Delta Fire growing as electric vehicle and wildfires rise

Delta Fire is the brainchild of Ian Gardner, an inventor and businessman who, 35 years ago, put his life savings on the line to launch a range of fire fighting equipment. 

His grandson Jordon King - now head of business development at the Norwich firm - said the move was a huge risk.

Founder of Delta Fire, Ian Gardner, with head of business development Jordon King (Image: Broadland South Norfolk Business Awards) (Image: South Norfolk Business Awards)

“His dad was horrified because he quit a secure job with clear progression. He had to make it work - he had two young children and his house was on the line.”

The multi-million-pound company, with clients from a range of sectors globally, boasts a team that’s almost doubled in size over the past three years.

Last year the team expanded its operation into a new environmentally-friendly facility on Broadland Business Park, giving it more space to keep up with its burgeoning order book.

Delta Fire team at Broadland Business Park facility (Image: Delta Fire)

Its rapid growth has been due, in part, to the business’s focus on designing products to keep up with the changing demands of fire fighting.

The global surge in wildfires, as well as rising cases of electric vehicle (EV) fires, has meant traditional equipment is no longer sufficient. 

Mr King said: “You can’t extinguish an EV fire the same way you would a normal fire, so we’ve come up with products to meet that need.

“With global warming and the wildfires we’re seeing as a result, unfortunately demand is only going to continue to grow for our products.

“It’s a lot of unfortunate events for the world, but we’re trying to do our bit to make sure the products are as good as they can be.”