Key Takeaways, Insights + Expert Perspectives
Thank you for joining Jensen Hughes at NFPA 2025—the premier event for fire and life safety professionals. It was a valuable opportunity to engage with industry partners, colleagues, and clients as we explored the future of fire protection, energy storage, emergency preparedness, and more.
Our team was proud to present on key topics shaping the industry, while also connecting one-on-one with clients in our exclusive hospitality suite and at a variety of industry events. This year’s conference was an incredible experience that reinforced our commitment to staying at the forefront of evolving standards and innovations.
Explore our featured resources below to learn more.
Video
NFPA Highlights
#NFPA2025
Our expert team was onsite sharing insights, connecting, and speaking on the topics shaping the future of safety.
Take a peek!
NFPA Sessions
Learn more about our presentation sessions at this year's conference
AI in the Fire Service
Presented by: Jonathan Hodges
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more pervasive in all aspects of society including public safety. There is a growing need for safety guidelines as AI becomes more integrated within electronic safety products used within the fire service. A group comprised of firefighters, electronic safety equipment manufacturers, and researchers have come together to identify and highlight guardrails that should be considered when integrating and using AI in electronic safety products for use by firefighters and support personnel. This document, co-authored by Christopher Sampl, Clinton Smith, Albert Bahri, David Little, Richard Reel, Ash Liu, Jonathan Hodges, PhD and Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, provides an overview of those guidelines while detailing the definitions, use and risk management.
Effective Approaches for Managing Emergency Preparedness Programs - A Guide for Healthcare Organizations
Presented by: David Hood + Nick Gabriele
Emergency preparedness plans and programs require on-going evaluation and revision. Updates are often driven by factors such as lessons learned, changing risks, and new regulation. This presentation will examine emerging factors in emergency preparedness including topics such as climate change and technology. How to maintain compliance with recent regulatory changes applicable to healthcare organizations will also be discussed.
When Does a Red Map Matter? Understanding Emergency Preparedness
Presented by: Vernon Champlin
Wildfire is a growing concern across the country and the globe. Still, professionals struggle to operationally define wildfire risk, and communities are becoming more obsessed with maps. This presentation explores additional factors beyond the potential for critical fire weather and the probability of ignition. When communities rely on a wildfire risk map dependent only on fire behavior, community values and assets may not be included in the overall calculation of relative risk.
Lessons Learned from Li-Ion BESS
Presented by: Jens Conzen + Anil Kapahi
Lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (ESS) have been deployed in the field on a large scale for the past decade. ESS has been used to provide grid stability and resilience and operate in the energy markets. The development of ESS codes and standards has progressed with a broad range of stakeholders as ESS technology advances. Best practices have emerged for risk management, including fire and explosion mitigation, fire testing, hazard mitigation analyses, and emergency response plans. Education and training across multiple stakeholders and at different project stages are critical for success. This 90-minute presentation discusses code requirements, new industry best practices, and modeling and verification with testing and large-scale fire testing.
