Lifeguard Celebrates 25th Anniversary in 2012
We are excited to celebrate our 25th anniversary this year. It is a huge deal for a construction company, with business failures in the U.S. second only to restaurants. It is also a huge deal for a second-generation family business. We are a full-service fire sprinkler contractor offering complete engineering, design, fabrication, installation, inspection, testing, and maintenance of automatic fire sprinkler systems. We are also a woman-owned small business.
My father, Carey Smith, founded Lifeguard Fire Protection, Inc. in 1987. The business was located in part of our home, growing to include an attached workshop, and eventually taking over outbuildings once used as barns and storage buildings on the family farm. My dad was the primary estimator and designer in the very beginning. As additional employees were hired, he became chief estimator and always remained in that position. My mother, Melba Smith, always handled the finances of the company and came to work at Lifeguard full-time in 1993.
Future son-in-law Jamie Patterson joined the company in 1992 as a part-time employee. He worked his way through the ranks in every position from shop helper to chief designer making him uniquely qualified in later overseeing construction operations. He became Vice President of Operations in 2005 and president in 2010.
I officially joined the company in 1999 and brought professional marketing and business management experience. I began handling all cost accounting, purchasing, marketing, safety, training, and outreach activities. I became Vice President of Administration in 2005 and temporarily took over management of the Inspections and Service Department at that time. I became CEO in 2010.
To accommodate the continued growth of the business, a new office was built on the existing business property and opened in July 2000.
Both of my parents retired in 2010 and are greatly enjoying their retirement.
With the help of a very talented and valuable leadership team, the company continues to grow in size and profitability in spite of continued economic pressures on the commercial construction market in our area. We appreciate all those who have gotten us this far and plan on being around another 25 years!
Arc Flash Danger
Today we are out working on a fire pump controller, and my electrician brother-in-law reminded me that we should always be mindful around electricity, especially around the three-phase power coming into the controller. Here is a video he shared with me to illustrate the point:
Enough said. Be careful out there, and wear your personal protective equipment.
You Can’t Fireproof Your Home
“The 3 main causes of residential fire are still men, women, and children…” And that, my friends, is why you cannot stop home fires from happening.
What you can do is install a firefighter in your home by installing a residential fire sprinkler system. Here is a humorous look at why fire sprinklers are better than actual firefighters in your home…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIE5lnsGrw&list=FLiT_HIl3KyDYLqWpVIwxDrg&index=9&feature=plpp_video.
While the installation of fire sprinklers is not an option for everyone, you can install and maintain smoke detectors to give yourself and your family the best chance of escaping a fire. Always have an escape plan and practice it. Just like they taught us in elementary school. The same best practices still apply. Visit the National Fire Protection Association at www.nfpa.org for more safety tips.
One Solitary Life
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself…
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
~ Dr. James Allen Francis
Giving Thanks
Throughout history mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies. In many parts of the world a day is set aside to give thanks. The date and customs may vary from country to country, but the desire to take time to reflect on life’s blessings remains the same.
Thanksgiving for me is a special time to offer thanks to God, of family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, my mother’s dressing, and apple pie. A time for kicking through the leaves, Indian corn, football, and holiday parades with giant balloons.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to express my gratitude to everyone involved with Lifeguard Fire Protection – our outstanding employees and their families, faithful customers, dependable vendors, friendly competitors, and visionary founders. There is no time more fitting to say “Thank You” and to wish you a bountiful holiday season and coming year full of health, happiness, and prosperity for you and yours.
Things You’d Love to Say at Work…
Borrowed humor for the late afternoon stretch:
I can see your point, but I still think you’re full of crap.
I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.
How about never? Is never good for you?
I’m really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.
I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.
Ahhh…I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.
The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you’re an artist.
Chaos, panic, disorder – my work here is done.
Fire Protection Testing: A Matter of Life or Death
A report published in August says that a faulty standpipe contributed to the death of an Asheville, North Carolina, firefighter during a blaze later determined to be arson. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Captain Jeff Bowen was unable to get water from one of two standpipes in the burning office building. Bowen was overcome by heat and smoke during the July 28 fire and died after being hospitalized.
A standpipe is a part of a building’s fire protection system. It is used as a water source by firefighters and is connected to a water supply, such s the municipal water system. NFPA 25: Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems is the code governing the regular testing of standpipes. By following the procedures outlined in this code, failures such as the one in Asheville would be almost entirely eliminated.
It is important to choose a reputable, licensed fire protection contractor to perform inspections, testing, and maintenance of your system. After all, it really is a matter of life or death.
Kim Patterson
