Consider it a heavy-duty laundromat.
For firefighters exposed to unseen hazards of germs, pathogens, bacteria and micro-organisms, there are few places to have their grimy bunker gear properly cleaned and treated.
Enter Jeannette and Rickart Thomsen, who originally started Sani-Gear Fire in 2003, with their industrial washers and big entrepreneurial hopes on cleaning hockey equipment.
The couple got into the business quite by accident.
For 15 years, they ran a highway tractor trailer dealership in North Bay until a major snafu with a bad contractor, who didn't pay his sub-trades, scuttled their expansion plans and deep-sixed their business.
Out of a job, Thomsen spotted a newspaper ad from a Kelowna, B.C. company which sold industrial washers that cleaned the mouldy smell out of sports equipment.
He decided to go after it and gathered $65,000 from family and friends to purchase one.
He bought an Esporta washer and extractor used to wash, sanitize and deodorize soiled clothing. It was originally designed to clean harmful bacteria and contaminants from sports gear.
The ISO-registered business didn't immediately take off. Thomsen found out few recreational hockey players even bothered to sanitize their grungy, smelly gear.
"We had to diversify very quickly," says Rickart. "Luckily the first run I had with the machine was a load I did for free for the North Bay Fire Department."
Today with 10 employees, they cater to more than 100 fire departments in Ontario, parts of Manitoba, with Rickart looking to penetrate into Quebec.
A big turning point was landing the contract to clean all of the bunker gear of the City of Ottawa's 43 stations.
To handle the order, they got an Ontario Grow Bond to knock down a wall and expand into an adjoining commercial property.
The bunker gear, consisting of the outer shell coat, pants and interior liners, are worth between $1,000 and $2,500. Smaller departments need the suits back quickly, so the company guarantees their return by courier within 48 hours.
When the soiled bunker gear arrives, it's put through a hydrostatic tester to determine if it can repel water, then decontaminated with soap containing special enzymes. "It's totally biodegradable," says Rickart, "nothing here is toxic. It can go down the city sewer."
Once washed, it's hung up to dry with fans. The windows of the downtown Wyld Street location are tinted because bunker gear can't be exposed to ultra-violet rays.
They employ a microbe shield treatment which destroys any micro-organisms and bonds itself to the suit permanently
A group of seamstresses in one corner of the shop repairs any rips and replaces liners or missing button snaps.
Since his machines specialize in mould removal, people often bring in life jackets, boat cushions, canvas tents and bulky camper tops, or fabric soiled with pet urine. Some hikers have brought in backpacks for cleaning.
"We hate to turn away any business."
