AFSA Awards Altizer ‘Fire Sprinklers Save Lives’ Award

The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has awarded its “Fire Sprinklers Save Lives” award to Ed Altizer, retired Virginia State Fire Marshal.
 
Ed Altizer served as Virginia State Fire Marshal since 1995.  He began his tenure with the State Fire Marshal’s Office in 1974, where he spent 19 years in the Southwest Virginia field office as an inspector, engineer and regional manager working with both the state fire prevention codes and the fire protection and prevention aspects of the state building codes.  He has for many years been an outspoken proponent of saving lives through increased use of fire sprinklers.  He was instrumental in getting fire sprinklers installed in numerous buildings at Virginia Tech along with other locations, and he has been shown strong leadership and support in the effort to protect people in their homes through stronger residential fire protection requirements.

Says Altizer: “Most people know how I feel about sprinklers. It is all about saving lives, injuries, and lastly property in that order, and for the exact same reason I support smoke detectors, and other fire protection systems and devices. I just believe that the discussion should start with sprinklers and go from there when it comes to safety of citizens and first responders.”
 
Ed Altizer retired from his position as Virginia State Fire Marshal on April 1, 2016, and was presented with the “Fire Sprinklers Save Lives” award on April 5, 2016 at the AFSA Virginia Chapter meeting
 
Established in 1998, this award is presented to individuals or organizations outside the fire sprinkler industry who demonstrate understanding and appreciation of the life-saving capabilities of automatic fire sprinklers by generating positive exposure to the public.