You've been thinking about it for months. Maybe you're a firefighter looking for a side hustle that could turn into something bigger. Maybe you're a technician who's tired of making money for someone else. Or maybe you just see the opportunity: every commercial building in America needs fire protection service, and most of those buildings have fire extinguishers that need annual inspections. That's not going away.
Starting a fire protection business is one of the more straightforward paths into a skilled trade with real recurring revenue. And fire extinguisher service is where most people start, for good reason. The startup costs are manageable, the licensing is achievable, and NFPA 10 creates a built-in customer cycle that keeps revenue coming back year after year.
Here's how to actually do it, from someone who's been in this industry long enough to know what works and what doesn't.
Understand Why Fire Extinguisher Service May Be the Right Entry Point
There are a lot of ways to enter fire protection. Sprinklers, alarms, suppression systems, passive fire protection. But most of those require serious capital, advanced certifications, and years of experience before you can work independently.
Fire extinguisher service is different. The equipment costs are lower. The training timeline is shorter. And the compliance cycle under NFPA 10 means every extinguisher in every commercial building needs professional service on a regular schedule. Annual inspections, 6-year internal examinations, 12-year hydrostatic testing. That's not a one-time sale. That's a route-based service business with predictable income.
Fire extinguisher service is also your foot in the door. Once you're visiting a building regularly for extinguisher inspections, you're in a position to sell kitchen hood suppression service, fire alarm inspections, emergency light testing, and eventually sprinkler ITM work. The extinguisher gets you through the door. Everything else grows from that relationship.
Get Licensed and Certified Before Anything Else
This is not optional, and it's not something you figure out later. Every state regulates fire extinguisher service differently, and the penalties for operating without proper licensing range from fines to criminal charges.
The general pattern looks like this: your state's Fire Marshal's Office (or Department of Insurance, depending on the state) issues both a company license and individual technician licenses. You need both.
In Texas, you'll need a Fire Extinguisher Certificate of Registration for the company and a Type B Portable license for each technician, which requires passing either the state TFM02 exam or the ICC/NAFED Certified Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician exam. In California, OSFM issues a Concern License for the company and individual Certificates of Registration that require passing a Pearson VUE exam. Florida requires completing a certification course at the State Fire College, plus fingerprint processing and continuing education every two years.
The ICC/NAFED Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician certification is the closest thing to a national standard. It's a 100-question, open-book exam with a 2-hour time limit and a 75% passing score. Cost is around $320. Many states either require it or accept it in place of their own exam. If you're not sure where to start with certifications, this is the one to get first.
A few things that catch people off guard:
Some cities have their own requirements on top of state licensing. In New York City, FDNY requires a Company Certificate of Approval and individual W-96 Certificates of Fitness. And FDNY issues standardized tags that only approved companies can purchase. Nassau County and Suffolk County each have separate requirements too.
On the other end of the spectrum, a handful of states like Missouri have minimal fire extinguisher licensing at the state level. But even in those states, your local AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) might have its own rules.
Before you spend a dollar on equipment, call your state Fire Marshal's office and your local fire department. Ask what licenses, permits, and certifications are required. Then get them. There's no shortcut here.
Handle the Business Formation Basics
While you're working through licensing, take care of the structural stuff:
- Form an LLC. The liability exposure in fire protection is real. If an extinguisher you serviced fails during a fire, you need that legal separation between your business and personal assets. State filing fees run $50 to $500 depending on where you live.
- Get your EIN. It's free from the IRS, takes about 10 minutes online, and you'll need it for everything from opening a business bank account to filing taxes to hiring employees.
- Open a dedicated business bank account. Keep your business finances completely separate from day one. This makes tax time easier and protects your LLC status.
- Register with your state and local government. Business licenses, sales tax permits (you'll be selling replacement extinguishers and parts), and any local permits your city requires.
Get the Right Insurance (This Part Matters More Than You Think)
Insurance in fire protection isn't like insurance in other trades. The stakes are higher because the consequences of a failure are catastrophic. If an extinguisher you serviced doesn't work during a fire, someone could die. That liability is real, and your insurance needs to reflect it.
Here's what you need at minimum:
General liability with $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate. Most property management companies will require proof of GL before they'll hire you. Budget $800 to $2,500 per year.
Professional liability (E&O) is critical and often overlooked by new fire protection companies. Standard GL policies sometimes exclude "failure to perform" claims, which is exactly the type of claim you'd face if a serviced extinguisher failed. Make sure your E&O policy explicitly covers fire protection service work. Budget $700 to $1,200 per year.
