Russell B. Leavitt

Russell Leavitt’s Telgian roots can be traced to the genesis of the company. In 1990, he co-founded Fire Design Group, which merged with Tomes, Van Rickley and Associates in 1991. He subsequently served in numerous executive positions including TVA Fire and Life Safety President, Managing Member of Fire Materials Group, LLC, and CEO of Telgian. Today, Leavitt serves as the Executive Chairman and Board Member for Telgian Holdings, Inc., as well as the Chairman of Telgian Corporation.

Leavitt is active in numerous trade and professional associations and holds several leadership positions. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors as First Vice Chair for NFPA, he recently completed his term as Chair of the NFPA 13 Technical Committee for Fire Sprinkler System Discharge Criteria and continues to serve as a principal member. He is also a Principal Member of the NFPA Technical Committee for Installation and a Principal Member of NFPA 3 and NFPA 4. Leavitt represents NFPA 13 on the Technical Committee for NFPA 909 (Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties) and 914 (Code for the Protection of Historic Structures).

Throughout his career, he has authored numerous articles and training guides, including the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) Beginning Inspector Training Program and the AFSA Online Hydraulics Training Program. In addition, he is a major contributor to several NFPA Handbooks and served as the subject matter expert for numerous NFPA live and online training programs.

Leavitt shares his 38+ years of experience in the fire protection industry by conducting training presentations for the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), along with NFPA and AFSA.

In 2013, he received the AFSA Henry S. Parmelee Award for dedication to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and improvement of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. He is also the recipient of the NFPA Standards Council Special Achievement award in 2018 for his work on the 2019 edition of NFPA 13.

Leavitt is a Level IV NICET certified technician and Certified Fire Protection Specialist who holds fire protection contracting licenses in 35 states. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.