Jacob Ammons, one of Harrington Group, Inc.’s newest Fire and Explosion Protection Consultants, was in high school when he developed an appreciation for math and science. As a student at an all-boys private school right outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, he found that he liked the challenge of subjects like chemistry and physics.
“I hadn’t really been challenged until then,” Jacob said. “It felt good to solve problems.”
That knack for problem-solving took him to the University of Tennessee, where he decided early on that he wanted to be an engineer, and ultimately landed on chemical engineering. After graduating in 2018 with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a minor in business, Jacob took a job as a lab technician at a chemical company in Chattanooga.
A naturally curious person who has always enjoyed learning new things, his ears perked up when he learned about an opening at Harrington Group. Through extensive research and interview preparation, Jacob discovered that his background in chemical engineering would provide a strong foundation for a career in fire protection engineering.
“It teaches you how to view the whole process, from start to finish, of making a product,” Jacob said. “When you’re looking at a problem, a solution doesn’t just pop into your head right away. You break it down into smaller parts, figure out what’s going on at each level, and apply solutions to each different small problem.”
Now about a month into his new role at Harrington Group, Jacob looks forward to becoming an expert in the field of fire protection. While there’s some cross-over between chemical and fire protection engineering, Jacob is eager to read, learn and gain the nitty-gritty knowledge of his new field.
“In chemical engineering we don’t have any code reading, which is a huge part of what we do at HGI,” he said. “It’s almost a little bit of lawyering you have to do, reading between the lines, learning the various fire and building codes.”
When he isn’t up to his eyeballs in reading materials, Jacob enjoys watching sports, participating in fantasy leagues, and trying new restaurants.