Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
I’m a pretty old guy. Well, ok, I’m an old guy who isn’t very pretty, but I’ve been around long enough to know the world around me is changing at a more rapid pace than the experiences my father had while visiting this planet. When we look up the word “culture,” we will find it defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize an institution or organization.
I always like to ask people how they got into the fire and life safety industry, and in many cases, it’s nepotism. Most people have a relative, neighbor, or friend in the industry. I never met Albert Einstein, so for today, let’s call this Bob’s theory of relativity. By the way, AFSA is working to increase the interest and awareness of young students toward career opportunities within the fire and life safety industry, but that’s a discussion for another column. For this column, let me focus on the cultural changes I’ve observed during my 47-year journey, which has led me to share these random thoughts.
I should note that I understand that younger people often dislike hearing older people talk about how life was better, or harder, or whatever, back in their day. I hate that, too, and that’s not where I’m headed with this. Let’s all agree that change isn’t always bad; it’s just change.
Like many of us older individuals, when I entered this industry, the “red book” (aka NFPA 13) fit in my back pocket. It was 1970 something, but I have a 1961 version in my collection, and many of the rules and figures from that edition are still in the current edition in one form or another. When starting out, back when a terabyte meant a pterodactyl bit you (teh·ruh·dak·tl), it was impressed upon me by almost every person I worked with to understand the importance of our work. People were passionate about saving lives and property, and there was a great sense of pride in knowing that what we were doing mattered. We were mostly self-policed, and we needed to do things right no matter who was watching or who might miss something in a plan review or during an inspection.
Of course, there were always a few competitors in every market who were just there to make a buck, but they never participated in industry social or association events. Most of us wanted all our competitors to be knowledgeable and successful. Even when we lost a job, there would be another one around the corner—enough work for everyone. When I look around the industry today, I fear we have lost some of that cultural drive and the pride that went with it. It seems our culture has shifted, with a greater emphasis on making money than on doing things right. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that business exists to make a profit—any business. There is no other reason for a company to exist, even our “not-for-profit” association has to make money to pay bills. However, most of us have always made money doing what we do and doing it right, regardless of who was watching. Making money was the result of what we did and why we did it. I think that is missing or at least fading from our industry, and it needs to be recaptured.
I do not believe the cultural change is driven by corporate ownership, mergers, and acquisitions we’ve seen in past years, or even next-generation ownership of family businesses. We’re still saving lives and property, but now, there appears to be more pride in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) than in the altruism of what we’re doing and why. People seem to be more focused on the ROI than the value proposition our industry offers in terms of a safer world.
Most firefighters can tell you how many people they’ve saved from a burning building or car, or how many babies they’ve delivered on the side of the road. None of us will ever meet the people we’ve saved by installing fire sprinklers in the built environment, but I promise you, it’s in the thousands. You should take exceptional pride in this fact and cherish this wonderful industry, knowing that what we do every day truly matters. We save lives and property. Fire sprinklers save lives. What you do saves lives, and you get paid to do it. Did you hope to have an impact on your world? In this industry, you do. Make as much money as you can—we believe in free enterprise and capitalism, but let’s prioritize putting fire protection first.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bob Caputo, CFPS, is president of AFSA. He has been an important part of the fire sprinkler industry for over 41 years and is a long-time member of AFSA and promoter of merit shop contracting. He has chaired and served on many NFPA committees. Caputo has written and presented seminars throughout the world on fire protection and life-safety systems and is a regular speaker at AFSA and NFPA conventions. He has developed AFSA education and training materials, and chaired two chapters of AFSA—Arizona and Southern California. Caputo is the recipient of numerous awards, including Fire Protection Contractor magazine’s “Industry person of the Year,” San Diego County Fire Chief’s Association’s “Fire Prevention Officer of the Year,” and AFSA’s highest honor, the Henry S. Parmelee Award.