Certified Testing Specialists

What Certified Testing Specialists does

Certified Testing Specialists (CTS) is a privately held, founder-operated firm founded in 2002 and headquartered in Simi Valley, California, that delivers third-party testing and certification of building fire and life safety systems. The company's service portfolio covers fire alarm systems; life safety and building communication systems (including Fire Department Communication Systems, HVAC fan shut-down, smoke control, and central station notification); audible, visual, and voice evacuation systems tested for sound pressure, effective intensity, light pulse characteristics, and voice intelligibility per NFPA 72; central station signaling (DACT) systems; pressurized stairways and smoke towers; smoke control and smoke evacuation systems; and emergency generator power and lighting systems. Inspections are performed against pre-engineered Sequences of Operation and applicable NFPA codes, with deliverables consisting of comprehensive performance reports.

The business is operated by Donald Schadt, who holds the credentials that effectively constitute the firm's regulatory license to operate: California Electrical Contractor's License C-10 #795955, DAS #116682, LAFD Certification #R4026, and NFPA certification #2088113. CTS serves commercial and residential building owners, property managers, facility operators, and government/municipal buildings across Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, and Riverside counties through direct on-site service delivery. Pricing is quote-based with flexible scheduling (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly), producing a recurring professional services revenue stream.

The firm maintains no software products, APIs, patents, or external funding; its go-to-market is sales-led through the founder and a basic informational website. CTS references NFPA, UL, FM Global, NICET, and 24/7 Fire Protection Services as ecosystem links rather than formal strategic partnerships. The operating model is consistent with a small regional certified inspection practice dependent on the principal's personal credentials and local AHJ relationships, with limited documented investment in growth, technology, or organizational expansion.

Name

Certified Testing Specialists

Legal name

Certified Testing Specialists

Website

https://certifiedtestingspecialists.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Certified Testing Specialists is a privately held, founder-operated firm in Simi Valley, California that provides third-party certified testing and inspection of fire alarm, life safety, voice evacuation, smoke control, and emergency generator systems for commercial building owners, property managers, facility operators, and government facilities across Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fire and Life Safety Testing & Inspection Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Smoke Control & Fire/Smoke Damper Inspection & Testing (IMAIAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Third-Party Certification, Code Compliance & Regulatory Inspection (ASME/API/ISO) (EUAEAHAN)

Keywords

• Fire alarm testing
• Life safety inspection
• NFPA 72 certification
• Smoke control testing
• Emergency generator certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Simi Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Certified Testing and Inspection Services: Recurring professional testing and inspection services for fire and life safety systems. Services provided on flexible scheduling basis (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly) as determined by client needs. Includes comprehensive reports on system performance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Certified Testing Specialists is an independent third-party testing and certification firm for building fire and life safety systems. The firm tests, inspects, and certifies fire alarm systems, life safety and building communication systems, audible/visual/voice evacuation systems, central station signaling systems, pressurized stairways, smoke control systems, and emergency generator power and lighting systems. Services are delivered on-site at client facilities on annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly schedules based on client requirements, accompanied by comprehensive system performance reports.