Workers' compensation is required in nearly every state once you hire employees. For a small crew of 1 to 5 technicians, plan on $2,000 to $5,000 per year.
Commercial auto for your service vehicle runs about $1,500 to $2,500 per year.
All in, expect to spend $7,000 to $12,000 per year on insurance as a small startup. And one more thing: not every carrier writes fire protection. Some have stopped offering coverage in this space entirely due to claims. Work with a broker who specializes in fire protection contractors. AMIS and Allied Insurance Managers both focus on this industry.
Know What Equipment You Actually Need (and What Can Wait)
Here's where a lot of people overcomplicate things. You don't need to buy hydrostatic test equipment on day one. In fact, the smartest way to start is to handle annual inspections and 6-year maintenance yourself, and outsource hydrostatic testing to another company until you've built enough volume to justify the investment.
To start with annual inspections and 6-year maintenance, you need:
Valve tools and wrenches, O-ring kits, a mechanical bench vise, inspection tags, tamper seals, verification-of-service collars, and a dry chemical filling system for recharges. You'll also need a set of brand-specific recharge adapters, since Amerex, Badger, Kidde, and Buckeye all use different valve configurations.
A cargo van (Ford Transit, Chevy Express, or RAM ProMaster) outfitted with shelving and bin storage. Used vans run $25,000 to $40,000, and outfitting costs another $3,000 to $8,000. A vehicle wrap with your company name and phone number is worth the $500 to $2,000 investment. Your van is a rolling billboard that sits in commercial parking lots all day.
An initial inventory of 30 to 50 replacement extinguishers, agents, and common replacement parts. Budget $3,500 to $9,000.
A tablet for digital inspections, a barcode scanner, and fire protection inspection software. Paper-based inspection tracking might seem cheaper at first, but once you're managing 200+ extinguishers across multiple buildings, you'll lose track of due dates, miss 6-year cycles, and spend hours on data entry that software handles automatically. The NFPA 10 record-keeping requirements alone (Section 7.2.4) make digital tracking a practical necessity, not a luxury. Budget $1,500 to $4,000 for first-year technology costs.
Realistic startup costs by approach:
If you start with inspections only and outsource recharging and hydrostatic testing: $32,000 to $55,000.
If you add recharge capability and 6-year maintenance but still outsource hydrostatic testing: $48,000 to $80,000.
If you go all-in with hydrostatic test equipment from the start: $70,000 to $123,000.
The first option is what I'd recommend for most people. You can always add capabilities as your customer base grows. Don't tie up capital in equipment that'll sit idle for months while you're building routes.
Price Your Services to Win Work Without Going Broke
Pricing in fire extinguisher service follows a pretty standard pattern across the industry. The key variables are the service call minimum, per-unit inspection pricing, and volume discounts for larger accounts.
Service call minimums typically range from $80 to $120. This covers your drive time, setup, and the fixed cost of showing up. Even if a customer only has three extinguishers, you need to make the trip worthwhile.
Per-unit annual inspection pricing scales with volume. For 1 to 10 units, $25 to $30 each is standard. At 11 to 25 units, you're looking at $20 to $25. For 26 to 50, $18 to $22. Above 50 units, $15 to $20. Large accounts with 200+ units might go as low as $12 to $18 per unit, but the volume makes up for the margin.
6-year internal examinations run $40 to $80 per unit. Hydrostatic testing is $50 to $100+ per unit. Recharges are $40 to $150 depending on the agent type and extinguisher size.
Here's what that looks like in practice: a small office with 8 extinguishers is a $220 to $320 annual account. A restaurant with 12 units (including Class K kitchen extinguishers) generates $375 to $500 per year. A 60-unit apartment complex brings in $1,300 to $1,800 annually. None of those are huge numbers individually. But stack 50 to 100 accounts on regular routes and you're building something real.
Don't race to the bottom on price. There will always be someone willing to do inspections cheaper. But building owners who've been burned by a low-cost provider who missed a deficiency or skipped a 6-year exam, they'll pay more for someone who does the job right and documents everything properly.
Land Your First Customers
Getting your first 10 to 20 accounts is the hardest part. After that, momentum takes over. Here's what actually works:
Build relationships with your local AHJ. Fire marshals and fire inspectors visit commercial buildings on a regular cycle, usually every one to two years. When they find expired inspection tags or extinguisher violations, they tell the building owner to get it fixed. Many fire departments maintain referral lists of licensed service companies. Getting on that list is one of the best things you can do in your first year. Introduce yourself, bring your licenses, and be professional.
