TOLEDO, Ohio - CertaSite, a commercial fire protection and life safety company, announced today that it has acquired Marine Fire Sales & Service (“Marine Fire”), a family-owned business in Toledo. The acquisition is CertaSite’s fourth in Ohio.
CertaSite provides the highest levels of customer service, responsiveness, building safety and code compliance to customers across the Midwest. 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 one of the Midwest’s largest privately owned fire and security companies in the industry. He started his career in the industry 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 40 years rooted in Toledo, Marine Fire have extensive experience in providing fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, and emergency lighting solutions to their loyal customers. Marine Fire’s solid reputation in the region will allow the company to grow its customer base and expand into new markets under the CertaSite umbrella.
“CertaSite is a company that we trust because they share our values and code of ethics for saving lives and protecting property,” said Marine Fire owners Kelley and Dave Tipping. “We are proud of the customer service that our team provided for more than 40 years. We fully believe that under CertaSite, our employees will have the opportunity for professional growth and career advancement and our customers will benefit from efficient and streamlined services, with enhanced administration support and advancements like online customer portals, inspection management and reporting, expanded service areas, and more.”
With the close of the acquisition, five employees are joining the CertaSite family. Marine Fire owner Kelley Tipping will remain with the company during the transition, while current CertaSite Toledo office General Manager Bob Scharer will oversee office management along with CertaSite District Manager Ryan Watson.
“We are grateful to Dave and Kelley Tipping and the Marine Fire family for their continued partnership throughout this process,” said Jeff Wyatt, CEO of CertaSite. “We are committed to preserving the legacy built by these dedicated professionals, and we recognize and respect their strong local presence. Our team will provide our new employees with development and career advancement through our CertaSite Academy and deliver expanded services and support to customers.”
In addition to Marine Fire Sales & Service, CertaSite already has acquired 11 fire protection and life safety companies and is actively engaged in bringing new businesses under the CertaSite umbrella. To date, the CertaSite family includes: ABC Fire Extinguisher Co. (Ohio); Advanced Fire, a CertaSite Company (Pennsylvania); Approved Protection Systems (Michigan); Approved Safety and Security (Indiana); Company One Suppression (Illinois and Iowa); County Fire Protection (Ohio); Erlich Fire Protection (Michigan); Field’s Fire Protection (Michigan); Great Lakes Fire & Safety Equipment (Michigan); Spears Fire & Safety (Michigan); Starfire Systems and Starfire Extinguisher (Wisconsin); and Marine Fire Sales & Service (Ohio). Markets of focus for 2021 include current states listed above along with Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia.