History
Early Years
Iowa Fire Equipment Company was established in 1960 by John Z. Beamer. Mr. Beamer originally based the company in his Des Moines home, and primarily offered basic service and inspections of hand portable fire extinguishers to assist with fire safety.
In 1966, the Iowa Fire Equipment Company became incorporated in the State of Iowa.
As the company began to grow and prosper, Mr. Beamer quickly realized that the time had come to expand his company from a one-man enterprise. He was fortunate enough to employ a Des Moines Fire Department Captain named Lee Sumner. Mr. Sumner began working alongside Mr. Beamer servicing and inspecting fire extinguishers, during his off-shift from the Fire Department.
1970's
As Mr. Beamer grew older he retired and sold the company to Mr. Sumner in the early 1970s.
Under Mr. Sumner's' new leadership, Iowa Fire Equipment Company began to expand from a primary focus on hand portable fire extinguishers, and in the early 1970s began installing and providing inspection and service for a wider range of fire protection equipment including Commercial Cooking Fire Suppression Systems and Industrial Dry Chemical Fire Suppression Systems.
Mr. Sumner hired his son, Clare Sumner, and the company began to search out larger fire protection equipment markets in engineered systems, such as Halon 1301 Clean Agent Fire Suppression Systems, Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishing Systems, and larger Industrial Dry Chemical Fire Suppression Systems.
Iowa Fire Equipment Company continued to grow and develop our market area in Iowa, and quickly hired another Des Moines firefighter, Jim Pruitt, to help carry the workload. Mr. Pruitt also worked during his days off from the fire department. After a time, Mr. Pruitt became Sales Manager for a small staff of individuals.
With Mr. Pruitt's focus on Iowa Fire Equipment Company as a service provider, he further extended our product offerings into the fire alarm systems field as well as fire sprinkler inspection work. Having the capability to inspect fire extinguishers, commercial cooking fire suppression systems, fire alarm systems, and fire sprinkler systems; Iowa Fire Equipment Company expanded its market share in rural areas of Iowa where nursing facilities, hospitals and other similar places of business, required all of those services. With Iowa Fire Equipment Company offering several types of fire protection equipment service, we helped the consumer by reducing costs and also by keeping all inspections on precise inspection intervals.
1980's
In the early 1980s, Mr. Pruitt purchased 30% of the company's stock.
1983 brought in a new generation of the Pruitt family, Brett Pruitt. Shortly after Brett's hire, Jim purchased the remaining stock from Mr. Sumner. Together Jim and Brett began making vast improvements in the company's profits and operating procedures.
The company's experience grew with the development of in-house design and engineering.
1990's
As time passed, Iowa Fire Equipment Company grew from a company that serviced and inspected fire extinguishers in the Des Moines area, to a company with over 30 service vehicles providing a wide variety of fire protection equipment services in all of Iowa and eight surrounding states.
Iowa Fire Equipment Company opened a branch office in Iowa City, IA in the early 1990s to help maintain our acquired service area in the Eastern portion of the state.
2000's
In 2000, Brett purchased the Iowa Fire Equipment Company from Jim. By then Iowa Fire Equipment Company has evolved into an engineered systems design company as well as a fire sprinkler installation contractor while maintaining our roots in the service industry.
2010's
In 2010 our customer base expanded into Arkansas and Oklahoma. To better serve the fire safety needs of our customers in Arkansas and Oklahoma along with customers in southern Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois, we opened our branch office in Springfield, Missouri. This office officially opened in March of 2011. In 2012 we expanded our operation to Kentucky and Tennessee.
By 2015 our customer base had expanded into North Dakota and South Dakota.
In 2018 we opened the Terre Haute office in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Today all five locations provide superior service and installation of virtually all types of fire protection equipment in 16 states.
Throughout all of Iowa Fire Equipment Company's years, our approach to business still remains: "With a Commitment to Customer Satisfaction"
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