Former firefighter and son team up to lead fire & safety firm’s Yorkshire expansion

A former firefighter with three decades’ experience is to spearhead a fire & security firm’s latest Yorkshire franchise.

Henryk Matysiak, 57, has been appointed director of Jackson Fire & Security’s new Sheffield franchise – the company’s second Yorkshire base having opened in Leeds in 2016.

Born and bred in neighbouring Barnsley, Henryk spent 30 years in the fire service, becoming an operational incidents officer as well as an instructor and health and safety officer before leaving six years ago to open a Subway franchise.

Joining Henryk within the Sheffield franchise territory as operations director will be son Alex, 29, who boasts more than ten years’ experience in the construction industry covering a wide range of trades in a project management role. His most recent role has involved working for a local electrical contractor installing a wide variety of fire and security systems for large retail chains across the UK.

Henryk explained how a conversation with Jackson Fire & Security’s managing director Steve Jackson encouraged them to utilise their years of fire safety training and installation work once again.

Henryk said: 

“We always wanted to diversify and we wanted to do something else, so we went along to meet Jackson Fire & Security to discuss their growth plans in Yorkshire.

“We like the local branch emphasis but I initially thought ‘I’ve had enough of fire’ but Alex persuaded me to give it some thought and we got talking to Steve Jackson and got on really well which made us think we’d give it a go and join the group.”

Henryk said the pair were excited to get started with the new venture, adding: 

“We set out what we were looking for and put our skills together and realised we could build a good relationship. My background will certainly help and Alex’s installation experience will too.

“It was down to trust, building relationships and the skillset we had. We’ve found Jackson Fire & Security very accommodating and we like the head office structure as it gives us the support we need.

“We know the South Yorkshire area and the people in it, and every time we came away from any meetings with Jackson Fire and Security, it all just seemed to fit together. We like the fact that we are a family run local branch with a great national support network.

“I have an understanding of the end product from a fire safety point of view as well as managing people while Alex knows the building industry well and his experience in that and the electrical industry will be invaluable. We both bring the very highest standards of workmanship and customer service and we pride ourselves on these two key aspects of our business which gives us a good solid base to grow.”

Jackson Fire & Security employs over 50 people across franchises in North Wales, North West England, Yorkshire, Teesside, the Midlands, Cambridgeshire, London and Surrey.

Formed in 1991, the company has built a reputation for quality, reliability and service and is NSI gold-accredited for fire and security systems.

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