A&A Fire Protection

A&A Fire Protection is a fire sprinkler contractor based on Interchange Boulevard in Greenville, South Carolina, that has been in business since 1977. It designs, installs, inspects and renovates sprinkler systems for commercial and residential properties, and its crew includes sprinkler fitters and state-certified backflow specialists. It also runs 24-hour emergency service across the Upstate. The service area covers Greenville, Anderson, Spartanburg and Greenwood, plus Asheville, Gastonia and Brevard in western North Carolina and parts of north Georgia. On Oct. 19, 2026, Century Fire Protection, a FirstService subsidiary, bought A&A. President Jake Gilstrap keeps running the business and keeps a minority stake, and the price wasn’t disclosed. Century had announced two other fire protection acquisitions in May.

The owners publish their home phone numbers. Jake Gilstrap’s cell number — 864-304-6422 — sits on the website next to the office line. For a sprinkler contractor selling 24-hour emergency response, that is a more convincing claim than any slogan.

The company’s ownership history explains some of that. A&A was started in 1977 by the grandparents of the current owner. The grandfather sold it in 2004, and in 2016 Jake Gilstrap, son of the original owner, bought it back into the family — four generations in and out of the same business. Fitters and backflow specialists on staff carry more than 120 years of combined experience between them.

Emergency calls carry a stated maximum two-hour response, honestly qualified as dependent on travel time from Greenville. After hours, callers reach a person rather than a machine, through 24-hour on-call personnel.

The installation sequence is worth understanding because it is where the design work sits. A NICET certified designer reviews code compliance and water supply, the authority having jurisdiction signs off, and then the company’s own local fabrication shop builds the system. Field crews pull drawings electronically on tablets and can reach the design team directly when something on site does not match the plan. The same designer who ran the project hands over submittals, permits and as-builts at closeout.

Standards are set at the crew level too. Every foreman is required to have at least five years in the trade, and a 100 percent hardhat policy is in force, which the company says meets or exceeds OSHA recommendations.

Three suppression types are offered — wet pipe, dry pipe and preaction — and the choice is usually dictated by temperature rather than preference. Wet systems suit spaces held above 40 degrees Fahrenheit; dry systems are for anything at or below that. Three-dimensional design and BIM modeling are available on request, and the company credits design-build delivery plus in-house code research with saving general contractors and owners money.

The work is not all new construction. Renovations of existing systems, relocating heads during a tenant upfit, and corrections after an insurer or fire marshal deficiency notice are all routine. Project history includes historic sites and round tent-like structures alongside conventional buildings. Above and below ground hydraulic testing and underground fire protection are offered, and training and estimates are listed as standalone services.

A small detail that matters in finished rooms: residential heads can be flush-mounted with cover plates ordered to match the room’s paint.