CertaSite announced today that it has acquired Starfire Systems and Starfire Extinguisher, a family-owned business in Franklin, Wis. The acquisition is CertaSite’s first in Wisconsin.
CertaSite is a new commercial fire protection and life safety company that provides customer service, responsiveness, building safety and code compliance to customers across the country. The company goes beyond compliance, focusing on partnerships and professionalism while providing customers a simplified and dependable solution to managing all of the fire protection and life safety systems in commercial buildings.
CertaSite is led by CEO Jeff Wyatt, who has more than 30 years of experience in the fire protection and life safety industry. He most recently served as president of Koorsen Fire & Security, one of the largest privately owned life safety companies in the industry. He started his career in the profession as an installation technician and is a veteran of the United States Navy. Wyatt was recruited to lead CertaSite by The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm that is CertaSite’s primary investor.
A family business with more than 30 years rooted in Franklin, Starfire Systems and Starfire Extinguisher have experience in providing special hazards fire suppression and detection, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, kitchen hood fire suppression and emergency lighting solutions to their loyal customers. Starfire’s solid reputation in the region will allow the company to grow its customer base and expand into new markets under the CertaSite platform.
“CertaSite is a company that we trust because they share our values and code of ethics for saving lives and protecting property,” said Starfire owners Sue and Darrel Malek. “We are proud of the customer service that our team provided for more than 30 years. We fully believe that under CertaSite, our customers will continue to experience excellent customer service and will benefit from administration advancements like online customer portals, inspection management and reporting, expanded service areas, life safety maintenance programs and multi-location support with a certified expanded life safety technician workforce.”
21 employees are joining the CertaSite family at the close of the acquisition. Starfire Extinguisher Company owner Sue Malek will remain on the team as a key accounts manager, while Darrel Malek will provide consulting services during the transition to the CertaSite brand, which is slated for completion in the coming months.
“We are grateful to Sue and Darrel Malek and the Starfire family for their continued partnership throughout this process,” said Jeff Wyatt, CEO of CertaSite. “We are committed to preserving the legacy that these dedicated professionals built, and we recognize and respect their strong local presence. Our team will provide our new employees with development and career advancement, and expanded services and support to customers. We are thrilled to be expanding our unique brand of customer service in Wisconsin, and look forward to serving this market.”
In addition to Starfire Systems and Starfire Extinguisher Company, CertaSite already has acquired ten fire protection and life safety companies under the CertaSite umbrella. To date, the CertaSite family includes: ABC Fire Extinguisher Co. (Youngstown, Ohio); Advanced Fire, a CertaSite Company (Pennsylvania); Approved Protection Systems (Michigan); Approved Safety and Security (South Bend, Indiana); Company One Suppression (Illinois and Iowa); County Fire Protection (Ohio); Erlich Fire Protection (Michigan); Field’s Fire Protection (Michigan); and Spears Fire & Safety (Michigan).
