Santa Rosa Fire Equipment Service, Inc. Company Profile

s a teen, Michael Reeser was introduced to the owner of Santa Rosa Fire Equipment and ended up taking a job there as a summer helper. That was in 1972 and the company had 6 employees. Today, Michael is the owner and CFO of the company, and it has 24 employees.

Michael didn't plan to stay with the company for nearly 40 years, and he certainly never thought he'd end up as the owner, but events take strange turns sometimes, and help guide our fates.

"After I had been working there for some time," said Michael, "Don Harris, the owner at that time, came back from lunch in a bad mood one day. I overheard him say, ‘for a dollar ninety-eight I'd sell this business right now!' I started thinking about the possibility of bringing it up again. Eventually I did mention that I might like to buy the company from him."

After a few weeks the owner came back and offered to sell the business to Michael and the company's bookkeeper. In 1979 they began buying the stock and even took on a third partner. Michael had gone from temporary summer help to ownership. Today, Michael's other partners have left to pursue other paths and Michael is the sole owner. Under his management, the company has grown steadily and is firmly entrenched as a part of the community.

Santa Rosa Fire Equipment specializes in selling and servicing fire extinguishers of all types, installing fire suppression and fire alarm systems and fire sprinkler maintenance. "What we do is simple," said Michael. "We provide the safety products people need at a reasonable cost and in a timely fashion. If someone's fire system is down, they need it fixed now. We work hard to get things done quickly and efficiently."

The fire equipment industry has come a long way since the days when Michael first started. There is more regulation and certification required for even the most basic jobs. Michael thinks this is actually a good thing, as it ensures that whomever is working on your fire safety system, whether it's just a fire extinguisher or a building-wide fire suppression system, will be qualified and knowledgeable.

All of Santa Rosa Fire Equipment's workers are certified by the state of California as Life Safety Technicians. Even the people refilling fire extinguishers are certified to do that job.

Santa Rosa Fire Equipment's experts can help you choose a small extinguisher for your kitchen, or help design a huge fire suppression system for your warehouse. Everyone's needs and situations are different so they don't take a one-size-fits-all attitude. Whatever the customer wants can be accommodated as long as it complies with fire regulations. And if what the customer wants doesn't comply, Santa Rosa Fire Equipment will work with them to modify the plan so it does.

Michael takes pride in the fact that over the years their equipment has helped people avoid or extinguish fires and perhaps saved lives. "Whenever I read about a fire," he said, "I always smile when I read that the alarm was working well when the fire department got there."

Santa Rosa Fire Equipment donates to local 4-H and fire department charities as well as Little League teams. They are a part of their small community, and Sonoma County. For 37 years the company has been housed in the same building, "but we've pushed the walls out as far as we can," said Michael. Soon they will be moving to a new, larger facility in Cotati.

Don't wait for a fire to break out and find you're unprepared. Give Santa Rosa Fire Equipment a call before it happens. That call can help you minimize the damage and, most importantly, save lives.


                                                                ---Jim Brumm
                                                                    Staff Writer
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