Henderson Engineers’ Director of Life Safety, Paul Villotti, was recognized as a Fellow by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) at the organization’s North American Conference and Expo in Montreal, Canada on Tuesday. SFPE Fellows represent a distinguished group of members who have attained significant stature and accomplishment in engineering.

Paul was one of 12 members who were elevated to Fellow. The SFPE organization has 4,500 members but only 292 are Fellows.

“It is very humbling to be named a Fellow, especially when I think about the tremendous contributions of other Fellows in the Society,” Paul said. “When I began my career, fire protection was a mix of science and art. There have been tremendous technology leaps and new tools available since then, which other Fellows help advance. Today, fire protection is mostly a science-based practice with a bit of art still applied.”

Paul joined Henderson’s fire and life safety team on Aug. 28, bringing more than 37 years of industry experience to the firm. He has spent his career helping venue managers, operators, and facility owners resolve building and fire code issues, obtain building permits, coordinate with fire marshals, and resolve code issues by providing technical justification for code equivalencies and variances.

Throughout his career, Paul has focused on providing safe designs and solving unique fire protection and life safety issues. He attributes his success to adhering to the same core principles throughout his career.

“For the last 37 years, I have believed and practiced the following: Apply principles of science and engineering first to confirm your solution is appropriate, recognize all stakeholders as true partners in finding a solution, keep a sense of humor, provide timely and consistent services, always tell the truth – even if no one else wants to hear it, and always share information and advice with others so you can leave a wide path of successful people in your wake,” Paul explained.

Teaching and mentoring has long been a passion for Paul. He has provided American Institute of Architects (AIA) and International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) training courses to hundreds of designers and venue operators for many years.

“I enjoy teaching and mentoring because they help fill my desire to make the world a better place,” Paul said. “I am happy knowing that the people I mentor can contribute and increase the impact of my efforts. I came to Henderson Engineers so that I could focus on training and have a much greater impact on the industry than before. My new role here allows me that.”

There are many other Fellows that have impacted Paul’s career. Many are still active, some have retired, and others have passed away.

“Among those early influences are Chet Schirmer and Rolf Jensen,” Paul explained. “Both were giants in the consulting industry and still had an influence at my alma mater, Illinois Institute of Technology. Bud Nelson was another who fueled the advance of science in the fire protection community. There are many other practicing Fellows whose friendships and examples have had an impact on me. I hope to be able to follow in their footsteps.”

The SFPE was established in 1950 and incorporated as an independent organization in 1971. It is the professional society representing those practicing the field of fire protection engineering. The Society has 73 regional and local chapters and 16 student chapters worldwide.

The purpose of SFPE is to advance the science and practice of fire protection engineering and its allied fields, to maintain a high ethical standard among its members, and to foster fire protection engineering education.