Sirina Fire goes big time in the Big Apple and beyond

GARDEN CITY PARK, N.Y.—Twenty-one years ago, Sirina Fire Protection started out as a small sprinkler company. Today, Sirina, a full-service fire protection and suppression company based here, has about 250 employees and specializes in large projects that have included Yankee Stadium, The New York Times building, the American and Delta airlines terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and New York City's first casino at Aqueduct Raceway.

“We built this company from the ground up and we're very well-known in New York City,” Carl Filomio, President of Sirina Protection Systems, a subsidiary created 15 years ago to expand Sirina Fire's protection and suppression capabilities, told Security Systems News. Sirina now designs, installs and services fire alarm, fire suppression, and fire detection systems and also offers mass notification and evacuation systems.

Sirina, which also has an office in Manhattan, says it has “earned a reputation as one of the few contractors capable of handling major installations.” Filomio said the company is ideally suited for large and complex projects because of its experience, its large, expert staff, and its strong bonding capacity—which is in excess of $50 million.

“We have worked for almost all of the large construction companies in New York City, and have a great reputation,” Filomio said. The company, founded by Anthony Florez, chairman of the board, is an approved minority business enterprise, serving New York and New Jersey. Its clients include airports, hospitals, power plants, and other high-hazard facilities.

Filomio said that Sirina Protection's first job 21 years ago was at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. “We've been there ever since,” Filomio said of the hospital. “We are their preferred vendor on 68th Street.”

Filomio commented that Florez set strict hiring standards. Sirina will only hire professionally trained engineers, NICET certified designers, and well qualified supporting staff members. The company is also affiliated with two professional trade unions, one of sprinkler fitters and one of electrical workers.

Filomio said the sales staff includes specialists to meet changing industry demands. “The industry has evolved to the point where you're often  meeting with the customer's IT people and engineers, so we've gone ahead and hired fire protection engineers that are salespeople, so that they know what they're talking about,” he said.

One of the projects that Sirina, a Notifier Engineered Systems Co. (NESCO) distributor, completed in 2011 was the 1-million-square-foot Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct Raceway. This project included over 10,000 sprinkler heads, and multiple dry, pre-action, and FM200 clean agent systems.

Sirina also distributes Fike and Ansul products.