History

Approved Fire Protection Company was established in 1929 by a local fire fighter who recharged and serviced fire extinguishers out of his basement in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The business's growth accelerated in the 40s and 50s when the owner's son-in-law Jon Thompson became involved. Before taking over at Approved Fire, Jon was already a successful entrepreneur operating several other businesses. Jon first added engineered fire suppression systems to the foray of other products and services Approved Fire offered at the time. In these early days, Approved Fire Protection was the only company outside of the Detroit area to design, install, and service engineered systems, winning awards from automotive companies, cereal companies, and several “Dealer of the Year” awards from suppliers. The product line was further extended with the addition of fire alarm and monitoring systems.

In 1987 John Lewandowski joined Approved Fire as operations manager, and subsequently bought the company in 1990. Since then, Approved Fire has grown to a large fire protection company with offices in Michigan and Indiana. Today we have a very large percentage of long-term employees who bring hundreds of years of experience with them. We can honestly say we have the most qualified, experienced people in the business.

Since 1990 our growth has been phenomenal. We have added our own engineering department, headed by William Anderson who has more than 35 years experience in fire protection design. We have added many new licensed technicians, and have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in new equipment. We consult with many companies and organizations on how to manage very difficult hazards. We offer our customers a large selection of product lines, and we have worked with some of their manufacturers for more than fifty years. Because of these longstanding relationships we know these products and companies inside and out, and we know we are offering our customers products they can rely on.

Our attention to detail, our commitment to quality, our expertise, and the way we take care of our customers have not gone unnoticed. We are active in our local community, serving on many boards and committees in the fire and safety communities. We target five percent of our earnings toward local and related charities. We are known throughout the Midwest and much of the nation as a first class fire protection contractor.

We look forward to working with you to create the ideal protection system for your organization. We know we can serve you well and we have the experience and commitment to back up that promise.

Key Personnel

John A. Lewandowski, President, 35 years experience, licensed electrical contractor, licensed fire alarm technician, licensed mechanical contractor, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician, certified instructor

William C. Anderson CET, VP Engineering, 35 years experience, licensed fire alarm technician, and certified instructor

Chris Ronfelt CET, 25 years experience, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Tony Snyder, 20 years experience, account manager, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician, certified instructor

Don Hennessy, 20 years experience, installation and service manager, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Brent Austin CET, engineering, 10 years experience, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Warren Ostrander CET, 20 years experience, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Ron Guering CET, 20 years experience, licensed fire alarm technician, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Rich Goodwin, 7 years experience, account manager, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Randy Harvey, 7 years experience, shop manager, certified fire extinguisher technician, certified fire systems technician

Download a copy of the company brochure.