Certified Fire Protection

Since 2002 Certified Fire Protection has been providing fire protection and suppression services to the western United States. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company is licensed in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming.

Founded by Karl Walker and Dustin Moser, Certified Fire was built on the value of customer service. “We’re in business to educate people on all types of fire protection,” says general manager Chris Broadhead. “We want our customers to know that they have someone they can trust in the fire protection industry. We will teach them as much as they want while preparing them for worst-case scenario but while expecting the best results.”

The approach that Certified Fire takes with its clients has proven to be effective and appreciated. In the past year, the company increased its revenue by 35 percent. Certified Fire attributes the growth to working with customers to have plans in place for upgrading systems when necessary. “It comes down to educating customers on when and why to upgrade their fire protection systems,” Broadhead explains. “We’ve been putting plans in place for our customers years in advance. We help them plan financially and are in constant communication with them about new and improved equipment.”

Always prepared

Certified Fire has maintained long-standing relationships with leading manufacturers in the industry. This allows the company access to state-of-the-art equipment, which provides customers with a highly dependable fire protection system. Due to customer response Certified Fire has recently added security protection to the portfolio of services the company provides.

While educating the public and its customers on fire protection, Certified Fire is constantly educating its employees on advances in security and technology. The company is a dealer with Silent Knight, a fire alarm company that also provides industry training in security and technology. “We send our employees to conventions and training seminars so we have well-rounded technicians who are skilled in all aspects of what we do,” says Broadhead. “This creates an opportunity for our fire alarm technicians and employees to educate our customers not just in the services that we provide, but what they should be looking for in a fire protection system.”

A growing portfolio

Certified Fire is capable of completing jobs of all sizes and specifications. The company upgraded the Grand Canyon North Rim lodge, was one of the fire sprinkler contractors for the City Creek Development, upgraded and networked Zions National Park (over a three year period), fire sprinkler upgrades for Associated Foods as well as the contract to provide service and inspection on all fire protection systems for Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

With the latest technology from industry leading manufactures at its disposal, Certified Fire is constantly installing upgrades. “Within the past year we have done a lot of capital improvements to some older commercial buildings in downtown Salt Lake City for some of our biggest clients,” says Broadhead. “Our customers are very appreciative of the multiple services that we offer.”

Certified Fire is currently working with two well-known hotel chains on a complete a Fire Alarm and Fire Sprinkler system upgrades. Due to the size of the facilities and the cost of the construction, the upgrades may be performed in three separate phases so as to be as least intrusive as possible. “We’re seeing a lot of commercial buildings looking to do renovations and upgrades right now,” says Broadhead. “We’re seeing it mostly in hotels and commercial office buildings of all sizes.”

The increase in business for Certified Fire has created the opportunity for expansion. The team has increased from 38 to 45 employees in the last year alone and the company will be adding a second location. “This is due to the amount of referrals that our customers have given us,” Broadhead explains. “We’ve been forced to expand to meet the demand for our services and that’s a huge compliment for all of our employees. Again, it comes back to educating our employees so they are able to provide support for our customers and in turn educate them as well.”

Growth through adversity

When the recession hit in 2008, the construction industry experienced the extreme repercussions. While many companies slashed their workforce others shut down completely. Certified Fire approached the recession from a different angle. All financial hits that the company experienced, owners Karl Walker and Dustin Moser took on personally. This enabled Certified Fire to survive the economic downturn and its employees to keep their jobs. “That alone speaks very highly of their character,” says Broadhead. “We are proud to say that we are a debt-free company. It’s the way Karl and Dustin started the business and it’s the way they continue to operate the business. Our financial decisions are a little easier to make, being debt free.”

Certified Fire has been asked by numerous professional business and contractor networking groups to host training seminars. The approach is to educate architects, engineers, real estate developers and commercial real estate investors, property managers and maintenance engineers. “Our training room is almost complete, says Broadhead. “We have every type of fire sprinkler system available to educate all and even train our employees. We have Fire Alarm panels set up to do the same. With the help of our employees, the design and engineering of these have been done in house. Karl has installed these systems himself, mainly, and spent a lot of his own personal time doing it for this need in our market, and for our employees. He’s extremely talented and an excellent teacher, same with his partner, Dustin Moser. They both impress all who they come in contact with their knowledge on all fire protection.”

While the company continues to grow, Certified Fire Protection Inc. is anticipating the relationships it will build while continuing to service and educate current clients.