Who is Firefighter.com?
Founded in 1998 Firefighter.com is firefighter family owned with headquarters in Stuart, FL. Firefighter.com was created by me, Thomas- firefighter/paramedic (now retired) and my wife, Janet- a computer programmer. Together we have grown our family-owned small business from an unknown start-up to a well-established online retail business with loyal customers across America. Our privately held company enjoys many long-term relationships with vendors, affiliates, and manufacturers. Many of our vendors are also firefighters with small businesses. These long-established bonds enable Firefighter.com to continually serve its customers in a responsible and reliable manner. We are also an officially licensed vendor for IAFF items.
So, how did we get here?
Well, with one pair of gym shorts shipped out of our garage. No, this is not a joke. After working as a computer programmer for 20 years, Janet wanted a more flexible job that allowed her to work from home and raise our 3 children. She worked to develop the online site from scratch, as there was no Shopify in 1997. Inspiration came from my 20-year career as a firefighter paramedic in Broward County, FL, and that brotherhood our family was a part of. At first, Firefighter.com was an informational site for training and communication among firefighters. Customers weren’t very confident in buying products online back then. Unfortunately, the informational website was before it’s time and the income generated would not allow Janet to work from home full time. In the 90’s, firefighting news, information, and communication was mainly through trade magazines- not online. Therefore, my wife and I designed a pair of Firefighter gym shorts. At that time, most of our effort was convincing customers that if was safe to shop online. Soon we couldn’t keep our gym shorts in stock, my fellow firefighters loved representing the brotherhood on duty and off duty, and the wanted more. In 2008 and as a IAFF union member, I was able to receive the International Association of Firefighters Official License to sell union products to union members that help union members find the best products to showcase the union pride.
So How About Now?
We have grown with the times, offering more products, retaining more return customers, and establishing excellent vendor relationships. In 2015, Kelly, our daughter, officially joined firefighter.com. We say officially because she has always been involved. Kelly had always taken an interested in our family business, helping whenever she was out of school and during the holiday rush, folding apparel, packing orders, ect. She loved it. After finishing her Masters in Accounting and retaining her CPA license, she asked to join and now runs our business. Although I am still involved, I am happy and proud to pass along the reins to Kelly, allowing her to advance the business with the ever-changing online retail environment.
Our Core Values:
We believe Small Businesses are the foundation of America, so we are proud to say that we have remained a family run operation for the past 20+ years and work with vendors who are also Small Businesses, mostly are firefighter owned. We also believe that you, our customer, are the most valuable aspect of our business. We value your commitment to the firefighter brotherhood, so we are committed to offering you the best products to showcase your pride. We value your hard-earned income, so our prices are set low and competitive. We value your time, so we will ship as quickly as possible, will answer your emails within 2 days (we don't work weekends), and if you need to call us, you will talk an actual human. We do not believe in putting you on hold, if we are outside of business hours or on the phone with another customer, it will prompt you to leave a voicemail for us to return. Call it a bonus, we also ship all our products from the good ole USA.
Our Mission:
To offer a wide variety of quality Firefighter and First Responder products and gifts at Great Deals with excellent Customer Service.
Accolades:
Better Business Bureau Accredited Business – Firefighter.com has had an A+ rating with the BBB for numerous years, but in 2018 we decided to take it a step further and have the BBB review our company for Accreditation. We are proud to have earn the BBB Accredited Business certification and are dedicated to upholding the BBB’s Ethics standards and are happy to be a part of their 100 plus years of being a trusted source for consumers. If You Love Us, Please Review Us! It helps us more than you know! Click Here
IAFF Officially Licensed Retailer- We are one of few companies who are approved by the International Association of Firefighters to use logos in creating products for union members. We were granted this privilege in 2008 and continue to uphold the IAFF quality and standards. We also donate a percentage of each IAFF sale to the IAFF Burn Center.
Giving Back
We believe in giving back to the community. We are proud to donate money or products to IAFF Burn Center, National Fallen Firefighters Foundations and Missionary Flights International.