Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
AFSA AND HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS SAFEGUARD HOMES
Army CPL Paul Hedge recently received the keys to his specially adapted custom home in Tuftonboro, N.H., providing him with independence, safety, and stability after service. An essential life-saving component of his home is a residential fire sprinkler system, made possible through the collaboration between American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) Contractor member, Hampshire Fire Protection Co. LLC, and Homes For Our Troops (HFOT). As the exclusive fire sprinkler partner of HFOT, AFSA, and its members play a vital role in ensuring that these homes are accessible and protected.
Homes For Our Troops builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives. Since 2004, HFOT has built over 430 homes nationwide. AFSA is among several associations, businesses, and Veteran foundations that partner with HFOT. “We’ve been honored to partner with AFSA since 2020,” says HFOT President/CEO Brigadier General (USA, Ret) Tom Landwermeyer. “They are an exceptional and deeply patriotic organization, consistently supplying our homes with residential sprinkler systems over the years. The association’s passion for assisting injured Veterans and their families significantly helps us advance our mission of building homes and rebuilding lives.”
This project marks the first fire sprinkler design and installation that Hampshire Fire Protection has donated to HFOT. “It was easy for me to step up and say, ‘My company will take care of this in my hometown, where I’m located. We’ll take this on and be proud to do the work,” says Paul DeLorie, AFSA Chair of the Board and senior vice president of Hampshire Fire Protection Co., LLC. He also emphasized that the project was a collective effort, made possible by a dedicated team and generous industry partners.
The true value of these homes is the safety they provide, and how they’re designed for Veterans like Hedge to move with ease and feel comfortable in their homes. DeLorie describes how this house is, “…arranged to accommodate mobility issues—things like wider hallways, wider doorways, kitchen counters, windows, and how they swing out to open instead of up and down.” That reality shaped the design and installation of the sprinkler system in Hedge’s home. “If a Veteran has limited mobility, escaping during a fire becomes even more difficult,” DeLorie says. “That’s why fast-acting fire suppression systems are so important—they can control or extinguish a fire before it becomes life-threatening.”
Every HFOT build comes with its own challenges, and Hedge’s home was no exception. Built in rural New Hampshire without access to municipal water, the project required a custom tank and pump system. “You have to provide a tank and a pump system, and that’s part of our engineering coordination with the builder to make accommodations for this. They were clever and resourceful with their ability to integrate into the architect’s plans.” Northern New England’s cold, snowy winters also required special consideration to prevent maintenance issues. “Because of the cold, we had to route and insulate the piping to keep it from freezing. That was another engineering challenge we worked through closely with the home builder to ensure the system was protected.”
The fire sprinkler industry is known to unify with a shared passion for saving lives and property. From start to finish, all aspects of the project were a team effort. “It’s the other people who actually did the work. Robert DeStefano [who supervised the design], my supervisor, Mark Dukette, and foreman, John Sullivan; they’re the ones who genuinely worked on the job.”
From designers to installers, the opportunity to apply their trade in service of a Veteran created a strong sense of purpose across the company. “I kept an eye on the project, talked about when we needed to be there, and scheduled my guys to go in and install pipe. I organized the entire installation to make sure we stayed on schedule,” Dukette explains. “We took a lot of pride in it. My daughter is also in the Army, so I take pride in doing stuff for our troops.”
While Hampshire Fire Protection led the design and installation, the project was made possible through a network of industry partners who donated materials and expertise. Key contributors included manufacturers and suppliers who stepped forward without hesitation. General Air Products Company donated the H2home NFPA 13D pump and tank system; Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Company donated fire sprinkler heads, pipe, fittings, and hangers; and Independent Pipe and Supply Company donated the antifreeze solution for the fire sprinkler system. DeLorie describes this as “the power of a good network and a strong shared mission.”
Hampshire Fire Protection’s work on Hedge’s home is part of a greater national effort. Through AFSA’s partnership with HFOT, member companies across the country regularly donate fire sprinkler systems for specially adapted homes. “This isn’t a one-off thing; AFSA members are doing this work all over the country.” That collective effort ensures that Veterans like Paul Hedge receive a safer home. Currently, AFSA is working on residential installations in 16 Veterans’ homes across the country.
As HFOT continues to build homes nationwide, the need for industry participation remains strong. To get involved, contact AFSA/HFOT Volunteer Liaison Paulene Norwood at paulenesacvalleyafsa@gmail.com or AFSA Public Relations Manager D’Arcy Montalvo at dmontalvo@firesprinkler.org. Click here to read more about Hedge’s story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Clarissa Rios is the communications and marketing coordinator for the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). She manages media relations, writes feature articles, and produces coverage on the fire sprinkler industry. Rios graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton with a degree focused on media and communications.