Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
Welcome to 2024! I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and we’re all looking forward to yet another year of good health and prosperity for our industry! I’ve learned the one thing that’s guaranteed in our lifetime is change. Each New Year’s celebration brings hope and a new start for us all. The many soon-to-be-forgotten resolutions also remind us that the more some things change, the more they remain the same. After 26 years as AFSA’s leader in coordinating our education, meetings, and conventions, Marlene Garrett has decided to move on to new challenges in her career and professional development. I hope everyone will join me, our Board of Directors, and the AFSA staff in wishing her all the best in her new role with an association in the medical services world. Her last official day was December 31, 2023, but she promised not to be a stranger as she plans to stop by and see our lab in full function. You may even see her as a guest at a future AFSA convention. Twenty-six years is a very long time to be anywhere, and she will be missed by the many friends and associates she leaves behind. While change is inevitable, it is also exciting to see what the next evolution holds for AFSA. The one thing we know for sure is that the next meeting planner we hire will have some big shoes to fill. Godspeed, Marlene, we wish you well.
In addition to learning more about association leadership, my focus over these past few years has been on technical services and updating AFSA’s programs to keep pace with our ever-changing industry in terms of technology, codes, and standards, along with new challenges in construction trends. Storage facilities have always been challenging for fire sprinkler system design, but the latest trends in automated retrieval systems and storage heights have literally taken this challenge to new heights. Parking garages, vehicles in general, as well as electric cars and battery charging of electric scooters and bicycles, have added to the challenge of protecting the built environment. Change… nothing stays the same except for the fact that our work continues to get more complex and brings more liability for our members.
In 2024, my focus will shift a little to include the growth of AFSA and its chapters. I plan to visit chapters more and help our chapter leaders meet local and regional needs and address regional concerns.
That said, our Technical Services team will be rolling out a wide range of new programs to educate more of our members’ teams. AFSA’s new “Fire Sprinkler 101” program will help our members onboard new employees who may not be familiar with fire sprinkler systems and the language of our industry. This will literally be an entry-level, live, eight-hour seminar program introducing novices to our world. Along the line of thinking about bringing much-needed new DNA to our industry, AFSA staff will help lead the way in developing more outreach to high schools and community colleges to educate and attract more students by exposing them to our industry’s opportunities. This is a topic I addressed in our last edition, but I want to emphasize the importance of this for our industry! Here in the Dallas area, we will be working with a local magnet high school to introduce fire sprinklers, where students in the district are already exposed to every trade you can think of, including culinary arts, automotive repair, and computer programming. This is site-specific, but we’re hopeful many parts of this initial program will be exportable to a wider audience. We hope to encourage and support local chapters to participate in career days and fairs while offering the kinds of training programs that will accelerate the learning curve to make your new hires productive.
On a sad note, I want to acknowledge the passing of one of the kindest and helpful men I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, Joe Heinrich of Bamford Fire Sprinkler in Salina, Kansas. Joe was a Board member and served as AFSA Chair from 2013-2015. Most recently, Joe has been the Chair of our NextGen Initiative, which should tell you all you need to know about Joe’s youthful exuberance and his attitude toward life. I attended Joe’s funeral service in Salina, and, based on the very full church, I can tell you he was a man who lived in his community and not just in his house. Joe is survived by a beautiful large family, including his son, Brett, who is the man who manages the National Apprenticeship Competition at AFSA’s annual convention. If you didn’t know Joe Heinrich, I assure you, you missed out on knowing a truly great man and a dedicated fire protection contractor. Rest in peace, Joe. You will be missed.
In closing, I want to say a very sincere “Thank you!” to all our volunteer chapter leaders and executive directors for their hard work and commitment of time in making our association work at the member and chapter levels. Your AFSA staff is here to help you with any issues you may have. We want you to know how much we appreciate you and the work you are doing. As I observe the political climate as it relates to labor issues and the efforts of organized labor to legislate open shop contractors out of competitive opportunities, I ask you all to stay diligent and let us know when we can be of help to combat these overt and covert actions. Let’s not assume the days of concern for organized labor’s influence are in the rearview mirror. Nothing is further from the truth—we are still under attack, and we are all stronger together, especially when it comes to protecting the open shop movement. I’m wishing a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024 for us all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bob Caputo, CFPS, is president of the American Fire Sprinkler Association. He is chair of the NFPA 24 and NFPA 291 Technical Committee and a member of multiple NFPA technical committees, including NFPA 13 and NFPA 25. Caputo is a contributor of the NFPA 13 and NFPA 25 Handbooks, the Fire Protection Handbook 21st Edition, and the NFPA Inspection Manual. A member of NFPA and AFSA faculties, Caputo has written and presented seminars throughout the world on fire protection and life safety systems, project and field labor management, and is a regular speaker at AFSA and NFPA conventions. Caputo is an instructor at the National Fire Academy and a member of the Industry Advisory Board at Oklahoma State University School of Fire Protection Engineering & Safety. Caputo’s industry distinctions include “Fire Prevention Officer of the Year ” from San Diego County in 1994; “Man of the Year” from Fire Protection Contractor magazine in 1997; and the Henry S. Parmelee award from AFSA in 2017. Caputo attended the University of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a U.S. Navy veteran and former volunteer firefighter.
