The Fire Guy is No Superhero, But He Helps Keep People Safe

"Life safety” is a phrase that sounds self-explanatory, but a local business owner knows there's a lot more that goes into it than many would think. It's all the things in a building that make it safe in an emergency: sprinklers, fire alarms, emergency lights and fire extinguishers. It's the last two that keeps “The Fire Guy” busy.

The Fire Guy is the name of the business, and the guy behind it is owner Eric Lucik, a New Lenox resident for 25 years. He will come to your home or place of business to inspect and service, if necessary, fire extinguishers and exit and emergency lighting.

Although specifics can vary from town to town based on local fire department regulations, the service is required in some form or another for any business open to the public. Lucik is licensed by the state to perform the required inspection and certify emergency lights and fire extinguishers for one year. He even verifies that they are mounted properly and in the correct place.

After 25 years working with computers, Lucik was laid off in 2003. He spent the interim performing odd jobs, including maintenance with a school district, auto mechanic and tow truck driver (with his wife achieving tenure locally as a teacher, he could not take the risk of chasing other computer-related work out of the area).

It was actually a friend, who would later split from his partner and dissolve the company within several years, that brought him in to service life safety equipment. When the business was shuttered 18 months ago, Lucik realized that a lot of the clients already knew him personally and he also realized he could streamline the business and pass the savings on to customers.

“The economy was going into a downturn and the other company I was working for would charge a...mom and pop store...$55 and I was like, 'I can do this for a lot less than that, save all these people that are struggling a little bit of money every time," he said. "Help out the local business people.'”

With that thought, he immediately started his own company, The Fire Guy Inc.

To realize the savings he passes on to clients, Lucik works out of his home and drives a modest vehicle on service calls, which take him throughout the Chicago region and even in bordering states.

"I even have a customer in Wisconsin," he said. "The only reason I do that is because I have a place in Wisconsin and I stop and take care of him on the way up there. It works out really well, and pays for the trip up there that weekend!”

He's also avoided adding a fuel surcharge for his clients, despite having to drive around everywhere for his job. However, if a client suddenly requires immediate service involving a special trip then he will charge for the deviation. Otherwise he tries to work them in to another trip within a few days and skips the extra fee.

Lucik also has to contend with fluctuations in the cost for the material that he puts in the extinguisher, but the price changes are seasonal with very little change from year to year.

Lucik has picked up several national accounts, which are local service of major, nationwide companies, including Best Buy, 7-11 and Famous Footwear. But he especially enjoys having locally owned companies as clients.

“Basically got into it to do good for the small business owner, lower their cost in a certain area that's life saftey," he said. "And everyone has to have life saftey. That's just the way it is because you never know when you'll need it.”

The Fire Guy

• Phone: 815-790-5968
• Email: eric@thefireguyinc.com
• Website: www.thefireguyinc.com
• Patch listing: See business directory listing .