EXPERTS IN ATTENDANCE
Chris Brown
Chief Commercial Officer
Chris Brown
Chief Commercial Officer
Marc Kaplan
President + Chief Operating Officer
Marc Kaplan
President + Chief Operating Officer
Derek White
Chief Technical Officer
Derek White
Chief Technical Officer
Nick Gabriele
Global Service Line Leader, Health Care + Emergency Management
Nick Gabriele
Global Service Line Leader, Health Care + Emergency Management
Certified Fire Protection Specialist
Jens Conzen
Vice President, Business Development
Jens Conzen
Vice President, Business Development
MBA, Data Science, MS, Engineering Mechanics, Dipl. Ing., Produktiontechnik (Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering and Business), Professional European Engineer, EUR ING, Member, Principal Technical Committee Member NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, Member, Energy Storage Fire Prevention and Mitigation Advisory Committee, Member, Member, Member
David Hood
Technical Fellow
David Hood
Technical Fellow
BS, Fire Protection Engineering
Dr. Jonathan Hodges
Manager, Research, Development, Testing + Evaluation Division
Dr. Jonathan Hodges
Manager, Research, Development, Testing + Evaluation Division
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, MS, Mechanical Engineering, BS, Mechanical Engineering, Member
Jihan El Ouaragli
Staff Engineer
Jihan El Ouaragli
Staff Engineer
PhD, Civil Engineering, MEng, Civil Engineering, BEng, Civil Engineering, Member
Christine Chatfield
Market Leader, Hospitality + Education
Christine Chatfield
Market Leader, Hospitality + Education
B.S., Fire Protection Engineering, Licensed PE: MD, Member, NFPA, Member, SFPE
Scott Golly
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader, Special Hazards
Scott Golly
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader, Special Hazards
BS, Fire Protection Engineering, PE: DE, MD, NY, VA, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
Larry Rietz
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader Fire Detection + Alarm
Larry Rietz
Vice President, Global Service Line Leader Fire Detection + Alarm
AAS, Drafting for Industry, Management Development Certificate, National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, Certified Fire Protection Specialist
Will Fletcher
Global Service Line Leader, Smoke Control
Will Fletcher
Global Service Line Leader, Smoke Control
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Civil Engineering, PE: CA, MN, TN, Design-Build Professional®, Project Manager Professional (PMP)
Joseph Castellano
Vice President Development
Joseph Castellano
Vice President Development
BS, Fire Protection Engineering, Registered PE: CT, GA, SC
Vernon Champlin
Manager, Fire Protection, Emergency Services, Wildfire Risk Mitigation
Vernon Champlin
Manager, Fire Protection, Emergency Services, Wildfire Risk Mitigation
MPA, Master of Public Administration, Executive Fire Officer, BS, Fire Protection and Safety Engineering, Fire Marshal (FM), prior Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS), Fire Investigation Technician (FIT), Member Grade (MIFireE), Institute of Fire Engineers, Fire Inspector II and Plans Examiner, Fire Protection Engineering Technology-Certified Engineering Technologist (CET)
Elizabeth Graves
Team Leader - Pacific Northwest
Elizabeth Graves
Team Leader - Pacific Northwest
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Civil Engineering
Jacob Epstein
Director, Southwest
Jacob Epstein
Director, Southwest
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Mechanical Engineering, PE: AZ (50977), NY (091194), Member, President, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Arizona Chapter, Professional Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and SFPE International, Member, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Building & Fire Safety Systems Group, Member, National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI), Member, National Institute for Certificates in Engineering Technologies (NICET)
Anil Kapahi
Director, RDT+E
Anil Kapahi
Director, RDT+E
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, BS, Mechanical Engineering, Member, Member, Member
Colin McKay
Service Line Leader, Health Care Operations
Colin McKay
Service Line Leader, Health Care Operations
Certified Fire Protection Specialist, M.S., Public Administration, ,
Anthony Rago
Team Leader - Toronto
Anthony Rago
Team Leader - Toronto
BS, Fire and Safety Engineering Technology, Diploma, Technology Degree, Fire Protection Engineering, President, Canadian Fire Safety Association, Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Member, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Alternate, Technical Committee for NFPA 20
Eric Rosenbaum
Vice President
Eric Rosenbaum
Vice President
M.S., Engineering, B.S., Fire Protection Engineering, Licensed PE: CA, CO, DC, IL, IN, MA, MD, MN, NC, NY, OH, VA, Fellow, Lifetime Member, Member, Member, Tau Beta Pi Association, Security Clearances, DoD, Security Clearances, TopSecret
Alison Wakelin
Director - Virginia Beach Office
Alison Wakelin
Director - Virginia Beach Office
M.S., Fire Protection Engineering, BE(Hons), Civil Engineering, Member, SFPE, Member, NFPA
Andrew Wolfe
Manager
MS, Fire Protection Engineering, BS, Fire Protection Engineering, PE: MD, Member, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Member, Salamander Fire Protection Engineering Honorary Society, Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Member, Alternate Committee Member, NFPA 850
