Response Fire Protection

What Response Fire Protection does

Response Fire Protection is a privately held fire protection consulting and design firm serving businesses, building owners, architects, developers, and contractors. The company operates from offices in Escondido (San Diego area), Raleigh-Durham, and Central Texas, providing two service lines: consulting services (site survey and analysis, hazardous materials analysis, high piled storage compliance, design review, local jurisdiction negotiation, and board of appeals representation) and automatic sprinkler system design services (performance specifications, bid-spec conceptual drawings, full shop drawings, fire pump design, and wet/dry/foam suppression systems). Project experience spans high rise buildings, schools, hydrogen fueling facilities, self storage, military installations, warehouses, retail stores, hospitals, and aircraft hangars.

The firm is co-founded by Laura J. DeBell (in the fire protection industry since 1990, Professional Certificate in Fire Protection from UC San Diego, involved in Model code development since 1996, NFPA committee member) and Richard A. DeBell (in the industry since 1994, primarily in design and management roles for fire sprinkler contracting firms). Together they bring approximately 60 years of combined experience. In October 2025, Bear Castle Capital announced the launch of Response Fire Protection as a new fire and life safety platform operating in Central Texas, led by industry veterans Steve Shaffer and Justin Kuhlman, with stated intent to become the leading service provider in the region.

The business model is project-based professional services sold via a sales-led go-to-market motion through direct engagement with clients. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with services tailored to individual project requirements. The company has 11-50 employees, no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, no patents or trademarks, and no known customer logos. Distribution occurs entirely through direct professional engagement rather than digital channels.

Name

Response Fire Protection

Legal name

Response Fire Protection

Website

https://responsefire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Response Fire Protection is a private fire protection consulting and sprinkler system design firm serving architects, developers, building owners, contractors, and businesses across San Diego, Raleigh-Durham, and Central Texas, with approximately 60 years of combined founding-partner experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fire Protection Engineering Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire Sprinkler & Standpipe Systems (Design/Install/Service/Testing) (BPABAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fire & Life Safety Code Compliance Inspections & Consulting (AHJ Support) (BPABAHAJ)

Keywords

• Fire protection consulting
• Sprinkler system design
• Code compliance services
• Building fire safety
• Hazardous materials analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fire Protection Consulting and Design Services: Professional consulting and design services for fire protection systems, including site surveys, hazardous materials analysis, sprinkler design, and code compliance consulting. Services are provided to businesses, building owners, architects, developers, and contractors on a project basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Response Fire Protection provides fire protection consulting and design services for commercial and institutional construction projects. The firm delivers site surveys, hazardous materials analysis, high-piled storage compliance, design review, local jurisdiction negotiation, board of appeals representation, and automatic sprinkler system design (performance specifications, bid-spec drawings, full shop drawings, fire pump design, wet/dry/foam suppression systems, and stocklisting) to building owners, architects, developers, and contractors.

Product overview

Response Fire Protection is a fire protection consulting and design firm offering two primary service lines: Consulting Services (site survey and analysis, hazardous materials analysis, high piled storage compliance, design review, local jurisdiction negotiation, and board of appeals) and Automatic Sprinkler System Design Services (performance specifications, bid-spec conceptual drawings, full shop drawings, fire pump design, wet/dry/foam suppression systems, and stocklisting). The company serves businesses, building owners, architects, developers, and contractors with project experience spanning high rise buildings, schools, hydrogen fueling facilities, self storage, military installations, warehouses, retail stores, hospitals, aircraft hangars, and more. Founded by partners with nearly 60 years of combined industry experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting Services Fire protection consulting services including site survey and analysis, hazardous materials analysis, high piled storage compliance, design review, local jurisdiction negotiation, and board of appeals representation, delivered to businesses, building owners, architects, developers, and contractors.
• Automatic Sprinkler System Design Services Comprehensive sprinkler system design services including performance specifications, bid-spec conceptual sprinkler design drawings, full shop drawings, fire pump design, wet pipe, dry pipe, and foam suppression systems, and stocklisting, for warehouses, retail stores, schools, hospitals, aircraft hangars, military facilities, and high rise buildings.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with a fire engineering practice providing code consulting, smoke modeling, and life safety services. They compete for the same large-scale, complex building projects where Response Fire Protection engages.
• APi Group: APi Group is a global, publicly traded safety, specialty, and industrial services conglomerate that owns multiple fire protection services subsidiaries across North America. As a broad incumbent, they represent both a potential acquirer and a competitive force in the same end markets.

Direct peers

• Jensen Hughes: Jensen Hughes is the largest dedicated fire protection and life safety engineering consulting firm in North America, offering code consulting, sprinkler design, and hazard analysis similar to Response Fire Protection. They are the most direct large-scale competitor in the same service lines.
• Coffman Engineers: Coffman Engineers offers multi-discipline engineering including fire protection consulting, sprinkler and suppression design, and code compliance services. They overlap with Response Fire Protection on the fire protection scope while operating as a broader engineering firm.
• Telgian: Telgian provides fire protection engineering, code consulting, and life safety services to architects, developers, and building owners across the U.S. The service mix and target customers closely mirror Response Fire Protection's consulting and design offerings.
• Fire Protection Group, Inc. Fire Protection Group is a Southern California-based fire protection consulting and engineering firm serving developers, architects, and building owners. Their regional base and service portfolio closely align with Response Fire Protection's San Diego area office.
• Code Consultants, Inc. CCI is a fire protection and life safety consulting firm specializing in code analysis, fire sprinkler design, and hazardous materials consulting. They serve the same architectural, developer, and contractor segments as Response Fire Protection.

Others

• Schirmer Engineering Corporation (now part of Jensen Hughes): Schirmer was a long-standing fire protection and life safety engineering firm acquired by Jensen Hughes. It represents the consolidation pathway that PE-backed platforms like Response Fire Protection typically target or emulate.

Emerging players

• TERPconsulting: TERPconsulting provides fire protection and life safety code consulting, including plan review and hazardous materials analysis, to architects and developers. They are a smaller, specialty competitor in adjacent geographies with a comparable consulting-led model.
• Senez Consulting Engineers: Senez is a fire protection and life safety consulting firm serving architects, developers, and contractors across Texas. Geographic overlap with Response Fire Protection's Central Texas focus makes them a direct emerging regional competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/response-fire-protection

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Response Fire Protection