Walk commercial districts. This sounds old school because it is. But driving through strip malls, office parks, and industrial areas and looking for expired tags through windows actually works. Walk in, introduce yourself, leave a card. Follow up in two weeks. One contractor on a trade forum described this as his primary growth strategy in year one.
Target property management companies early. A single relationship with a property manager can yield 5, 10, or 20 building accounts at once. These are the highest-value relationships in the extinguisher business.
Consider government contracts. Register with SAM (System for Award Management), get your DUNS number, and look for small fire protection contracts on your local government's procurement site. Government work provides steady, reliable income while you build your commercial base.
Use Google Business Profile aggressively. When a building owner gets a fire marshal citation, the first thing many of them do is search "fire extinguisher service near me." Make sure you show up. Collect reviews from every satisfied customer.
Don't overlook restaurants as early accounts. They need both standard ABC and Class K kitchen extinguishers, plus many require semi-annual kitchen hood suppression inspections. That's multiple touchpoints per year and higher revenue per customer than a standard office.
Set Up Systems That Scale From Day One
This is where a lot of new fire protection companies get stuck. You land 30 or 40 accounts, everything's going great, and then you miss a 6-year exam because it was tracked in a spreadsheet that didn't get updated. Or you forget to send a quote for three replacement extinguishers because the deficiency notes were on a paper form in your van.
NFPA 10 requires documented records for every inspection, maintenance event, and hydrostatic test. That means dates, technician identification, and service details for every unit. Multiply that across hundreds of extinguishers at dozens of locations, and manual tracking breaks down fast.
Purpose-built fire protection software like Essential can handle inspection tracking, automated due date recalculation, deficiency documentation, and quote generation from the field. When your technician finds a corroded extinguisher during an annual inspection, the deficiency gets logged with photos, and a replacement quote can go out to the customer the same day instead of sitting in a stack on someone's desk for two weeks. That speed matters. Every day a quote sits unsent is a day the customer might call someone else.
Whatever system you choose, get it set up before you need it. Migrating from paper to software after you already have 100 accounts is painful. Starting digital from the beginning is not.
Plan Your Growth Path Beyond Extinguishers
Fire extinguisher service is a great starting point. But the real money in fire protection comes from expanding your service offering over time.
The natural progression looks like this: start with extinguishers (NFPA 10), add kitchen hood suppression systems (NFPA 96/UL 300), then fire alarm inspections (NFPA 72), then sprinkler system ITM (NFPA 25), then exit and emergency lighting. Each new service line requires additional certifications and training, but each one also multiplies the revenue you generate from existing customer relationships.
A building that pays you $500 a year for extinguisher inspections might pay you $3,000 to $5,000 a year if you're also handling their alarm testing, sprinkler inspections, and kitchen suppression service. Same customer, same building, dramatically more revenue.
Here's something else worth knowing: private equity firms are actively acquiring fire protection companies right now. Pye-Barker, CertaSite, APi Group, and others have bought dozens of smaller companies in recent years. Companies with strong recurring service contracts and clean documentation command premium valuations. Having at least 50% of your revenue from service contracts tends to strengthen your company's valuation multiple if you ever decide to sell.
You don't have to think about an exit on day one. But building your business the right way, with proper documentation, recurring contracts, and multiple service lines, gives you options down the road.
Stay Current on Codes and Build Your Reputation
Fire codes change. NFPA releases updated editions on a regular cycle, and your state or local AHJ may adopt new editions at different times. The 2022 edition of NFPA 10 included enhanced signage requirements and electronic monitoring clarifications, among other updates. Staying current isn't just about compliance. It's about credibility with your customers and your AHJ.
Join your state fire protection association and consider membership in NAFED or AFSA. Attend trade shows and conferences when you can. The relationships you build in this industry matter as much as the technical knowledge.
And invest in your online reputation. Ask every satisfied customer for a Google review. Respond to reviews professionally. When a property manager is comparing three fire extinguisher companies, the one with 47 five-star reviews and detailed responses wins over the one with no online presence.
The Bottom Line
The fire protection industry in the US is worth over $22 billion and growing. The portable fire extinguisher market alone is projected to reach $5 billion by 2030. And with roughly 4,000 fire protection companies serving the entire country (compared to 70,000 electrical contractors), the market is far from saturated.
Starting with fire extinguisher service gives you a manageable entry point with a clear path to growth. Get your licensing, get insured, invest in the right equipment, build relationships with your local AHJ, and set up systems that can scale.
If you're ready to take the next step and want to see how purpose-built fire protection software can support your business from day one, book a free demo with the Essential team. There's no commitment, and they'll walk you through exactly how inspection tracking, quoting, and scheduling work for fire protection contractors.
