In its over 75-year history, Vancouver Fire, now under the leadership of Mike Baxter, has transformed from a small extinguisher sales company into one of B.C.’s largest fire safety and security providers all while preserving its family-run origins since 1948.
The company has experienced immense growth within its businesses, and what was once Vancouver Fire, National Fire & Safety Planners and Radius Security, are now aligned under the parent company — The Radius Group.
“As a growing company, we have reached a point where the multitude of names created more confusion than clarity, making it difficult to reflect the full scope of our capabilities and the diversity of services we provide,” Baxter explains.
And while the world is markedly different compared to when the company was founded in 1948, the bedrock of its success remains unchanged: investing in people, giving back to the community and delivering exemplary service.
The company invests in community partners like the Pacific Community Resource Society, the Fire Fighters Burn Fund and Red Cross, to support youth facing barriers in the community and help mitigate the impact on families who have been devastated by fire.
“We have strong values and have always stayed true to those values through the past three generations,” says Baxter. “We’ve always been dedicated to doing quality work and invested in training and developing great people. And when you do a quality job, people will come back year after year for their service needs, so our relationships with customers have stood the test of time because of the amazing work and results of our staff.”
Vancouver Fire and National Fire & Safety Planners will now be operating under the new name: Radius Fire Protection.
Radius Fire Protection operates primarily in Metro Vancouver, but there are aspirations to expand east. The company focuses on fire safety plans, training, fire inspections, installations, repairs and fire monitoring for all manner of commercial buildings, high rises, restaurants and more.
“We cover the life safety needs for our customer’s buildings,” Baxter explains. “When you think of the life cycle of a building, you’re going to need fire safety planning and security services throughout the construction process, and then, after the building is built, you’ll need ongoing fire protection, security and monitoring services for the finished building.”
While many fire protection companies offer 24/7 fire monitoring, their statements can be misleading. Radius distinguishes itself in Metro Vancouver by being the exclusive fire protection company to own and operate a local ULC-certified monitoring station. This means Radius doesn't depend on third-party monitoring companies — they can deliver a better end-to-end service to their customers.
Along with their in-house monitoring capabilities, Radius Fire can create fire safety plans on a dime, regardless of the specs contained in a municipality’s fire code, or the complexities of a construction site.
“With our fire safety plans, we never miss a deadline,” Baxter says. “Even if it’s last minute, we can make sure we get it done professionally, on time and meet all of the city building requirements.”
Radius Security, meanwhile, operates from Victoria to Ottawa and into Texas as well, offering remote guarding security solutions combining CCTV, remote monitoring and real-time crime verification through their “Redhanded Human Detection Technology.” Redhanded has helped police apprehend and remove more than 1,300 intruders off Radius-monitored sites in the last 12 months alone.
“Our offering on outdoor video is leading edge across North America,” Baxter says. “We work with car dealerships, construction sites or any other business with expensive assets that are stored outside. Our video technology works with analytics and artificial intelligence to catch intruders in the act, and we work with law enforcement to make apprehensions.”
It’s by way of Radius’ commitment to quality and their people that the company recently won the Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s large business award.
“This award is a testament to the culture of our employees that make it an exceptional place to work and a business that our customers count on to protect their business everyday from fire and crime, 365 days a year,” Baxter says.
For more information about The Radius Group services, visit radiusfire.com, radiussecurity.com and theradiusgroup.com.
