Interview with
Raymond Clarke,
CEO Eagle Fire
Eagle Fire is a U.S.-based provider of comprehensive fire and life safety services, including inspection, testing, installation and maintenance of fire sprinkler systems, fire alarms, suppression systems, low voltage and security solutions. The company serves a diverse customer base across sectors such as retail, data centers, healthcare, education, government and military facilities. Cobepa acquired a majority stake in the business in July 2025.
Jean-Marie Laurent Josi & Raymond Clarke
We sat down with CEO Raymond Clarke who joined the business in 2006. He is the nephew of founder Harry Hoffon, who established in the company in 1987.
You joined Eagle Fire in 2006. How has the business evolved over the past 20 years?
When I joined, we were a tight-knit team of 42 people with a strong local presence. My uncle, Harry, who founded the business in 1987, built Eagle Fire on quality, integrity and robust procedures. Even as a small company, we wanted to operate like a large business organization. Trust was, and still is, fundamental to our identity.
For the first 14 years of my career, our growth was entirely organic. We expanded from a local player to a regional presence across the Southeast of the United States, growing to around 150 team members. That growth was largely customer-driven. Through inspection and testing contracts, customers asked us to deliver additional services and installations.
Our ambition was clear: to become a true full-service provider in fire and life safety. We wanted customers to be able to say, “Call Eagle Fire; they can handle it.”
Several milestones accelerated our development. A multi-state retail contract in 2008 expanded our geographic reach, followed by a major military contract in 2010 and our entry into the data center market in 2014.
In 2021, we partnered with private equity, which marked a new phase. The pace of our growth increased significantly. We strengthened processes and systems to enable scalability and began pursuing acquisitions. Strategic additions in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia expanded our footprint and transformed Eagle Fire into a super-regional platform.
Today, Eagle Fire is recognized as a leading provider of fire protection services. What are the core strengths of the business, and what truly differentiates Eagle Fire in a competitive and highly regulated market?
It always comes back to our core values: technical expertise, operational depth and a commitment to doing things the right way. We protect life and property. That responsibility is real and shapes everything we do. It means our work must be precise, compliant and reliable. We hold ourselves to high ethical standards and, when issues arise, we resolve them. We do not run from problems. Preserving that culture as we grow is essential, because it is ultimately what earns and sustains our customers’ trust.
Secondly, people are our greatest strength. We invest heavily in training and licensing, ensuring our professionals not only master their technical discipline but also understand the responsibility they carry. Through the Eagle Fire Academy, we provide structured training paths across all disciplines, leadership development programs and full support for licensing and continued education, equipping our team members to grow their careers while upholding the highest standards of safety and compliance. I’m convinced that personal success goes hand in hand with company success.
Finally, our full-service model is a clear differentiator in the market. Many companies specialize in a single discipline. We aim to provide integrated solutions so customers can rely on one trusted partner for all fire and life safety needs.
What are your strategic priorities for the next phase of growth?
Our focus is to continue our to grow intentionally both organically and through strategic acquisitions. It is not about growing for the sake of growing. We want to grow in a way that enhances our expertise, capabilities and customer relationships.
We will continue expanding our geographic footprint where it makes sense, while ensuring operational scalability and consistency. Growth through acquisitions will remain deliberate and disciplined, focusing exclusively on like-minded businesses that share our values, commitment to quality and a long-term mindset. Preserving our culture is non-negotiable, and every new acquisition must strengthen, not dilute, Eagle Fire’s culture.
Why did you choose Cobepa as your new partner?
After more than five years in private equity, our team had matured and gained experience operating at a different speed and scale. When returning to the market in 2025, we were very intentional about selecting the right partner.
Any private equity investor can help a company scale, but we were focused on finding a partner that was aligned with our culture, values and long-term vision.
Cobepa demonstrated a clear understanding of our business and our priorities, particularly the commitment to people development and intentional expansion. At the same time, we recognized the need to strengthen our infrastructure and prepare for the next stage of growth. Cobepa brings experience, M&A capabilities and structural support that enable us to move to that next level.
Cobepa has been supportive without being intrusive.
How would you describe the partnership so far?
Very collaborative and highly-aligned. Cobepa has been supportive without being intrusive. The team challenges us, asks the right questions and provides constructive input, but they are not here to tell us how to run the business day-to-day. They back our strategic priorities while allowing us to remain the operators. That balance is important. We share the ambition to build a market-leading platform through intentional, disciplined growth, and we are fully aligned on that objective.
It’s not about growing for the sake of growing. We want to grow in a way that enhances our expertise, capabilities and customer relationships.
We protect life and
property. That responsibility is real and shapes everything we do.
