In recognition of his above-and-beyond effort to help the public better understand the life-saving benefits of automatic fire sprinklers, Ron Hazelton, television personality and spokesperson of the non-profit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), was presented the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) 2008 Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year award.

AFSA Board member and Legislative Committee Chairman Joe Heinrich presented the award to Hazelton during the opening session of AFSA’s 27th Annual Convention & Exhibition Oct. 16 at the Wardmann Park Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Over his 20 plus-year media career, Hazelton covered numerous safety messages, but it wasn’t until he married his wife, television producer Lynn Drasin in 1997 and started talking about a future family that he became truly became engrossed in safety issues, including residential fire safety. Later that year, Hazelton – already a strong supporter of fire safety and powerful advocate of residential fire sprinklers – assumed the role of national spokesperson for the HFSC.

As HFSC spokesperson, Hazelton narrates the coalition’s education video “Protect What You Value Most” and has recorded numerous radio and TV public service announcements. The upstate New York-native’s current series, “Ron Hazelton’s HouseCalls,” which he produces and hosts, has also featured the father of two’s choice to install a fire sprinkler system in his 40-year-old Fairfield, Conn., home.

For more information, visit www.firesprinkler.org.

AFSA President Steve Muncy (right) and Joe Heinrich, AFSA Secretary of the Board and Chairman of the Legislative Committee (left), present television personality Ron Hazelton with the 2008 Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year award in recognition of his above-and-beyond effort to help the public better understand the life-saving benefits of residential fire sprinklers.