Bristol County Plumbing & Gas Inspector Association

Bristol County Plumbing & Gas Inspector Association BCPGIA is a non-profit association,established in 2008 to provide educational services and knowledge and professionalism for the Plumbing and Gas Industry.

Bristol County Plumbing and Gas Inspectors Association is a non-profit organization established in 2008 that is dedicated to the education and training of it's members in code inspection and enforcement, and is an approved provider of CE credits for licensees and inspectors. Our Objectives and Direction:
1. To promote the health, safety and security of the general public in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

2. To establish a uniform understanding of the Massachusetts State Plumbing and Gas code and other related codes.

3. To insure input from this association during public hearings and proposed changes in the codes.

4. To establish a uniform understanding of all new products approved by the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.

5. To establish a closer relationship among the Plumbing and Gas Officials and their respective cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Happy Birthday to our recently elected Treasurer, Ben Lebow!
09/14/2026

Happy Birthday to our recently elected Treasurer, Ben Lebow!

What are you doing right now? On a zoom meeting with IAPMO, Peter, Chris, Mike G. and others... going through a training...
09/10/2026

What are you doing right now? On a zoom meeting with IAPMO, Peter, Chris, Mike G. and others... going through a training class for the upcoming CE 19 class.

Registration is now open for evening Plumbing Tier classes at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Greater N...
09/10/2026

Registration is now open for evening Plumbing Tier classes at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Greater New Bedford Regional Voc-Tech, and Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School

Links for more information and to register are below:

Diman classes begin Sept. 28. Tuition is $850.00
Diman night school Tier info page
https://ddoc.dimanregional.org/searchResults.cfm?searchId=9

N.B. Voc. classes begin Sept. 15th. Tuition varies depending on the date you register.
New Bedford Voc night school Tier info page
https://gnbvti.org/programs/plumbing/

Bristol Plymouth Reg. Tech. High School Plumbing Tier 4 ONLY- classes begin Sept. 22. Tuition is $1,100.00
Bristol Plymouth night school tier info
https://www.ssreg.com/bptech/classes/classes.asp?catID=9184&pcatID=9183

Share the news..

09/10/2026

Have to be honest, it was tough to see this video of the school getting taken down yesterday.

We have many licensed plumbing business owners and inspectors in the area that walked those halls and got started in the plumbing trade there, myself included.

Happy Birthday today to Peter DeFrietas and Larry Lemieux! Two guys deeply involved in education for our trade! Have a g...
09/08/2026

Happy Birthday today to Peter DeFrietas and Larry Lemieux! Two guys deeply involved in education for our trade! Have a great day to you both!

For anyone that may have known him, Tom Pecoraro, Long-time Plumbing Inspector for the City of Quincy, has passed away. ...
09/03/2026

For anyone that may have known him, Tom Pecoraro, Long-time Plumbing Inspector for the City of Quincy, has passed away.

https://thesweeneybrothers.com/obituary/thomas-f-pecoraro-age-67/

Tom was very helpful in establishing the continuing education program for inspectors, from lobbying in support of the legislation, to the implementation of the program from the beginning. He was always a vocal advocate for the inspectors, often speaking before the State Plumbing Board and the state legislature. He was instrumental in the office during the Merrimack Valley gas disaster in 2018. Tom will certainly be missed in the industry. May he rest in Peace.

One of the items on the agenda of yesterday's State Plumbing Board meeting was Comstar products Copper Lock. If you are ...
09/03/2026

One of the items on the agenda of yesterday's State Plumbing Board meeting was Comstar products Copper Lock.

If you are an inspector, or use this product, this will affect you... Apparently, when it was originally accepted back in 2007, it was only for a few test sites and never approved beyond that. Originally, it was approved for joining WATER PIPING ONLY, for RESIDENTIAL ONLY, and ONLY UP TO 1½" pipe.

The product manufacturer has modified its permitted use since then, without contacting the Board for approval, and has since, allowed it on drainage, and from what was said at the meeting, can be used up 6" without issues. The packaging on the product has conflicting info, one section reads it can seal up 2", and on the bottle on the same instructions, reads good up to 1½". (Attached for reference)

This is what originally brought up questioning. They also have only done in house testing, and not gone for 3rd party testing which is required for product approval.

So as of today, Sept. 3rd, it is ONLY ALLOWED to be used as it was originally allowed for the test sites, until the company applies for approval for drainage use, and for sizes over 1½". If you check on the product approval page, it will be updated today with the restrictions listed where it is approved for use.

This will take at the very best outcome, months to be allowed differently.

If you are an inspector, word from Boston is if an inspection occurs and Copper Lock is used on anything over 1½", or on drainage on any size, or on water piping or drain piping for commercial, the job should be a fail. If the system fails for a something outside of what it was approved for, there could liability concerns.

This will be covered on the next CE class coming up for both inspectors and licensees.

Ran across this photo today, from a final gas inspection I was doing in Lawrence from the gas disaster in 2018. The tena...
08/23/2026

Ran across this photo today, from a final gas inspection I was doing in Lawrence from the gas disaster in 2018. The tenant was cooking on this outdoor propane stove in their kitchen when we arrived. We all felt dizziness when we went into the apartment to inspect, which had some low levels of CO in there and two young kids as well. We got the windows open just in time... luckily the final gas passed and a approval tag to get their gas back on that day.

The early set up crew, thank you guys!
08/16/2026

The early set up crew, thank you guys!

Address

P. O. Box 333
Fall River, MA
02722

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bristol County Plumbing & Gas Inspector Association posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Bristol County Plumbing & Gas Inspector Association:

Shortcuts

Share