In 1959 Tom started National Fire Equipment Ltd. in Windsor in the basement of the family home. The company specialized in standpipe sales, service and system installations in the South Western Ontario area.
National later joined forces with Canadian Fire Hose Corp. (CFH) in 1965 and Tom uprooted his family and moved to Montreal. The sixties and early seventies were turbulent times in Quebec with the FLQ crisis among other things but was also a time of enormous growth with many mega projects such as James Bay and Expo 67 just to name a few.
In 1973 Tom moved back to his home town of Toronto and established the new National Fire Equipment Ltd. head office in Scarborough. Shortly thereafter Tom and his partners started Mercedes Textiles Ltd., the premium hose manufacturer in Canada today. National Fire continues to supply a complete line of Mercedes fire hose products to the municipal, industrial and forestry fire services.
By the mid 1980’s, National Fire Equipment Ltd. became the leading supplier of Standpipe and Hose system components in Canada and had established representatives in most major centers from coast to coast as well as adding a branch office in Burnaby, British Columbia.
In 1991 National Fire diversified into the fire sprinkler markets and eventually opened several offices across Canada including a wide range of fire sprinkler products, steel pipe and fittings along with fabrication services.
Prior to Tom’s retirement, he became active in the company’s export opportunities working with agents and representatives throughout the Middle East and South America.
Tom was an avid collector of antique cars – his favorite being a fully restored and authentic 1934 Ford Cabriolet Convertible. He and his wife Selena loved to see the world and they traveled extensively. Tom was known for his quick wit and incredible sense of humor. He once said about his military career "if it wasn’t for the fighting and people shooting at me, the army was the best thing to happen to me".
Tom was always thankful for his original associates (those former power house guys from the army who have left their marks on the entire industry), the staff who have come and gone over the years and the hard working group that is with National Fire today. He was always thankful to all of National Fire's suppliers in Canada and around the world but most of all, he was sincerely thankful for the customers whose patronage had made it all possible.
If you wish to honour Tom’s memory the family would appreciate contributions be made to the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre
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