The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) recognizes those individuals who have given extraordinary support to furthering the advancement and awareness of fire sprinklers. The following awards honor the leaders in the fire sprinkler community and in our Association.
Henry S. Parmelee Award
Nomination Deadline:
6/30 (Annually)
Description:
AFSA’s highest honor, the Henry S. Parmelee award is given in recognition of an outstanding individual who has dedicated himself or herself to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and to the goal of fire safety through automatic sprinklers.
Members of AFSA may nominate someone who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving the fire sprinkler industry.
The award was instituted by AFSA in 1983 to give recognition to distinguished industry professionals and to memorialize Henry S. Parmelee, an outstanding pioneer in the fire sprinkler industry who is recognized as the inventor of the first commercially successful closed sprinkler.
Eligibility
To nominate someone for the Parmelee Award you must meet the following requirements:
- Nominations may be made by any employee of an AFSA member in good standing
- Self-nominations are prohibited
- Nominees must be employed by an AFSA member company at the time of the presentation to receive the award
- Nominee’s employer must sign-off on the nomination
Henry S. Parmelee Award Recipients.
1983 John M. Rhodes, FM Global Research Corp.
1984 William J. Meyer, CentralSprinkler Corporation
1985 C. B. Hall, American Automatic Sprinkler Co.
1986 Harold L. Black, Central Fire Protection, Inc.
1987 Edward J. Reilly, Ed Reilly Associates
1988 Richard T. Groos, The Viking Corporation
1989 Ron Coleman, Chief, Fullerton Fire Dept., CA
1990 Frank J. Fee III, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc.
1991 Dr. John L. Bryan, University of Maryland School of Fire Protection Engineering
1992 W. D. (Dave) Hilton, Chief, Cobb County Fire Department, GA
1993 J. Frank Riseden, AFSA President 1983-1991
1994 Haden B. Brumbeloe, Publisher, FPC Magazine
1995 Edward H. Smith, H.F.P. Corporation
1996 Tom Waller, Viking Fire Protection of the SouthEast
1997 Chester W. Schirmer, Schirmer Engineering Corp.
1998 Tom Siegfried, Retired Chief, Altamonte Springs, FL
1999 Donald D. Becker, Midland Automatic Sprinkler Co.
2000 Robert L. McCullough, AllSouth Sprinkler Company (awarded posthumously)
2001 Buck Buchanan, Central Sprinkler Corporation
2002 Frank M. Winiecki, General Sprinkler Corporation
2003 Jack Viola, H.F.P. Corporation
2004 Lowell Gillett, Fire Engineering Co., Inc. (retired)
2005 Joe Hankins, FM Global (retired)
2006 Art Cote, National Fire Protection Association
2007 Tom Groos, The Viking Corporation
2008 William E. Corbin, Mutual Sprinklers, Inc.
2009 Lloyd Ivy, AFSA Director of Membership (1986-2008)
2010 Marty Giles, VSC Fire & Security
2011 Willie Templin, American Automatic Sprinkler, Inc.
2012 Bob Rees, Sunland Fire Protection
2013 Russ Leavitt, Telgian Corporation
2014 James Golinveaux, Tyco Fire Protection Products
2015 George Wagner, Worsham Sprinkler Company
2016 Steve Muncy, AFSA President (1991-2016)
2017 Robert (Bob) G. Caputo, Fire & Life Safety America
2018 Kraig Kirschner, AFCON
2019 Manning Strickland, Strickland Fire Protection
2021 George DiMatteo, Ferguson Fire & Fabrication
2022 Kevin T. Fee, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc.
2023 Dr. James A. Milke, P.E., University of Maryland, Department of Fire Protection Engineering
2024 Joseph A. Heinrich, Bamford Fire Sprinkler Company (awarded posthumously)
2025 Martin Workman,The Viking Group
Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year Award
Nomination Deadline:
3/31 (Annually)
Description:
THE FIRE SPRINKLER ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR award was created to honor individuals not directly involved in the fire sprinkler industry whose efforts have had a national impact in advancing the fire protection industry and automatic fire sprinklers.
The Advocate of the Year is awarded to one individual who sets an example for his or her peers by undertaking a significant amount of advocacy endeavors – at the local, state, national, and international levels – on behalf of the industry.
The goal of the award is to promote year-around advocacy and acknowledge the positive effects of a single advocate. AFSA’s Legislative Committee votes to approve the recipient for this annual award. Advocates are not required to be an AFSA member. Nominations are accepted year-round.
Eligibility:
- Must be nominated by an AFSA member in good standing;
- Individuals not directly involved in the fire sprinkler industry;
- A demonstrated commitment to fire sprinkler advocacy above and beyond policies that specifically impact their own commercial interests;
- A proven history of efforts that advance and improve the overall fire sprinkler industry; and
- Success in advocating for pro-sprinkler policies and/or ideas.
Joe Heinrich Young Professional
of the Year Award
Nomination Deadline:
3/31 (Annually)
Description:
Created in 2016, the Joe Heinrich Young Professional of the Year award honors the contributions of a promising young professional in the fire sprinkler industry who embodies the mission of AFSA’s NextGen Initiative:
To contribute to the success of early career and forward-thinking fire sprinkler industry individuals through education, networking, and professional development opportunities, while maintaining a collaborative work environment focusing on building and nurturing industry relationships.
This award serves to reaffirm the growing importance of fire sprinkler knowledge in the world of business and construction management among the next generation of industry leaders; promote the emergence of young talented professionals in the field of fire protection, thus fostering interest for the fire sprinkler profession and a future career in this field of expertise; and inspire fire protection companies and the fire protection community to invest even more in the development and excellence of the profession.
The recipient of the Joe Heinrich Young Professional of the Year award is selected by AFSA’s NextGen Initiative Committee and recognized at the AFSA’s Annual Convention.
Nominations are accepted year-round.
Eligibility:
To nominate someone for the Joe Heinrich Young Professional of the Year Award award you must meet the following requirements:
- Nominations may be made by any employee of an AFSA member in good standing
- Nominations are encouraged to come from chapters.
- Self-nominations are prohibited.
- Nominees must be employed by an AFSA member company at the time of the presentation to receive the award.
- Nominee’s employer must sign-off on the nomination.
- Nominees for other AFSA awards may be considered for this award.
- Nominees that are not selected are held for five years, or until selected, whichever comes first.
Fire Sprinklers Save Lives Award
Description:
AFSA established the Fire Sprinklers Save Lives award in 1998, to recognize individuals outside the fire sprinkler industry who help dispel the myths about fire sprinklers by generating public awareness about this life-saving technology.
AFSA’s Public Education & Awareness Committee accepts and recommends nominees for this award and they are approved by the AFSA Board of Directors.
Once received, the nomination will be considered at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee.
Eligibility
To nominate someone for the Fire Sprinklers Saves Lives Award you must meet the following requirements:
- Nominations may be made by any employee of an AFSA member in good standing
- Self-nominations are prohibited