2026 Dynamic Dozen No. 6: 360 Fire Protection LLC

SBJ: What has been key to your recent growth?
Rick Fishback: Fire protection is among the No. 1 sought-after groups for private equity companies to buy. When we came in, there weren’t very many, if any, mom-and-pop places. We came in with the mindset of bringing back the old-school way of doing business. Call day or night, you get a live person.

SBJ: What’s your top issue when it comes to managing growth?
Fishback: Cash flow. A lot of companies we take care of are corporate-level companies, so it’s always net 30, net 60, net 90. It’s having to front all that cash until that payment comes out. I’m not going to say it’s a struggle, but it’s an obstacle. We attribute a lot of our success to the way Guaranty Bank backed us in the beginning. With a business that grows like ours, you have to have a relationship of that sort, unless you have a bunch of money, but we’re just blue-collar, faithful people.

SBJ: What has the company’s growth enabled you to do?
Fishback: I would say probably expand. There’s such a need for what we have. Being able to pivot and grow in multiple directions has been a big factor to that.

SBJ: Is your fast growth sustainable?
Fishback: There’s not an end in sight – we are projected to grow another 35%-40% this year. You have to understand – in the fire protection world, fire marshals are out there, and when they have to write someone up, the customer panics. You call all the companies to help you and it’s “Press 1 for this; leave a message.” Every time you call me, you get someone. When you get wrote up by the fire marshal, you need somebody right then.

SBJ: Is there such a thing as growing too fast?
Fishback: We’ve been told that several times, and we’re starting to believe it. But we’re grinders. Nobody minds to step in and wear a different hat. When you’ve got people willing to do that, it enables you to grow and keep up with it.

SBJ: Where is the tipping point?
Fishback: The theory was, when the fire was full of irons, slow down. My business partner said, “Why don’t we just start more fires?” We keep obtaining very, very good employees. We brought on Ryan Riggs as our new chief strategic officer. He was with O’Reilly [Auto Parts], so he’s used to scaling a lot larger businesses than we are. We have got it where it is, me and Andy [Smotherman]; Mr. Riggs will take us further on – to infinity and beyond.

SBJ: Have your goals changed as business has taken off?
Fishback: We’re learning that you don’t have to scale as far to be successful. Our approach in the beginning was to have several offices bringing in revenue, but if you have good-quality service, you don’t have to have multiple offices, so that has shifted a little bit.

SBJ: What is the best business advice you’ve received?
Fishback: “Don’t trip over dollars to pick up nickels.” It’s all right here – the dollars are right here. Why should we go to Michigan or Illinois to make less money with more travel time and exposure? You don’t have to wear yourself thin when everything you want is right here.