Radius offers 24-hour fire alarm and sprinkler monitoring services along with a command centre staffed day and night, seven days a week, by certified fire personnel who are dedicated to keeping industrial, commercial, and multi-family residential facilities—and the people who live and work in them—safe.

Radius differs from other fire protection companies in that it doesn’t subcontract its monitoring services. If there is an issue with monitoring equipment or a fire alarm, Radius customers can call a single number for a certified Radius technician to tackle any issue immediately, protecting life and assets.

Protection from the very start
Another aspect that sets Radius apart is its fire safety division’s approach to new building projects, an approach encompassing the entire life cycle of the building, beginning in the construction phase. Radius provides security on the job site, plans fire escape routes and signage, and assists with choosing from among the different types of fire suppression systems—water, foam, dry chemicals, inert gas, or other chemicals, ensuring that what is chosen and installed fits the complex needs of the project, whether manufacturing plant, refinery, or multi-story office tower.

Employing the latest smart technology, professionals will install the alarm, sprinkler, suppression, monitoring, and emergency light systems; carry out annual inspections; review the fire safety plan if the building undergoes renovations; and modify this plan accordingly. Over time, Radius will repair equipment as needed and update it should fire code regulations change.

“From the day the shovel hits the dirt to the installation of equipment and development and review of fire safety plans, we are there every step of the way providing our customers with professional services,” says Dave Baxter, partner and director of Business Development.

Radius runs in the family
In 1948, Ed Boheme founded a fire protection company in the southern mainland of B.C. with what the company describes as “a half-ton truck and a ton of gumption.”

Baxter explains that “In the 1970s, my grandfather moved from Manitoba to B.C., purchased the company, which then had five or six employees, and ran it for 15 years. Then my father took over as president, ran it with my aunt, and built it significantly to over 100 employees.”

In the 1980s, a sister company, Radius Security, was formed, with locations in Calgary, Alberta and Dallas, Texas which focused on security, burglar intrusion, and home monitoring stations, and which we featured in our July 2021 edition.

In 2021, Mike Baxter, Dave’s brother, took over as president of The Radius Group, (which includes Radius Fire Protection and Radius Security), making it a third-generation Baxter family-owned and operated company. The business has continued to grow, with over 250 employees, a fleet of vehicles, and thousands of satisfied customers.

In 2023, the company won Richmond, B.C.’s award for Best Large Business after a thorough review of its management and employees by Chamber of Commerce representatives. “Our next goal is to be the best business in B.C.,” says Baxter.

Despite its growth and success, the company maintains a family atmosphere and cares about its employees, says Baxter. “We focus on new employees to make sure they are welcomed, but also on our long-time employees, and we observe their milestone events. We provide intensive training, and our employees know they have a career trajectory here because we have implemented a variety of internal training programs.”

Another thing that differentiates Radius is its culture. “Because we’re authorized to train people, we can hire based on attitude, meaning we hire people we know will get along with our team. Our culture includes our Radius ‘DNA – 30’ fundamentals that we rotate weekly and discuss at the start of our meetings for five or ten minutes,” Baxter explains. “This week, for example, we’re talking about how to practice blameless problem solving and discuss how we’re all going to live that DNA throughout the week,” he says.

“It’s about leading by example, and we’ve seen that DNA and those fundamental principles have a transformative effect on our company. People who feel they don’t fit in here can self-select out if it’s not working for them, and that’s ok. We have our fundamentals we’ve chosen to live by, and they work for us and our customers.”

Authorized fire technician training
Radius Fire Protection is the only fire protection company in B.C. authorized by the Applied Science Technologies and Technicians of B.C. (ASTTBC) to train Fire Protection Technicians. This means that Radius alone in B.C. can offer in-house training courses for the “Fundamental Six” (Fire Alarm, Sprinkler, Emergency Lights, Extinguishers, Electronics, and ASTTBC Code of Ethics) while at the same time inculcating the values expressed in the Radius DNA program.

Certification assures customers that their fire protection needs are in capable hands and that the technicians possess the skills and knowledge to perform critical fire protection and life safety services, including inspection and testing of various systems.

