Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
A Legacy of Leadership, Service, and Giving Back
For more than four decades, Jack Medovich, P.E., has dedicated his career to protecting lives, advancing the sprinkler industry, and serving the people within it. From his early days as a volunteer firefighter and fire protection engineer to building a successful sprinkler company, shaping codes and standards, leading the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA), and advocating for burn survivors, Medovich has approached each chapter of his career with the same philosophy: serve others and leave the industry better than he found it. That lifetime of service has earned Medovich AFSA’s highest honor, the 2026 Henry S. Parmelee Award.
Finding His Calling
Medovich grew up around the fire service. His father was a firefighter in New York state, and Medovich hoped to follow in his footsteps. His father, however, had other plans for him. But the suggestions made by high school counselors—computer science, vet school, mechanical engineering—didn’t appeal to him. One day, while talking with his dad in the firehouse about his future, a trainer for all New York firefighters was there. “Ogden Clark heard our conversation and asked if I’d ever heard of fire protection engineering,” Medovich remembers. Curious, he reached out to the program at the University of Maryland. He and his dad met with Dr. John Bryan, aka “Prof,” and his future was set. “It fed my soul,” recalls Medovich.
During school, Medovich lived in a nearby firehouse as a volunteer firefighter. Studying by day and answering calls by night gave him a 360-degree view of fire protection. He graduated in 1983.
Medovich’s first job after college was as a plans examiner in the Fairfax County, Va., Fire Marshal’s Office. He eventually oversaw all plan reviews and inspections. He then entered the sprinkler industry, working for a residential sprinkler company called Lifesaving Systems, Inc. (LSI). “I truly felt that for us to really save lives from fire, we needed to put sprinklers where people died… where they slept,” Medovich notes.
After time with LSI and Virginia Sprinkler Company (now VSC Fire & Security), Medovich and his partner decided to start their own business. “We started East Coast Fire Protection (ECFP) in 1997 so I could protect firefighters,” Medovich says. “If you can protect those going in, you certainly could protect those inside.” After acquiring a company in Texas, ECFP was renamed Fire & Life Safety America (FLSA). Over the next few years, they continued to grow and eventually sold to Summit Fire & Security in November 2021.
Medovich decided to retire in September of last year. “I hold a very special place in my heart for Summit and miss being with them way more than I ever thought I would,” he says. “I’ve been blessed in so many ways in my career. The main reason any of this happened was due to the great people with whom I had the privilege of working. It was an honor to work with all of them.”
After a bit of downtime with family and making up for lost time on the golf course, Medovich will start a consulting business in January to remain connected to the industry he loves. “I’ll mostly be helping Summit on an as-needed basis,” he says, “but also continuing to volunteer.”
Service in Action
In 1983, AFSA created its highest honor, the Henry S. Parmelee Award, to recognize an outstanding individual who has dedicated himself or herself to the sprinkler industry and the goal of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. Medovich has served at all levels and across all sectors to benefit the industry. “I’ve always thought I was put on this Earth to serve and not be served,” Medovich comments. That is evident in all facets of his career, volunteerism, and work ethic.
As an Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), Medovich drew on his fire protection engineering education and volunteer firefighting experience to improve the Fairfax County Fire Marshal’s Office’s sprinkler plan review and inspection procedures. “It’s great that AFSA offers training for AHJs and the inspector development program to show people the right way to inspect sprinkler systems. Every system we inspect could end up saving a life.”
While an AHJ, Medovich joined NFPA and went on to serve on numerous code-writing committees for more than four decades, including committees for NFPA 13, NFPA 20, NFPA 25, and other major fire and life safety standards. He received an NFPA lifetime membership certificate in 2025. “I was so honored to serve on NFPA code-writing committees throughout my career,” he says. “I was a little nervous attending my very first meeting in 1984 [NFPA 101, Chapter 6]. I ended up, by accident, sitting between Rolf Jensen and Chet Schirmer. They went back and forth on every topic, and the rest of the committee just kept looking at me with a smirk. Kind of like an understood initiation rite that I fell into. I never sat between them again!” Medovich laughs.
Medovich’s involvement with AFSA began with the Chesapeake Bay Chapter in the late 1980s, where he eventually served as chair. He also became active in the Virginia Chapter, serving as its president for many years. The Virginia Chapter also started an annual golf tournament. “I played in the very first tournament and have been involved ever since,” he comments.
The tournament, now in its 33rd year, benefits the Burn Survivors Foundation (BSF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in the treatment and care of burn survivors. Medovich was the founding chairman of its board of directors until his retirement in 2023. “You donate your time because you want to give back, and then you see how it helps so many people,” says Medovich. “You can’t even plan what all this does. I’ve gotten so much back from all the volunteer time I’ve spent through the BSF, Common Voices, and AFSA. It just comes back and feeds your soul.”
