Watch Sam Massa’s keynote address here.
Sam Massa
Sam Massa is a 14-year veteran of the North Carolina fire service, the host of The 24/48 podcast, and the founder and CEO of HiViz Lighting Inc™ and its FireTech® brand.
He didn’t learn business in a classroom—he learned it on call, in the bays, and somewhere between a waterski jump and a warning lightbar. A little over ten years ago, Sam showed up to SAFRE wearing flip-flops and board shorts to debut HiViz Lighting with his then-girlfriend, now wife and COO, Kaoma and sidekick Slick the Dog. Today, that garage-built idea has grown into a global operation with facilities in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Washington, and South Korea.
Sam launched HiViz with one mission: to help first responders do their jobs more safely and effectively after dark, so they can save lives. At this year’s SAFRE, he returns to share the story of how that mission evolved—and the lessons he learned along the way.
Before launching HiViz, Sam built a stage lighting company, ran a biofuels startup (converting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal Hummer fleet to run on recycled vegetable oil), and worked as a full-time waterski instructor and semi-professional athlete. Those ventures taught him how to solve problems, build teams, and take risks. But the fire service surpassed all of those and became his education. He never earned a formal degree, instead learning business lessons that mattered on the fireground, at the kitchen table, and alongside the crews who showed him what service is all about.
Sam has served departments across Harnett and Henderson counties. Today, when not running HiViz, he volunteers with Mills River Fire Department and works part-time as an EMT with Haywood County EMS. He’s also a Pro Board-certified Hazardous Materials Technician.
He hosts The 24/48 Podcast, a show about the entrepreneurial spirit inside the fire service. Every firefighter has a side hustle, and Sam believes their stories are worth telling. Some become businesses. A few become global. All of them trace their roots back to lessons from the firehouse. HiViz uses The 24/48 and other content efforts as part of a broader education and outreach strategy—spanning social platforms, speaking engagements, and ongoing collaborations with Fire Dept Coffee.
Sam is a voting member of the NFPA 1900 Technical Committee and a Chairman’s Award recipient from the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association. He continues to serve the fire service not only through product innovation, but also through national standards development and industry collaboration.
During Hurricane Helene, Sam spent three days cutting his way out of a tree pile on his house in the mountains of Western NC—sometimes in a beekeeping suit—relentlessly driving to jump into response efforts once free. He worked ambulance shifts, helped with community support, and traveled with the Fire Dept Coffee disaster truck to departments across western NC.
His story is told not through chapters in textbooks, but on the tailboard in turnout gear, and this year at SAFRE as our keynote speaker.
