Fire & Life Safety · Seattle, WA
Built to last.
We buy established fire protection businesses, keep the people who built them, and help them grow.
01Overview
Patient by design.
We aren’t a large private equity fund on a clock. We don’t cut budgets or flip companies. We buy well-run local businesses and build on the people who make them work.
- 01Essential regulatory compliance
- 02Highly fragmented regional market
- 03Recurring inspection revenue
- 04Mission-critical licensing & trust
02Standards
The compliance calendar behind the revenue.
Hover a system to see it in the model.Tap a system to see it in the model.
| NFPA 25 | Sprinkler systems | Quarterly · Annual · 5-yr |
| NFPA 72 | Fire alarm & detection | Annual · Monitoring |
| NFPA 10 | Portable extinguishers | Annual · 6-yr · 12-yr hydro |
| NFPA 17A · 96 | Kitchen hood suppression | Semiannual |
| Purveyor | Backflow prevention | Annual certified test |
Per current NFPA editions. The local AHJ's adopted edition governs.
03Approach
Our model is simple.
- 01
The owner steps back
When an owner is ready to retire or step back, we buy the business and manage the handover with care.
- 02
Proven operators lead
We don’t run day-to-day operations ourselves. We recruit and back experienced operators who know sprinklers, alarms and NFPA codes to lead the business.
- 03
The team stays and grows
We keep the crew together, invest in their development, and expand into new markets at a sensible pace.
How we structure deals
Selling a business is personal. There’s no standard offer: we build each deal with the owner.
04Criteria
What we look for.
We buy lower-middle-market companies in three areas:
Routine inspection, testing, and maintenance
Integrated life safety and alarm systems
Puget Sound, WA. High customer retention, state licensing in place, founders ready for transition.
People first
The people who built the business are the business. We keep them, and give them room to grow.
Keep the team
Keeping the crew together is our first priority after a sale. The people your customers know stay.
Clear career paths
Apprentice to technician, technician to lead, lead to manager, with training and certifications along the way.
Leaders from within
As we grow, new leadership roles open up. We look to our own people first.
All in service of what the work is for: protecting local communities.
05Team
Meet our founders.
Two partners on every transaction.
Addy Win Oo
Bangkok, Thailand
Chenlong Xiao
Seattle, WA
06Contact
Let’s connect.
- Business owners
Planning your next chapter or a succession? Let’s have a confidential conversation.
- Fire safety leaders
Experienced in fire safety and ready to run a company? We’d like to meet you. See open seats
Send us a note, or email addy@bellwaterpartners.com. A partner reads every message.