National Fire Fighter Corp. is a family owned business based in Springfield, Oregon, dedicated to helping provide our customers with the products they need to protect themselves, their communities, and their property from the devastating effects of wildfires.
Our Roots
In 1945, Ernie Laing and his partner Sterling McReynolds set out to launch a welding supply business. Ernie worked as an engineer building air separation plants and when his firm, Industrial Air Products, was purchased by Liquid Air, it seemed like the right time for a new venture and Eugene Welders Supply was born. 15 years later, Ernie’s son Jerry and Sterling’s son Larry joined the company. Jerry really took to the business and purchased Sterling’s shares in 1980 (the early 80’s). In the 1990’s, Jerry’s sons Bob and Brent joined the business and eventually took the helm, allowing Jerry to retire. The name Eugene Welders Supply was changed to Industrial Source, which was more fitting as we expanded across Oregon with locations in Portland, Salem, Springfield, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford, and Coos Bay.
Fire Protection
In 1992, the Laings were looking to diversify. They purchased National Fire Fighter Corp., a local business focused on fire suppression supplies and service in operation since 1951, from Jack Clark. Since 1992, we’ve dedicated ourselves to being knowledgeable, honest, friendly and easy to work with. Our technicians are factory certified on most major systems and would be happy to provide you with a complimentary walk-through fire safety survey of your business to evaluated your code compliance and ensure that you are adequately protected. Since purchasing National Fire Fighter Corp., we’ve also worked on expanding our customer base across Oregon. In 2000, we purchased a business that shared our focus in Portland, Carbon Dioxide, Inc and in 2002, we began operating under the National Fire Fighter Corp. name in the Portland metro area. Since then, we have expanded into several other markets across Oregon. In 2020, the Fire Protection division changed its name from National Fire Fighter Corp. to National Extinguisher Service to better reflect its scope of work. Today, we have certified technicians serving customers across the Pacific Northwest, ensuring top-quality service wherever you need us.
Wildland Fire
In 1993, Brent Laing stumbled into a niche that would quickly become a major part of the Laings’ work - wildland firefighting clothing, gear and equipment. National Fire Fighter Corp. teamed up with Eugene business Western Shelter Systems, founded and then owned by Paul Bennett (a former owner of National Fire Fighter Corp.), to design a pair of wildland firefighting pants using flame resistant Nomex fabric. At that time, the industry was largely wearing treated cotton trousers, which were not very durable or comfortable. Although the price of these new “CrewBoss Brush Pants” was quite a bit higher than the old style cotton trousers, quickly after the pants started landing in the hands of government agencies, we started getting calls from across the country. Oregon crews, wearing the new pants, were travelling across the country to fight fires. They loved the pants and so did most people who set their eyes on them. "We knew then that we didn't have to focus just on Oregon," says Brent. "Because if Oregon doesn't have a fire season, someone else is going to have one and we wanted to be there." Soon after, we published our first catalog and started selling products on our website. "We decided early on that whether a customer spent $5 or $5,000, we would take care of them," Brent says. "In the beginning, customers would call us and be thrilled that we would be responsive and ship the same day. It's been successful and we tried hard at that. We still do. Our customers have come to count on us for that level of service.”
In addition to selling the highest quality wildland firefighting products from top manufacturers across the country, we expanded our business (and our building) to include our own manufacturing operations. Since then, we have been building mobile attack skid units—compact, easily adjustable units that can be mounted to nearly any vehicle or UTV, all manufactured at our headquarters located at 3500 Commercial Ave in Springfield, Oregon. Today, we manufacture skid units for state and local government agencies, fire departments, private contractors, and landowners.
Giving Back
One of the things we are most proud of is our dedication to giving back to the communities that help sustain our businesses. We eagerly contribute 10% of our net income back to our local and wildland firefighting communities through cash/merchandise donations and paid employee volunteer hours. Each employee is encouraged to volunteer at least 16 hours of their time each year during the work day and they are paid to do so. We love volunteering for organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, FOOD for Lane County, March of Dimes, Coburg Fire District and our local schools. Our employees are also involved in recommending and evaluating cash/merchandise requests. We love supporting and hold many organizations close to our hearts including Courageous Kids, Relief Nursery, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.