All fire service providers follow the same Australian Standards AS2444 for installation of fire extinguishers and AS1851 for routine servicing. So why do fire testing companies seem to differ greatly from service and price?

Business size can help determine price as the more overheads one has, the more one provider needs to charge. This is normally off set with bulk buying power as long as the savings are passed back to the business or client.

Another is training, it makes sense that someone who has more knowledge than another will perform a better and more accurate job to the legislation and standards.

Structure and business age can also determine variances in pricing and service. If you’re an international company, you will have more overheads and targets set offshore than an Australian based company that does not have the same requirements. Jacob Foster chose the Franchising Model and was the first in Australia to do so in the fire industry. The reasoning this model was pursued, was to cut out middle management and have owner operators operating at a local level but with the buying power of a group.

Business age normally attracts more and more experience over time. This can in turn drive any businesses largest overheads and wages up. Experience is what the end user is after and even though this is normally a higher factor than a man in van business, it saves businesses thousands of dollars. An experienced team will perform the job once and correctly. An inexperienced business will learn as they grow and normally at the expense of the client. A great fire service company will train, train, train and do it in different styles year in year out to ensure the right advice is delivered every single time. Let’s face it, fire is a huge risk, so fire protection equipment should only be serviced by the best. Ensuring you have certifiers on a team across the entire fire industry with the right tooling is the easiest way for a client to tell if a fire service company fits your requirements.

Service in the service industry varies from one provider to the next. A good fire technician will not only test that your businesses fire extinguisher is safe, working and inspected; they will also raise to your attention any other issue that you may not be aware of. In today’s ever changing environment safety laws change rapidly and as a business owner if you don’t have the right providers on-board with your business they may not inform you of new requirements.

FCF Fire and Electrical pride ourselves on being small business owners that live locally and hold our heads high as the fire service professionals that operate a small business in the same region as your business operates.