Baxter tells us that there are schools that offer such courses, but the classes tend to be theory-based, with the student technicians only gaining practical experience through on-the-job training. Unfortunately, this presents the real possibility of critical mistakes being made that could severely compromise the customer’s installation or testing protocols.

By contrast, he says, Radius Fire Protection “offers a controlled environment where students can learn without putting actual clients in jeopardy. We take students and get them to build a fire alarm system, troubleshoot it, and show us how the testing is done, and it is far more in-depth than any other course available. They spend half the day studying theory, which is a prerequisite for certification, and the other half putting the theory into practice in our facility, where they can’t damage a client’s assets,” he explains.

“What this does is give our customers confidence about what our technicians have learned and that they’ve made their mistakes in our facility and not in theirs. When our technicians go into a customer’s building, they know what they’re doing and they can work in the field mistake-free.”

An added benefit of Radius’ approach to education and training is its small class size, with no more than four trainees at a time, which leads to greater student engagement. “It’s the only school I’ve ever seen where students show up an hour early and stay an hour late because they’re so eager to learn,” Baxter shares.

In addition, student certification with ASTTBC is not a one-off achievement; registration must be renewed annually, demonstrating a commitment to staying current with industry standards and practices through the ongoing training Radius makes available to its technicians.

Supporting the community
By its very nature, Radius Fire Protection supports the community it serves, fulfilling what psychologist Abraham Maslow considered the most basic of human needs, that of safety and security, without which people and their enterprises cannot grow and prosper.

As a member of the National Fire Protection Association, Radius takes its responsibility to that organization, to the ASTTBC, and to its customers, seriously. But beyond that, Radius Fire Protection reaches out to the community by making donations to the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund, founded in 1978. Each year, approximately 1,000 children and adults are treated for burn injuries in B.C. and the Yukon, and the Burn Fund assists with their recovery.

Burn Fund operations include the Home Away Centre located in downtown Vancouver, which offers burn and trauma survivors and their families—including firefighters—accommodation while receiving medical treatment if they must travel more than 100 kilometres to access it. Burn Fund also offers camps and retreats for families and individuals of all ages.

Meanwhile, Radius Fire Protection’s sister group, Radius Security, supports the Pacific Community Resource Society. Since 1984, this organization has been providing social services across B.C. related to education, employment, housing, substance abuse, mental health, and youth and family support services. The organization’s Youth Hubs offer drop-in support, access to food, programming, and life skills development. “Protecting our community is central to what we do,” Baxter says. “It is all-encompassing.”

Indeed, Radius Fire Protection’s dedication to safety, training, and community service makes it a leader in the fire protection industry. From its comprehensive, in-house technician training to its commitment to smart technology and full-service fire monitoring, Radius sets the standard for excellence. Rooted in family values and guided by a strong company culture, it continues to grow while staying true to its mission of protecting lives and property. And with a deep sense of responsibility to its customers and the broader community, Radius Fire Protection is more than just a service provider—it’s a trusted partner in safety, today and for generations to come.

The post Protecting People and Property<p class="company">Radius Fire Protection</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Williams underwent several more foundational transitions including three acquisitions in the span of 13 years until 2023 when, upon the verge of closing, an internal team headed by Lindsey Boren (Director of Global Sales and Marketing), Eric LaVergne (Director of R&D & Business Development), and Justin Wright (Director of Manufacturing and Global Response), drove an initiative to regain independence with investor support. As of January 1, 2024, Williams Fire & Hazard Control is once again a Texas-owned business and recently celebrated its first year as such.

Eric LaVergne explains that Williams has always been at the forefront of equipment design, a pursuit that was born out of necessity as a fire response business. For instance, Les Williams invented the company’s signature Hydro-Foam technology in 1983, which has helped to extinguish large-volume fires. The company has since designed, utilized, and sold equipment systems that flow in excess of 14,000 GPM (gallons per minute) into domestic and international markets.

LaVergne says that, upon its founding, protein-based foams were still in prolific use across the oil and gas industry, with many companies still using them while also gradually changing to AFFF. Now, industry is seeing yet another transition to non-fluorinated foam concentrates.

