International Fire Suppression Alliance, Ltd. (IFSA) - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Board of Governors of the International Fire Suppression Alliance has voted to bestow its highest honor on Kevin T. Fee of The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Company. The award, which has only been given out on six previous occasions in the 25-year history of the IFSA, recognizes lifetime contributions in support of the fire sprinkler concept internationally and was announced by IFSA Chair Mike Bosma on April 24, 2024, at the Fire Sprinkler International conference in Dublin, Ireland. Sir Harry Marryatt The award is named after Sir Harry Marryatt of Australia, whose advocacy for fire sprinkler systems is legendary. A founder of the Australian Fire Protection Association, he is most remembered as the author of a text that documented the high reliability and capability of fire sprinkler systems over 100 years. Kevin Fee Throughout the decades, Kevin has been an ardent supporter of the IFSA and its mission Kevin Fee, who recently stepped down from the IFSA Board of Governors, was a founder and first chairman of the organization, meaning that his service on the board essentially tracked that of the IFSA itself. Throughout the decades, he has been an ardent supporter of the IFSA and its mission. Kevin's education Kevin is president and chairman of The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc., and is a third-generation owner and operator of the company.  He holds a BS degree in business management from Boston College and an MBA degree from Columbia University, and started his full-time career with Reliable in 1973 as a Sales Manager after receiving his MBA. He moved up through various sales and executive positions to become President and CEO in 2015. kevin's experience An industry legend for his strong support of industry associations, Kevin is the longest-tenured board member in the history of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) in the U.S., having served on that board for more than 40 years. He is a past board chair and treasurer of that organization, and in 2008 was recognized with its highest honor, the Golden Sprinkler Award. He was also honored by the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) in 2022 with its Henry S. Parmelee Award, recognizing his dedication to the fire sprinkler industry. advocacy and proactive policy Kevin has served for many years on the FM Approvals Advisory Council and the AFSA Manufacturer and Suppliers Council A member of the National Fire Protection Association since 1974, he has served for many years on the FM Approvals Advisory Council and the AFSA Manufacturer and Suppliers Council and was elected chairman of the latter group in 1986. In 2019 he was elected to the board of Common Voices, an organization of fire-impacted individuals who share tragic stories that highlight the fire problem in a way that promotes advocacy and proactive policy decisions. He was recently elected chairman of the Common Voices Board of Directors. fire sprinkler concept Kevin is strongly committed to the continued promotion of the fire sprinkler concept, protection of the integrity of fire sprinkler systems, and protection of the identity of the fire sprinkler industry. Kevin has been married to his wife, Christine, for over 50 years and has three children – Kevin Jr., K.C., and Courtney. His favorite activity is spending time with his six grandchildren, collectively known as “The Six-Pack” – Bella (13), Alex (11), Harley (9), Charlie B. (9), Brody (7), and Alice (7).

The IFSA’s video explaining the need for fire protection industry professionals and regulators to demand product certification by reputable testing laboratories is now available in 6 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, and Arabic. One can view the video by visiting their official website. The 6-minute video focuses on the shortcomings of noncertified fire sprinklers that have been identified, some actually removed from service where they were being trusted to provide fire protection to the public. When such noncertified fire sprinklers are tested using standard product test protocols, they routinely fail to demonstrate adequate performance. Certain types of failure seem to predominate, but all failures indicate a danger to public safety. It is hoped that the video will be successful in bringing the dangers of noncertified fire sprinklers to the attention of government regulators, and convince them to prevent the installation of substandard products in their countries.

Effective November 1, 2020, Robert (Bob) Caputo became the new President of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). Bob is a sprinkler industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, ranging from owning a fire sprinkler installation company in San Diego, California to teaching technical seminars for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Fire sprinkler industry veteran Bob most recently served as Vice President for training and technical support for Fire & Life Safety America, based in Richmond, Virginia. He has held fire sprinkler contractor licenses in 23 US states, has served on numerous NFPA technical committees and currently chairs the committee responsible for NFPA 16 - Installation of Foam-Water Sprinkler and Foam-Water Spray Systems. The new appointment provides an opportunity to review the history of the various fire sprinkler associations based in the United States. The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) traces it’s founding to 1905 and in 2016 moved its headquarters from New York to Maryland. National Fire Sprinkler Association As ‘the voice of the fire sprinkler industry’, NFSA prides itself on being a broad-based association As ‘the voice of the fire sprinkler industry’, NFSA prides itself on being a broad-based association, controlled by a board of directors that is comprised of both union and open shop (non-union) contractors and sprinkler manufacturers, with an additional board member elected from a Supplier and Manufacturers Council made up of product distributors and manufacturers of system components other than sprinklers. In 1981, the National Fire Sprinkler Association was approached by some of its open shop member contractors with a request to initiate a fitter training program. However, since collective bargaining with sprinkler fitter unions was already one of the services that the association provided for its union contractors and to avoid bargaining in bad faith, NFSA suggested that a separate organization be formed for this purpose.  American Fire Sprinkler Association The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) was formed to be such an organization, based in Texas and specifically geared towards the needs of the open shop contractor. Although manufacturers and suppliers support the efforts of the organization, AFSA’s Board of Directors continue to be comprised solely of open shop sprinkler contractors. International Fire Suppression Alliance The International Fire Suppression Alliance (IFSA) was formed in 1999 by the NFSA, in order to help promote the fire sprinkler concept globally, but now operates totally separate from that organization. With its headquarters located in Ohio, the IFSA Board of Directors consists of representatives of companies committed to the IFSA mission. IFSA seeks to have positive relationships with all organizations around the world that promote the use of properly designed, installed and maintained fire sprinkler systems, and wishes Bob Caputo much success in his new position of leadership with the AFSA.