Have you ever seen Lethal Weapon? The part where Joe Pesci says in flowery language, “They #@*K you at the drive-thru!” If not, Google at your own risk.

The point is, people tend to get screwed when companies know you need what they have. The Fire & Life Safety industry is, sadly, no exception. Fire code, county laws, and numerous regulations exist for commercial properties and businesses; they ensure the safety of the people inside. Due to all those regulations, there are Fire and Sprinkler businesses that thrive simply because businesses are forced to hire somebody. They take an industry that’s about saving lives and valuable property and make it into something unsavory. It’s a bummer, we know.

Annual Commercial Fire Alarm Testing
Quarterly Commercial Fire Alarm Testing
Annual Fire Sprinkler Testing
Annual Testing of Fire line backflow preventers
Quarterly Sprinkler Testing
Semi-Annual Sprinkler Testing
5th-year inspections on all types of systems
The list of required services will have your head spinning!

There are great companies of all sizes out there but peppered in are some real duds. Don’t think we’re saints; our company is profit based as well, we just believe that you can do things the right way, treat people well, and still keep growing as a business. Because not everyone shares this sentiment, we want to arm you with the right information to select Fire & Life Safety vendors.

Let’s break it down:

Big Companies:

There are big name companies that have so many contracts they don’t care when you’re unhappy. They have moderate to low monthly fees and subpar customer service. Why do people continue to give them business? In part, because their company names are well known which makes customers feel safer. The other part is the “great” low monthly fee. We know it’s intoxicating, but it doesn’t take into account the number of billable hours you or your staff waste when dealing with them. That sends the value out the window and shoots up the frustration levels.

What you lose when you stick with them- customization, customer service, urgency, and an overall quality of service.

Small to Medium Companies:

These are our least favorite bad guys. Why? Because they just plain lie, and we don’t like liars.

• They “service” areas much larger than they could ever get to in a timely fashion, yet promise quick service. How can a company take care of your beeping panel in Daytona Beach when their team of 7 is based out of Pensacola?! It’s okay to service a small area, just do it well and do it ethically.
• Companies will sell you on “We’ll never make you replace anything.” Be afraid of this company! On what planet do things not age and need to be replaced? What they really mean is that they’ll do enough service calls to pay for their next Aruba vacation.  They want to hook you with a long contract, maybe some low monthly fees, shoddy inspections, and tons of service calls with 2-hour minimums. All of that could seem tolerable until you remember this isn’t your dry cleaner, this is the company that handles life-saving equipment.
• “We can fix or service anything.” It just plain isn’t true. The amount of training and continued education would rival a medical degree. The sheer number of technicians that would be needed to service all makes and models of fire, sprinkler, clean agent, and security systems- it would be insane. This isn’t even factoring in the products that are no longer manufactured therefore education is hardly available!

Fear not, noble reader; we have some advice to help you pick a reputable Fire & Life Safety company.

How many technicians do you have working for you? What areas do they service?

• There is nothing wrong with a small business, heck, we are one, but there is something wrong with one that promises on-the-hour service, but they ‘re located 3 hours away.
• The number of employees does not directly correlate to great timely service. Remember those big name companies we listed up top? Tons of employees but no hustle. Don’t base your whole decision on employee size. Take into account response time, what type of monitoring services they provide, technology, business model, etc.
• A client should be well aware of what they can expect regarding service calls. Defining these expectations from the start of a contract allows both the vendor and client to be accountable to those terms.

What type of systems do you service AND have the ability to replace?

• You don’t need to know all the brands and manufacturers but what you DO want to hear is a whole bunch of them listed. You want them to have the training to maintain your system and the good vendor relationships to get parts if and when they’re needed.
• Example: Training is super important to our company. We have 200+ employees and 8 locations across the state. We service and repair all major brands of Fire Safety, and our team includes specialists that can work on almost any fire or sprinkler system that exists in the state of Florida. For services that are not high-demand for us, we’ll outsource to a company that specializes in it. If we aren’t already a distributor of a client’s needed parts, we have relationships with other reputable Fire & Life Safety companies who can help us get what’s needed.
  • Outsourcing work is not a dirty secret; it’s smart business. We outsource work sometimes because we’re honest with ourselves about a specialized companies’ ability to handle that thing better. What’s best for our clients is, GASP, not always us!
    • Ex: We service and repair clean-agent systems but would outsource commercial kitchen hood services. Why? Training and manpower. We don’t handle hoods often enough to waste a valuable spot on our team on someone dedicated to being a master of kitchen hoods. See, not a dirty secret.
• Don’t trust a company, large or small that promises the world or acts like a lone wolf. Our industry calls for a lot of relationship building between vendors, AHJ’s, and Fire Marshals. Being respectful and ethical goes a long way in building good industry relationships and that, in turn, allows all of us to protect our communities better.

What happens when we have to replace something?

• You want a thorough explanation and honesty! The truth is, systems can be serviced and kept healthy for years, but once a panel goes bad, due to product discontinuation, a whole lot might have to be replaced. Not all systems, but some of the older models.
• Think of a Switchboard operated phone and a cell phone. One needs operators and hardwire lines, the other, airwaves. It doesn’t matter that they’re made to do the same thing, under no circumstance could they work with the others equipment. All the “guts” would have to be replaced to get communication flowing again.
• A reputable company will be honest with you about this. No one wants to have to tell a client they need massive upgrades; it’s a bad day for everyone. The difference is, a good company will tell you the hard facts in the beginning so you can be prepared, not blindsided by the expense later. True, it may keep them from being hired, but that is the risk moral companies take. A well-informed client is only a danger if you’re up to no good.

DynaFire and other companies like it, take a lot of pride in what we do. Saving lives and valuable property is the business we’re in; there is honor in being selected to do that job. Fire & Life Safety services are a requirement but who provides those services is not. Go with an organization that is always trying to earn your business. They may not always be the cheapest, and sometimes they have to give you bad news, but at least you can rest easy knowing that your Fire & Life Safety needs are being taken care of safely and ethically.

Team DynaFire
*debunking Fire & Life Safety lies since 2004