Throughout its history, the Williams team has navigated numerous industry shifts, consistently positioning itself at the forefront of innovation and leading through performance and response expertise. LaVergne notes that, in the earlier days of the industry, large-scale incidents were far more common, with several major events across the sector leading to the development of OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard in 1992. With its publication, industry-wide processes, including best practices used by Williams Fire & Hazard Control, became more standardized, contributing to a significant reduction in incidents worldwide.

Over the years, Williams Fire & Hazard Control has also maintained an impressive safety record, thanks in no small part to employee involvement in technical response, safety measures, and ever evolving industry standards. Today, the company is proud of its excellent safety record that includes a decade without an OSHA lost time incident and eight years since its last OSHA recordable injury. “Our mindset and motto at our site is, ‘Performance and expertise drive a safe environment,’” LaVergne says.

That very motto is also indicative of the company’s tight-knit internal culture. Lindsey Boren says that Williams has always had a familial atmosphere, something she noticed immediately upon arriving in 2008. Currently, everyone is very happy with being an independent company after years of corporate ownership, with several former employees returning to the company upon its reclaimed independence. “We have witnessed a passion around this brand that results in long tenure by our employees and clientele, and with a commitment to our collective success, it’s easy to see why.”

Williams Fire & Hazard Control maintains strong industry relationships around the world. As Boren puts it, “It’s best to build strong relationships in advance”—acknowledged by the longstanding connections the company has with many of the organizations it supports during emergencies. In such a close-knit industry, it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t worked with Williams in some capacity. The company also collaborates with international partners and distributors who bring its products and expertise to the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions. Maintaining these relationships is essential, ensuring that the Williams methodologies and signature trust are upheld across the globe.

Another hallmark of Williams’ market approach is its focus on building long-term client relationships. When it comes to keeping clients first, Williams will always provide a good product at a good price. Dedication to service also means that, in this relationship-focused business, industry can call Williams at all hours, trusting the team to meet their needs. Boren says that if one doesn’t approach these situations totally committed, it’s impossible to maintain enduring relationships.

In all scenarios, Williams pulls from all different departments for emergency response to benefit its customers, says Boren. Thus far, the team has been involved in more than 280 major industrial emergency responses—which doesn’t include the rental of equipment, technical assistance over the phone, or post-incident assessments. “Loyalty from our clients over the past 45 years has been incredible,” and as Boren says, “We wouldn’t be successful without their support.”

After its first year under new management, Boren says that everything went beyond expectation, while still leaving room for improvement.

As a business that evolved by finding and filling market needs, Williams has embraced innovation since its earliest days and will continue to do so. One recent innovation relates to its Hot Shot apparatus foam systems, which will deliver a third-generation upgrade this year. A new company website has been launched that enhances market engagement around technical response practices and product applications, while a new mobile app upgrade helps calculate friction loss, foam applications, and k-factor performance in the field—all essential elements in fire hydraulics. Adding to its end-to-end manufacturing capabilities, Williams is also investing in new and additional equipment to enhance production lead times. The company has also bolstered its R&D Team who maintain a healthy pipeline of groundbreaking product developments and improvements.

With incident control and extinguishment as its benchmark, Williams continues to scrutinize foam formulations closely and personally to assure that performance in the field and compatibility with its equipment are driving factors in its foam of choice. As a response company, Williams seeks the best performing products in the market for its own response team—and for its clients. “We have always insisted on effective performance over minimum compliance standards,” says Justin Wright, Director of Operations.

Firefighting foams are a linchpin in a responder’s arsenal. As industry faces challenges around environmental standards affecting foam formulations, Williams is constantly driving a well-informed, experience-based approach to best-in-class foam practices to the industry at large. However, a mounting concern facing the industry is retirement of those with extensive experience. As industry continues its safe practices and incidents have decreased, transfer of knowledge to the next generation of responders with less experience is paramount.

Since last January, Williams continues to grow as it satisfies market demand. Williams plans to expand its operation both in manufacturing and customer support by hiring additional personnel. Other goals include shorter lead times, improving internal processes, and leveraging industrial relationships to improve response times on calls.

Above all, Boren says that Williams will remain present in the market. “We are confident that our skill set, our history of experience, and our continued innovation will benefit a broader market of industry clients with their greatest emergency response needs.”

The post The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same – An Inside Look at Williams Fire & Hazard Control<p class="company">Williams Fire & Hazard Control</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.