How to Choose Your Fire Protection Company

With the fire protection industry being so saturated, it is important to consider your requirements before selecting the fire protection company you want to provide this life-saving service.

My aim is to provide you with some tips that will hopefully assist you in making this decision soon.

Conduct a Little Online Research

Perform some research to establish what services they offer as not all companies offer the same service or product. Some supply, some service, and others only specialize in one discipline.

It is therefore important to first establish what your needs or requirements are. You can do so once your insurance company has provided you with all the details through their risk department.

Then, Google and social media becomes your friend.

For Google, select specific keywords, for example:

  • Fire protection
  • Fire protection systems
  • Fire protection company
  • Fire protection installation

At times, you may need to refine the search to specify the exact type of service you are looking for, such as fire sprinkler installation, fire sprinkler installers or smoke alarm and smoke detection.

This will help you to find various companies that are able to provide the service you need and decide on which companies you would like to request to do a visit and provide you with quotations. Requesting more than one quotation is always advisable to see if what you will be paying for is reasonable and you get to meet the face of the employee.

Another helpful hint is to visit the websites of the companies, and check if they have any social media accounts such as LinkedIn to get a feel of the company.

Check if the Company Meets Your Requirements

Ensure that the fire protection company you select to carry out the work has the skills, knowledge, and experience.

There are simple ways to determine the latter.

Membership and/or Accreditation

  1. ASIB: the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (ASIB) ensures that all equipment has been designed and installed in accordance with the minimum accepted requirements of internationally recognized standards and criteria and are maintained and inspected according to this. ASIB is tasked with the following:
    • Updating the Rules which were hopelessly outdated
    • Listing and grading sprinkler installing companies
    • Controlling the standard of design and installation
    • Inspecting new and existing premises
    • Issuing Clearance Certification for premises that complied with the required minimum standard
  2. NFPA: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a global self-funded nonprofit organization, established in 1896, devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. NFPA delivers information and knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy; and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering their mission.

Knowledge & Experience

Establish the years of experience and knowledge by visiting their website to see if any mention is made on how many years, they have behind them or request a company profile.

Testimonials

Once again, visit their website to establish if any testimonials are available for preview or request testimonials or letters of recommendation if not freely available.

Project size

If your project or scope of work is going to be on the larger side, request that the company provide you with information on other projects they have completed that resembles the same size as your own. This way, you will be able to establish if they are indeed capable of doing the work.

Trust

This is a very important one and there are some factors you can take into consideration before awarding the job to any company.

Site Visits

Nut Processing Plant - Mpumalanga
High hazard fire protection in a nut processing factory

Visiting sites, where they are currently working or have worked on and only if allowed by the client, is one way of establishing the quality of the work and the overall satisfaction of the client. While this may not be a very practical way of reviewing their reputation, it may be possible when requested.

Collusion

Often there are companies that are tempted to let their ethics go and get themselves involved with collusion.  Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right.

You can visit the competition commission website to do your own research on companies that have been found guilty of collusion.

If they have been found guilty, it is at your own discretion should you wish to proceed in doing business with the company.

I hope you were able to find this useful.

If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

About Elite Fire Protection

Our primary focus is providing quality workmanship and excellent customer service for every project. We recognize the importance of the right solution for each project. Elite Fire will work diligently to bring you the best solution suited to your needs.

We are a small to medium sized business based in Johannesburg and providing fire protection services throughout South Africa, and Swaziland. You are welcome to give us a call or send us an email to discuss your requirements for fire protection.