nation, that the International Hurricane Protection Association is indeed committed to the safety of homeowners and the reduction of the destruction of property, as your Mission Statement claims.

I have a number of executives in the insurance, fire service and wind mitigation industries who are looking forward to your reply. There are also a lot of Florida homeowners interested in learning your organization’s position on this important consumer safety issue. I look forward to hearing from you.

John D. Smith
President & Inventor
Storm Stoppers® The Plywood Alternative®
The Future in Safe, Simple &
Self-Installed Hurricane Protection!
In Orlando: 407-423-5959__
Fax: 407-423-1107
www.storm-stoppers.com