WFP Fire & Security

16/04/2026

The most valuable people in any business are the ‘doers’ – the people who quietly, without fuss, get the job done with a smile, consistently and reliably.

People are the fabric of any business, and we take that pretty seriously at WFP, which is why I wanted to share some fab news about Tony, who has earned himself a seriously good reputation with us!

A couple of years ago, Tony joined WFP with something you can’t train: the right attitude.

He had a natural aptitude for fire and security systems, a genuine willingness to learn, and, perhaps most tellingly, he chose to take a pay cut to get his foot in the door, which tells you everything about how seriously he takes his craft.

Since then, he’s worked his way through our (unofficially legendary) engineer academy, from essential maintenance to remedial works and full fire alarm installations in live, operational buildings under tight deadlines.

Along the way, he’s completed a wide range of training, including fire systems, safe working practices, IPAF, ECS, Asbestos Cat B, which is all part of our commitment to investing in people who want to improve.

And that investment goes both ways because Tony gives back every single day in every interaction with clients, many of whom ask for him specifically!

Which is exactly why we’ve created a new role within WFP that Tony will be the very first to step into: Project Engineer.

When you work with WFP, you’re trusting us to turn up when we say we will and get the job done properly, minimising disruption while we do it.

It’s the standard we hold ourselves to and Tony embodies that with how dependable, hard-working AND easy to work with he is.

If you ever spot a cape tucked under his hi-viz… you might not be imagining it.

We’re incredibly proud of him and we’re confident that his new role will be one he excels in AND one that benefits all of our clients.

So, we’d like to say a huge congratulations to Tony, it’s a richly deserved promotion!

If you’d like to speak to us about an upcoming project, just hit reply or give us a call on 01277 724 653.

We’re always happy to help.

27/03/2026

Thank you to Hyfire for the invitation to your inaugural Partner Event at The Belfry Golf Club, Hotel & Spa.

A really well planned and enjoyable event, great to spend time with the team and see the ambition behind where you are heading.

We were also pleased to come away with the coveted Hotshot 🏆 Award😉.

Thank you to Ollie, Martin Lee, Gemma Hand, Brett and the wider team for having us. Great to be involved and contribute in a small way to what looks like an exciting journey ahead.

Loved it.

26/03/2026

I realised something this week…

If you put a group of business owners on a mountain, add a bit of speed, a bit of altitude (and a few late nights), you get some very honest conversations.

I was out in Sauze D’Oulx on the annual Evolve ski (and snowboarding) trip and, like most things like this, it’s not really about the skiing.

Although for the record, I didn’t come last in the slalom!
I did crash, but thanks to some clever editing, you never would’ve known… until now.

The real value of a trip like that is everything around it – the time on the slopes is effectively the cherry on top of the cake.

My personal highlight was celebrating my birthday by being serenaded with the Italian version of Happy Birthday in a mountain restaurant, which is a pretty unique experience.

Oh, and I even won a prize for being ‘the most lost’, which happened to encompass travelling the furthest to find my way back to our base (which came with the added bonus of having to fork out €80 for a cab back from Silvestre).

But a prize is a prize.

The chats on ski lifts that start off light and end up properly making you think, with Will asking me what my “levelling up” takeaway from the trip was…

And it’s not particularly exciting, but it’s about being more focused, better organised, making sure the basics are done properly, and focusing on the things that add value our clients, while also making people feel better about working with us.

Having the space to step back makes it obvious what you should be doing more of, and what you should probably stop doing.

I’ve put together a short video from the week to give you a feel of what went on – and I’d like to say a big thank you to Will Polston for making it happen and to Jess from Momentum for keeping everything running smoothly..

Good people, good conversations, and a useful reminder that sometimes progress comes from stepping away from the day to day.

Created with the App on my iPhone.

12/03/2026

Many moons ago, I decided to go it alone in the world of fire alarm installation and maintenance.

I’d finished my time in the Navy, and fallen into the world of fire alarms.

As it turned out, I was rather good at it.

What I wasn’t good at? Coping with the poor standards set by way too many companies.

It might be the elephant in the room, but I’m just going to come out and say it:

Businesses in this country are frequently let down by trade and service professionals, and have been for decades.

Turning up late…
Being rude, dismissive or condescending…
Making a mess and not clearing up…

The list goes on, and I’m willing to bet you’ve experienced all of those things, and that’s before you even get started on the quality of the work.

After a few years working for someone else, I decided enough was enough, and that businesses deserved better.