Product overview

Certified Testing Specialists provides comprehensive third-party testing and certification services for building fire and life safety systems. The company offers a portfolio of testing services including Fire Alarm Systems Testing, Life Safety Systems and Building Communication Systems Testing, Audible/Visual/Voice Evacuation Systems Testing, Central Station Signaling Systems Testing, Pressurized Stairways and Smoke Towers Testing, Smoke Control and Smoke Evacuation Systems Testing, and Emergency Generator Power and Lighting Systems Testing. Services are delivered on annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and/or monthly basis as determined by the client, accompanied by comprehensive performance reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fire Alarm Systems Testing Certified testing of the function and integrity of fire alarm system components and circuits arranged to monitor and annunciate the status of fire alarm or supervisory signal-initiating devices and to initiate appropriate responses. Intended for building owners, property managers, and facility operators required to certify operational compliance.
• Life Safety Systems and Building Communication Systems Testing Functional and systematic testing of Fire Department Communication Systems (Sound Powered Phones or DC Powered Phones) and life safety systems including components and circuits for fire alarm devices, supervisory signal initiating devices, and ancillary controls such as HVAC Fan Shut Down, Smoke Control Systems, and Central Station Notification. Built for buildings with integrated life safety infrastructure.
• Audible, Visual, and Voice Evacuation Systems Testing Testing of sound actuated devices for acceptable and measurable sound pressure (dB), visual notification devices for Effective Intensity and Light Pulse Characteristics, and reproduction of prerecorded, synthesized, or live messages with voice intelligibility per NFPA 72 (2002) 7.4.1.4. Suited to buildings with mass notification or voice evacuation systems.
• Central Station Signaling Systems Testing Operational testing of DACT (Digital Alarm Communicator Transmitter) systems including the connection to initiating devices and verification of transmission to offsite Central Station Service. Intended for buildings that rely on offsite monitoring for fire alarm notification.
• Pressurized Stairways and Smoke Towers Testing Testing of pressurized stairway and smoke tower minimum requirements and operational characteristics against pre-engineered Sequence of Operation to establish acceptable means of egress using stairways. Targets high-rise and large-occupancy buildings with engineered egress systems.
• Smoke Control and Smoke Evacuation Systems Testing Testing of minimum Candela requirements for egress and minimum requirements for equipment operation per the acceptable Sequence of Operation supplied for smoke control and smoke evacuation equipment being tested. Aimed at buildings with engineered smoke management systems.
• Emergency Generator Power and Lighting Systems Testing Certified testing and inspection of emergency generator, power, and lighting systems required for building safety compliance. Suited to facilities with standby or emergency power and life-safety lighting requirements.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)minorOthersCompany maintains reference to NFPA as the primary standards organization for fire and life safety. NFPA provides the consensus codes and standards (such as NFPA 72) that govern the company's testing and certification procedures.
• Underwriters Laboratories (UL)minorOthersUL referenced as a key testing and certification organization in the fire safety industry. Company likely tests systems certified to UL standards.
• FM GlobalminorOthersFM Global referenced as a property and casualty insurance organization with testing and certification capabilities relevant to fire protection systems.
• 24/7 Fire Protection Services, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFull-capability fire protection organization offering design, manufacturing, assembly, installation, consultation, management, maintenance, and repair services. Listed as a partner resource on CTS website for comprehensive fire protection solutions.

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Sciens Building Solutions: National provider of fire and life safety systems including testing, inspection, monitoring, and integration services. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping fire alarm and life safety testing services.
• APi Group: Public holding company of life safety, fire protection, and specialty services businesses (e.g., APi National Service Group). Comparable as a broad incumbent offering certified testing, inspection, and compliance services through numerous subsidiaries.
• Pye-Barker Fire & Safety: Large multi-brand fire and life safety platform offering inspection, testing, monitoring, installation, and compliance services across the U.S. Directly comparable service mix (fire alarm testing and certification, life safety inspections) with far broader geographic scale.
• Cintas Fire Protection: National fire protection and life safety services division of Cintas, offering inspection, testing, and maintenance for alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, and suppression systems. Comparable as a broad incumbent providing recurring certified inspection/testing services to commercial buildings.

Direct peers

• Koorsen Fire & Security: Regional fire and life safety services company providing testing, inspection, and certification of fire alarm and suppression systems to commercial buildings. Directly comparable service offering and customer base, with a comparable recurring-compliance revenue model.
• 24/7 Fire Protection Services: California-based full-capability fire protection organization offering design, installation, maintenance, and testing services. Listed on CTS's own links page as a partner resource and directly comparable in regional California life-safety services.
• Fire Systems Inc. Fire protection services company providing inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire alarm and life safety systems for commercial buildings. Directly comparable third-party testing and certification model.
• Marmic Fire & Safety: Fire and life safety services company providing inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire alarm and suppression systems to commercial facilities. Comparable as a recurring-service testing and inspection peer with similar customer profiles to CTS.
• Fire & Life Safety America: Provider of fire and life safety inspection, testing, and maintenance services to commercial buildings. Comparable recurring certified testing model and customer base.

Regional players

• VFS Fire & Security Services: Regional fire and life safety services provider based in California offering fire alarm testing, inspection, and certification. Comparable service portfolio and California-centric footprint similar to CTS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Certified Testing Specialists