It’s been a big year for Grant Gebhardt. Less than six months after the pandemic hit and disrupted everything, he and his wife Angela welcomed their first-born. And just a few weeks after becoming a dad, Grant became Harrington Group, Inc.’s newest fire protection engineer.
But the chaos doesn’t seem to faze him, and since joining the team on August 31, Grant has hit the ground running. He’s got a great office setup in his Marietta, Georgia home to work remotely for the long haul, and he’s already been out in the field with other HGI engineers for sprinkler inspections.
Grant appreciates both the technical and personal sides of fire protection. He “loves a good challenge”, such as digging into codes and how to use them, but he also enjoys connecting with clients and getting to know them.
“That’s really the key to all this, being able to communicate, listen to other people’s problems, figure out how fire protection fits in, and how we can use it to help our clients,” he says. “I see we’re doing a lot of that at HGI, and I’m pumped to be here.”
Grant comes to us with a bachelor’s degree in fire protection engineering from the University of Maryland and about six years in the industry. His experience includes fire alarm and sprinkler design for government and military warehouses, which has translated well to commercial and industrial work. As he settles into his new role with HGI, Grant looks forward to expanding his fire protection repertoire and learning from his colleagues.
“Really I’m just coming into this as a sponge, ready to soak up as much information as I can,” he says. “I’m just excited to be part of this team. Everyone’s been really encouraging, and you can tell how driven everybody is.”
In his free time, Grant enjoys all things outdoors and athletic, from hiking to recreational kickball and volleyball leagues. He and Angela regularly take advantage of Marietta’s close proximity to the Chattahoochee River trails system, and they’ve been spending time at the dog park with their new pup.