By Sean Delaney
It’s all about safety.
EPI Fire Protection Inc has experienced a lot of growth during the last several years, and a need for more space, more warehouse space, and more office space has seen them take over a significant part of Emery’s business community.
The fire alarm life safety business is a vast and growing market,” said Jonathan Zafrani, General Manager EPI Fire Protection Inc. “It’s an exciting time to be involved.”
And EPI is looking forward to continuing to grow.
The company was founded in 1991. They experienced a change in ownership about a decade later, and then in 2016, a change in management. Zafrani said the new leadership group was extremely pro-growth, and the company began to change.
“We went on a huge growth spurt then, from the nine people we had in 2016 to the 75 plus we employ today,” he said. “Now, we’re in a new building in Emery and have the opportunity to grow even more.”
EPI is a life safety systems maintenance business. They inspect and repair life safety systems, including fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency lighting, and extinguishers.
And looking to grow means looking for new employees and people looking for opportunities.
“As we look to the future, one of the biggest barriers is having the personnel in the field,” Zafrani said. “We need people in the field inspecting and repairing these systems and recruiting the right type of employees. We’ve put a concerted effort into attracting new employees straight out of school. So instead of looking for those who have had experience with other companies, in other situations, we are looking to recruit and train our own specialists. We’re trying to spread the word the best we can.”
A new EPI trainee, Zafrani said, would be self-motivated. Not just showing up every day and going through the exercises but learning from those in the field doing the work and looking to continually expand their knowledge.
“If you’re an intellectually curious person, a positive person, you can grow with us quite quickly.”
Zafrani said Emery is a great place to be geographically as the company is close to the 400, the 407 ETR, Steeles, and many other Toronto connections.
“It’s a perfect location with great infrastructure to get around,” he said. “We’re super happy with our location.”
Colorectal careful
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable, and, if caught in its early stages, it is 90 percent curable. Too often young adults are turned away by their family physicians because of their age. Colorectal cancer is not just an old person’s disease. Young adults should know the signs and symptoms as well as whether they have a family history of the disease.
This March, Colorectal Cancer Canada (“CCC”) is highlighting the importance of screening with various activities and the launch of the “March to Get Screened” campaign.
It is a provocative nationwide advertising campaign to reach millions of Canadians across the country. It focuses on the importance of early screening and detection, reminding people that cancer doesn’t wait.
On March 4th, dress in blue to show support of those touched by colorectal cancer, while raising awareness about this?preventable, treatable, and beatable?disease that will be diagnosed in approximately 27,000 Canadians this year. Join the movement by organizing a workplace Dress In Blue event and/or sharing your personal ‘blue’ fashion style on your social media platforms by using the hashtag?#dressinblue?and by tagging?@coloncanada.