Jack A. Medovich, P.E.
Chair
At Large Director
Fire & Life Safety America (an ECFP Co.)
At-Large Director and First Vice Chair Jack A. Medovich, P.E., is president & CEO and founding partner of Fire & Life Safety America, formerly known as East Coast Fire Protection Inc., in Richmond, Virginia. A 1983 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Fire Protection Engineering, Medovich served three years as fire marshal of Fairfax County, Virginia, before joining the fire sprinkler industry 35 years ago. He has been active in AFSA since 1991, is past chair of the Chesapeake Bay Chapter, and served as the chair of the Virginia Chapter and a member of its board of directors for many years. He represents AFSA on the Correlating Committee of NFPA 13, 13R, 13D, 24, and 291. In the past, he has served as a member of the following NFPA committees: NFPA 14, 20, 25, 101 and 750.
Linda M. Biernacki
First Vice Chair
Region 4: Regional Director
Fire Tech Systems, Inc.
At-Large Director and First Vice Chair Linda M. Biernacki is founder and president of Fire Tech Systems, Inc. in Shreveport, Louisiana. With 30+ years of experience in all phases of business, she is certified by the Women’s Business Council Gulf Coast. She holds NICET Level IV, Senior Fire Protection Engineering Technology Water-Based Systems Layout and represents AFSA on the NFPA 232 Committee for Protection of Records. Biernacki is a NICET board member and past president of the Louisiana Fire Sprinkler Association.She is certified by the Women’s Business Council Gulf Coast and is the 2021 chair of the Convention Committee.
Paul DeLorie
Second Vice Chair
Region 7: Regional Director
Hampshire Fire Protection Co., Inc.
Region 7 Director and Treasurer Paul DeLorie is senior vice president of Hampshire Fire Protection Co., based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Hampshire Fire Protection is one of the largest merit shop fire sprinkler companies in New England. DeLorie is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. He has over 35 years’ experience in sprinkler design, estimating, sales, project management and senior management. He currently chairs the Budget and Finance committee.
Rod DiBona
Treasurer
Region 3: Regional Director
Rapid Fire Protection
Region 3 Director Rod DiBona is the chief operating officer (COO) of Rapid Fire Protection Group (R.F.P.G.) with branches throughout the western United States, headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. DiBona entered the fire protection industry in 1990 and entered the AFSA apprenticeship program in 1991. In October of 1993 he was asked by Marty Hammon to join him, his son and son-in-law to create Rapid Fire Protection. DiBona currently serves on the Board of Directors for R.F.P.G. DiBona currently serves as the chair of the AFSA Long Range Planning Committee and is the co-chair of the AFSA Apprenticeship & Education Committee. He is a NICET Level III Certified Engineering Technician in Water-Based Systems Layout.
Jeff Phifer
Secretary
Region 5: Regional Director
Crawford Sprinkler Company of South Carolina
Region 5 Director and Secretary Jeff Phifer is president and CEO of Crawford Sprinkler Co. of South Carolina, based in Lugoff, South Carolina, one of the oldest family-owned and continuously operated fire sprinkler contractors in the nation. Phifer has been working at Crawford for 40-plus years, working as a fitter, service technician, and in administration. In 1999, he became the third generation to be president and chairman of the board at Crawford. Phifer is the chair of the Public Education and Awareness Committee.
Ted Wills
Immediate Past Chair
At-Large Director
Anchor Fire Protection Co.
At-Large Director and Chair Ted Wills, Anchor Fire Protection Company, Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, was an active member of AFSA in its early years, serving on the AFSA Board of Directors from 1987-1993. Wills began his fire sprinkler industry career in 1972 in the sprinkler division of his father’s mechanical company. Upon graduation from Waynesburg College, he and his father started Anchor Fire Protection as a separate company.
Lyle Hall
Region 1: Regional Director
Western Fire Protection
Region 1 Director Lyle Hall, president and co-owner of Western Fire Protection in Poway, California, has been in the fire sprinkler industry for 40+ years, with the last 25 years at Western Fire. Prior to that he was a helicopter-based wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. He has a degree in fire science with continuing education at University of California San Diego. Hall started in the fire sprinkler industry as an apprentice pipe fitter and worked his way into design, project management, sales and eventually management. His past accomplishments include: past board of director for the San Diego Fire Protection Association; past chapter chairman of the San Diego Chapter of the AFSA; past chairman of the California American Fire Sprinkler Association – Unilateral Apprenticeship Committee; and past chairman of the California Fire Training Alliance. Hall currently serves on the California American Fire Sprinkler Association – Unilateral Apprenticeship Committee and the AFSA Legislation, Contractor Support and Convention Committees. He also co-chairs the Apprenticeship & Education Committee and is the chair of the subcommittee that developed AFSA’s Inspector Development Training program.
R. Donald Kaufman
Region 2: Regional Director
Kaufman Fire Protection
Region 2 Director is R. Donald Kaufman, president of Kaufman Fire Protection, Albuquerque, New Mexico. With over 40 years in the sprinkler business, Kaufman was instrumental in starting AFSA’s New Mexico Chapter and is a past president of the chapter. On the national level, Kaufman served as 2009-2011 Chairman of the Board and has chaired several committees including the Apprentice & Education and Convention Committees. He also served as chairman of the New Mexico State Board for Professional Engineers and Surveyors, three terms as chairman of the New Mexico State Apprentice Council, and currently serves on the New Mexico Construction Industries Commission. He is an active member of Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), past president of ABC’s New Mexico Chapter, member of the American Society of Professional Estimators, and past charter president of Albuquerque Rotary Del Sol.
Michael F. Meehan
Region 6: Regional Director
VSC Fire & Security, Inc.
Region 6 Director is Michael F. Meehan, president of VSC Fire & Security, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. A 1981 graduate from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Meehan began his fire sprinkler career working summers as a pipe fitter apprentice. He is a NICET Level IV Certified Engineering Technician in Water-Based (formerly Automatic Sprinkler) Systems Layout and has more than 40 years’ experience in sprinkler design engineering, estimating, project management and senior management. Meehan is a past AFSA Chair of the board and represents installing contractors and AFSA on the NFPA 13 committee. He presently chairs the Insurance & Safety Committee.
Chris Johnson
At-Large Director
Piper Fire Protection
Chris Johnson is president and CEO of Piper Fire Protection, Inc. located in Clearwater, Florida. He is a NICET-certified fire protection engineer, holding a level III certification in fire sprinkler design. Johnson is the chair of AFSA’s Florida Chapter and he was appointed to represent the industry on Florida’s Construction Workforce Development Taskforce in 2017. He is active on the AFSA Legislative and Apprentice & Education Committees.
Wayne Weisz
At-Large Director
Cen-Cal Fire Systems, Inc.
At-Large Director and Immediate Past Chair of the Board Wayne Weisz started his career as an apprentice in 1979 and worked his way up through the ranks to foreman and later general superintendent at American Fire Systems in Lodi, California. In 1986, Weisz and his brother Byron founded Cen-Cal Fire Systems, Inc. in Lodi, California, and in 1997 he established D-M Fabrication, an independent pipe fabricator serving the western U.S., which later sold to a national supplier. Cen-Cal Fire Systems became an AFSA member in 1987, and Weisz has been on the AFSA national Board since 2005. He has twice served as chairman of the Convention Committee and has chaired the Membership/Chapter Development Committee. Weisz is actively involved in the AFSA Sacramento Valley Chapter, which he helped to establish in 1999. He has been very involved with apprenticeship issues in California and served on CAFSA’s California Apprenticeship Training Board for over 20 years, including two terms as its chair.