ERIC KENNY

OWNER

Eric Kenny has been immersed in the fire protection and sprinkler industry his entire life as the son of Oliver and Irmgard Kenny. He began helping his father at just 12 years old—often tagging along on weekends with his bike in tow, so Oliver could focus on growing the business while keeping an eye on his young son. Thankfully he managed to become helpful at some point, and has been working either full time or weekends for his family most of his life.

After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, Eric worked a few odd jobs before joining the family business full-time. Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the company relocated to Nevada. Being raised in Southern California, Eric stayed behind for a couple of years before moving to join his parents.

Since then, he has worked tirelessly on job sites, contributed to the company’s expansion, and helped solidify its strong reputation for quality and reliability. In January 2025, Eric officially took over ownership of the company, carrying forward the legacy built by his parents over four decades.

ELIZABETH PETERSEN HENNINGSEN

OFFICE MANAGER

JOHN SIMPSON

If you know AAA Fire Sprinklers, you know John. He’s been here for close to 20 years. Not only is he a skilled fire sprinkler guy, but he also owns a business here in Reno called Press-Start (link here if you want to go, it’s a cool place). He started off working with Eric, and then his own jobs followed. He is probably one of the best guys to ever do this trade. He’s like everyone else here, he takes a lot pride in what he does, and really does try to do things better every day.

TIM WHOLEY

Tim has been here for close to 15 years now. He’s one of the best people to ever do this job. He’s friendly to a fault, and he’s good at everything (new work, retros, and service). He’s the proud dad of two little boys and is a local Reno guy. When Tim first started working here he had to take off to run a marathon … yeah he’s one of those guys! Just goes to show you how committed he is to his life and the things he does.

NICK FABER

Nick is another guy with a ton of time in the trade, and all of it’s here. He showed up one day when he was 18, and we’ve known him ever since, which is forever in real world terms. Nick is one of these guys who wants to be great and works every day of this life trying to meet that goal. He’s doing okay so far. He is always open to knowing new stuff, and he’s been the point guy on all our jobs for a while now. This year he’s getting married, having a baby boy, and he got these puppies!

CHRIS ORTON

Continuing with the family business, Elizabeth is Eric’s niece, Oliver and Irmgard’s granddaughter, and office manager. Although she was born the day after the infamous 1994 Northridge earthquake in Northridge, she was raised in St. Louis after her mom passed. After she graduated college she moved here to Reno to be closer to her family. She is married to Ben, a local boy, and has one fabulous little boy named Baker.

Chris has a great story. He started here close to 20 years ago, working with Oliver every day. He was great, but circumstances in his life put up a bit of a barrier to working here and he had to quit. The sad part about that is that out of everyone who has ever worked here, no one has enjoyed being here more than he does. He never complains, he never makes a big deal out of working a little late, or an occasional Saturday. He’s also really good at this job. Unlike most of the guys here, Chris has worked with almost every great pipe fitter who worked here. He has picked up skills from everyone of them. He’s been back for a while now, and he was absolutely the missing link here.