CEO of Lake Forest-Based Fire Sprinkler Company Earns Top Honor from National Fire Sprinkler Association

Gregg Huennekens, CEO of USA Fire Protection, Lake Forest, Ill., received the Golden Sprinkler Award, the highest honor awarded by the National Fire Sprinkler Association at its Annual Meeting last week. The Golden Sprinkler Award recognizes individuals for their dedication to NFSA and the entire fire sprinkler industry.

Huennekens has been involved with the NFSA for more than 25 years, participating on the board of directors at every level including two terms as chair. For the last 17 years, he has retained the position of area director for the North Central region. He is one of the founders and the current chair of the board for Common Voices, a nonprofit advocacy group of people affected by fire who wish to educate others about fire safety. In the 1990s, Huennekens served several terms as the vice chair and chair for the NFSA’s Northern Illinois Chapter. He also served eight years as chair of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, a nonprofit organization that educates the public and elected officials about fire sprinklers.

Huennekens began his career in 1967 as a design trainee for Grunau. In 1969, Huennekens took a position as a sales trainee for Automatic Sprinkler Corporation of America in Milwaukee, Wis., and became district manager in 1972. He moved to Northbrook, Ill., in 1976 when he was appointed vice president and part owner of F.E. Moran’s Fire Protection Division. In 1981, he became president and part owner of F.E. Moran Fire Protection and F.E. Moran Special Hazards.

Recognizing the growth being achieved by the fire sprinkler industry, in 1986 Huennekens started United States Fire Protection in Chicago and Milwaukee. In 1995, he was instrumental in starting Alliance Fire Protection, also in the Chicago area, and in 2000 he sold all three companies to the APi Group on whose Board of Directors he now sits.

One particular item that stands out in Gregg's career has been his relentless pursuit of residential fire protection for nearly thirty years in the Chicago area. This extraordinary notion gained national recognition through his perseverance and influence with the leadership at NFSA. As a consequence, residential fire protection became a recognized component in all the model building codes.

“Huennekens has been passionate about his work on behalf of the NFSA and he has been generous with his time, money, and the lending of talents, which are many,” says a statement by the NFSA. “As one board member stated, ‘We are truly a better organization because of the challenges he so frequently brought to the board’s attention.’”