From a garage and a boot full of extinguishers to the next generation of Anglia Fire Protection

Forty years ago, Anglia Fire Protection was one man, a garage in Dunmow and a boot full of fire extinguishers. 

Today, the Braintree-based business provides a much wider range of fire protection services, including fire alarms and detection, emergency lighting, fire risk assessments, fire suppression, training and fire door inspections. 

But while the services have changed considerably over four decades, one thing has remained at the heart of the business: the people behind it. 

We spoke to Business Development Manager Rachael Jay about Anglia Fire Protection's history, the people who have helped shape it and what comes next for a business that has grown considerably from those early days. 

From extinguishers to a much broader business 

Anglia Fire Protection began by providing and servicing portable fire extinguishers. 

As the business grew, so did the services it offered and the needs of its customers. 

Tim joined the company 35 years ago and played a significant role in that development, building the fire alarm side of the business from the ground up. He inherited six customers creating the foundations of what would become an important part of the company. 

Today, fire alarms and detection sit alongside services such as emergency lighting, fire risk assessments, fire suppression, fire door inspections, signage, nurse call systems, training and extinguisher servicing. 

The customers have changed too. The business now works across a wide range of environments, including care homes, schools, health centres, town halls, churches and private properties. 

For Rachael, that development reflects how much the industry itself has changed. 

“The expectations of customers are much broader now. It isn't just about putting an extinguisher on the wall and coming back to service it. Businesses expect more, regulations have changed and there is much more to consider.” 

But the growth hasn't meant losing the knowledge and experience built up over the years. 

The people who stayed 

Some of Anglia Fire Protection's biggest changes have happened because of the people who joined the business and stayed. 

Tim has been with the company for 35 years. Karen has been there for 31 years, while Teresa has been part of the business for 27. Steve was already with the company before Tim joined. 

That length of service is unusual, particularly in an industry where experience and technical knowledge are so important. 

And for two of those long-standing employees, their involvement in the business goes even further. 

Karen and Steve were given the opportunity to help buy out the previous business partner when Tim took that step, becoming shareholders and directors of the company. 

It is a reflection of the way the business has developed: people who joined as employees have, over time, become part of its ownership and leadership. 

That continuity has also helped preserve something which can be difficult to replace — the knowledge of how the business works and the experience that comes from decades in the industry. 

Experience, but always learning 

Fire protection is an industry where experience matters, but it cannot stand still. 

Technicians need to keep their qualifications up to date, while changes in standards, technology and customer requirements mean there is always something new to learn. 

Anglia Fire Protection combines formal industry training with knowledge shared internally between its more experienced and newer team members. 

For Rachael, that combination is important. 

“Experience matters, but so does continuing to learn.” 

That approach can be seen in the way newer members of the team are developed. One engineer joined the company straight from college and spent six months being trained internally before completing his industry qualification. 

The aim isn't simply to get people qualified. It's to develop people who understand the job properly and can eventually pass that knowledge on themselves. 

Bringing the next generation through 

Developing people has been a consistent part of Anglia Fire Protection's approach. 

During Rachael's ten years with the company, there has continuously been an apprentice within the business, with five apprentices having come through during that time. 

The latest is Luca, who has joined the company through a fire and security apprenticeship with Skills for Security. 

For a business built on so much long-standing experience, apprenticeships provide a way of making sure that knowledge doesn't disappear when experienced people eventually move on. 

It is also part of the reason the company has been able to retain such a strong sense of continuity. 

People learn from the people around them, build their own experience and then, in time, have the opportunity to pass that knowledge on again. 

Doing the job properly 

That long-term approach also influences how the company works with customers. 

Where appropriate, Anglia Fire Protection carries out discharge testing and refilling of extinguishers rather than automatically replacing them. Extinguishers are also recycled, along with waste electrical and electronic equipment from fire alarm components. 

It is a relatively small part of the overall business, but it reflects a wider approach: look after the customer, do the job properly and don't replace something simply because it is easier. 

That philosophy has remained relevant even as the business has grown and the services it provides have changed. 

Looking to the next chapter 

After more than four decades, Anglia Fire Protection is now entering another stage in its history. 

Tim, who has spent 35 years with the business, is beginning to reduce his hours, while Rachael and the wider team take on more responsibility for its future. 

It is a natural progression for a company that has always placed importance on developing people and passing knowledge between generations. 

The business that began with one man, a garage and a boot full of extinguishers now has a much larger team, a broader range of services and people who have spent decades helping to build it. 

And perhaps that is the most important part of its story. 

The business has changed. The industry has changed. The technology has changed. 

But the importance of doing the job properly, looking after customers, developing people and passing knowledge on has remained. 

Forty years on, Anglia Fire Protection is not simply looking back at what it has built. 

It is preparing for the people who will take it forward.