The BSF supports the Central Virginia Burn Camp, a free summer camp for children who have sustained serious burn injuries, and the Evans-Haynes Burn Center of VCU/MCV in Richmond. “It is so great to get to know these kids and see where life leads them,” Medovich says.
“I have known Jack for more than 30 years and respect him deeply,” comments George Wagner, BSF co-founder and director. “As a former Parmelee Award winner, I know what this award means, and I can think of no one in the industry more deserving. I know that Jack is a dedicated, hardworking professional in the industry, with the highest level of integrity and honesty.”
Medovich has served on nearly every national AFSA committee. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2008, served as Chair of the Board from 2021 to 2023, and retired from his seat last year. “Being on the Board and leading as Chair was a really good way to give back to our industry that I love passionately with every bone in my body,” says Medovich. “It was a humbling role for me to serve the industry in a way that our Directors do, but it’s time to let some of the younger industry members get involved.”
Another organization to which Medovich is committed is Common Voices, a coalition dedicated to creating a fire-safe America. “We aim to turn tragedy into advocacy,” he says. Medovich sits on the Board of the organization, which supports pro-sprinkler legislation and advocates for sprinklers in jurisdictions across the country.
Investing In The Future
Medovich supports the next generation of fire protection engineers through the Medovich Endowed Scholarship in Fire Protection Engineering at UMD, providing merit-based scholarships to undergraduate students in the program. “I wanted to give back to the department that gave me so much when I was a student. Phil DiNenno, Prof, Dr. Milke, and many others supported and mentored me.”
In 2019, the UMD FPE Department’s Board of Visitors named Medovich one of its Distinguished Alumni. Dr. James A. Milke, P.E., Professor Emeritus of the FPE Department, says, “I have known Jack for over 40 years, dating back to his time as a student at the University of Maryland. He has always made time for me whenever I had questions about the sprinkler industry or technical questions involving sprinklers. In all the time that I’ve known him, he has demonstrated his total commitment to the fire safety industry.”
The Next Chapter
Semi-retirement has also given Medovich more time for family. He has four children—Andrew; Danielle Stone and her husband, Justin; Shannon Temple and her husband, Troy; and Rachel Lambright and her husband, Jeff—and six grandchildren: Kaila, Tommy, Dominic, Alina, Giovanni, and Jo Dee.
Medovich stays busy traveling back and forth to see them all. “They are the light of my life!” he says. “No more 70–80-hour work weeks. I’ve got six grandkids to enjoy!”
AFSA’s Highest Honor
AFSA will present this year’s award to Medovich during the general session at AFSA45: Convention, Exhibition, and Apprentice Competition, to be held Sept. 27-30 in San Antonio, Texas. “I was speechless when I heard I received this award. I didn’t do any of this to be recognized. I like to do things under the radar!” he jokes. “I’m very humbled and honored.”
Jason Gill, operations manager at Crews & Gregory Fire Sprinklers, Inc., was the first to nominate Medovich for this award. “No one ever worked for Jack. They worked with him, and you were glad to do so. He’s the type of guy who puts everyone else first. He’s also the guy who sees potential and encourages others to reach higher. He’s the whole reason I got involved with AFSA and began to serve on NFPA committees.”
“Sprinkler Age will list all of Jack’s accomplishments, accolades, successes, and services, but that’s not why I’ve nominated Jack every year for the past eight years in a row. I nominated him because he’s been an inspiration in my career, and someone whose integrity, professionalism, service, and dedication are deserving of the Parmelee Award.”
“It was my good fortune to serve with Jack on the AFSA Board of Directors for many years,” comments Paul DeLorie, AFSA Chair of the Board and senior vice president, Hampshire Fire Protection, Inc., Londonderry, N.H. “He is thoughtful, confident, and deliberate. His leadership has been transformational for our association, and he is most deserving of the Parmelee Award.”
“Jack has served as a role model, friend, colleague, mentor, and leader. Throughout most of my 35-plus-year career, he has always treated me as a peer, even though he had more experience and stature,” says Mark Hopkins, P.E., engineering director at Summit Fire Consulting. “He leads by example and treats everyone with the utmost respect.”
“I could not imagine a more worthy recipient of our industry’s highest recognition,” states AFSA President Bob Caputo, CFPS. “Jack’s many years of selfless dedication make him deserve this honor, but behind the scenes, he has encouraged, promoted, and supported dozens of younger and up-and-coming fire and life safety professionals. Jack is a man of character and absolute integrity, always doing what is right, regardless of the cost and no matter who is watching.”
Medovich accepts the accolades but emphasizes the responsibility that comes with working in the fire protection industry. “We can’t forget that we save lives. We can’t cut corners or save a nickel because a future life might be in jeopardy.”
From wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps to protecting people from fire in a different way, Medovich has made a difference. “What I love most about this industry is that we save lives. Why our systems aren’t in every single structure boggles my mind.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Nominations for AFSA’s awards are accepted year-round at firesprinkler.org/awards.