The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) will recognize its 2026 award recipients and Hall of Fame inductees during its Annual Seminar and Business & Leadership Conference in Seattle, Washington, from April 29 to May 1.
NFSA announced that the Golden Sprinkler Award will be presented to Terry Victor, the Russell P. Fleming Technical Service Award will go to Ken Isman and the Leadership in Public Safety Award will be presented to Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.
The Golden Sprinkler Award is the association’s highest honor and is presented each year to an individual who has dedicated their career to promoting the fire sprinkler concept and advancing the fire sprinkler industry.
Victor started his career as a designer trainee with Automatic Sprinkler Corporation of America.
He spent 22 years with Automatic Sprinkler Corporation of America and became District General Manager of the Washington, DC office.
After Tyco acquired ASCOA in 1995, he became Total Service Manager for Grinnell Fire Protection in Baltimore.
His career then continued through the merger with Simplex, the formation of SimplexGrinnell and the later merger with Johnson Controls.
Victor later became Senior Manager of Industry Relations for Johnson Controls.
In 2023, he left Johnson Controls to become Director of Risk Control Services with Risk Suppression Partners.
He has served on NFSA’s Board of Directors, the Contractors Council and other board committees.
He has also been a member of the NFSA Engineering and Standards Committee since 1988 and chaired the committee for eight years.
Victor received the Russell P. Fleming Technical Service Award in 2017.
NFSA said the Russell P. Fleming Technical Service Award, its highest technical award, will be presented to Ken Isman.
Isman worked for the National Fire Sprinkler Association for 28 years.
He began as Manager of Codes and Education and later became Vice President of Engineering for the last eight of those years.
During that period, he also earned an M.S. in Business Management from the University of Maryland.
In 2014, he left NFSA to become a Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland, where he teaches classes in fire protection systems design, life safety and performance-based design.
The Leadership in Public Safety Award, described by NFSA as its highest award to a fire official or advocate, will be presented to Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.
The 2026 Hall of Fame inductees are James Kuempel of Midwest Fire in Minnesota, Bruce LaRue of Potter Electric and Rich Ray of Cybor Fire Protection in Chicago, who will be inducted posthumously.
Shane Ray, NFSA President, stated: “It is an honor to recognize those who have given so much to improve their profession and fulfill the mission of NFSA.
“We are blessed to have so many dedicated individuals devoted to life safety.
“We are proud of them all.”
The honorees will be recognized during the association’s conference at the Seattle Westin.