That was 23 years ago, and WFP is still driven forward by that exact same ethos: a desire to deliver excellent work and service that’s just as good.

It’s been a rollercoaster, with plenty of ups and downs.

We’ve got plenty wrong over the years, but plenty right too, and I couldn’t be prouder of the team we’ve built; a team that still sticks to that ethos like white on rice.

And a recent piece of feedback confirms that people still notice, people still care:

“I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude to the team at WFP, especially Tommy, Tony, and Ricky. They have been an absolute pleasure to have on site. Their professionalism, courtesy, and consistently high standards have been outstanding.

They were incredibly considerate toward the residents, maintained a spotless workspace, and made sure everything was clean and tidy at the end of each day — they even hoovered up without fail. Their positive attitude and work ethic really made a difference, and it has been a joy working with them.

They are, by far, the best sub-contractor that we have had on site in the last 3.5 years since we have been here.”

In a world of automation, of technology, of people not talking to each other, the human side is just as important as the technical side. We’ll continue to work tirelessly to excel at both.

Paul

24/02/2026

This weekend I did something new…

I sat on my daughter Ellie’s horse and experienced, properly, what it feels like to sit on a moving animal.

Ellie has ridden horses since she was about five years old and while I’ve been there along the way watching, supporting and dishing out the odd but of advice, I’d never actually hopped on the saddle myself.

But this weekend, the whole family got together at a horse riding and dog walking retreat, with the added bonus of pancake making tossed in there.

It’s not what I expected, though – I thought it’d be like riding a bike where once you’re on and you’ve figured out how to balance, you’re grand.

Far from it.

The movement is alive beneath you and from the second I sat atop the horse, you could feel just how much power it has and just how little control I had!

And my respect for people who do this regularly grew instantly (not that I didn’t have lots to begin with).

I relied entirely on Ellie guiding me through it, given that she’s got a lifetime of experience AND she’s now an instructor.

In a lot of ways, I was a lot like she was as a 5-year-old!

It also made me realise there’s a huge difference between being around something and truly understanding it.

Because I’ve spent years around horses, watching hundreds, if not thousands of rides and I really thought I understood how it all worked… until I actually sat in the hotseat.

When you’re outside your comfort zone and you’re dealing with something unfamiliar (particularly when the stakes are high), you want people around you who genuinely know what they’re doing.

Their calm is your calm, their confidence is your confidence, and their experience is the key to your safety.

At WFP, we often meet clients who are dealing with fire safety, compliance, and electrical systems that they are understandably unfamiliar with.

Sure, they’ve been around it for years, but sitting in the saddle is an entirely different experience.

That’s why we take our role as the calm, experienced guide incredibly seriously, ensuring that you benefit from every ounce of our experience to keep you safe and on the right track.

It was a fresh reminder of the respect I have for expertise, through my renewed respect for anyone who rides a horse.

And I’m incredibly proud of my daughter, not just for ensuring I didn’t take a tumble, but for being the sort of instructor I needed!

Paul

29/01/2026

What do the police do?

When we prepare new intruder alarm quotations, part of the design process requires us to take local crime statistics into account. It can be a sobering exercise, as we would all prefer to see zero crime. However, these figures reflect the reality of why alarm systems are often needed in the first place.

There is a more positive counterbalance to this. Essex Police publish a regular newsletter that highlights positive policing activity and community updates across the county.

Get the latest news, updates, and community stories from Essex Police in the Dispatch newsletter. Stay informed and connected across Essex.

27/01/2026

To quote Doc Brown from Back to the Future, Great Scott!

We’re not quite going back to 1985 here, but where on earth has the time gone?

Back in January 2017, Scott walked through the doors at WFP for the very first time and nine years later, he’s still here, just with a slightly bigger job title and a lot more responsibility.

A lot has happened since and for Scott, his journey has been pretty remarkable…

He began life in Sales before progressing to Projects Manager, then Contracts Manager and shortly after, he became our Contracts Director.

And today, Scott proudly leads the business as Managing Director.

That’s a testament to his determination, consistency and constant hard work with our customers, engineers, staff and everyone each and every day.

Scott has been instrumental in shaping where we are today and he’s an even bigger part of where we’re going this year and in the years to come, too.

For anyone that knows Scott, they’ll know he’ll hate every word of this because he’d much rather be singing the praises of others than having the attention aimed squarely at him!

But we feel it’s our moral duty to ensure that he knows just how much he’s appreciated (and the embarrassment is simply a bonus).

Thank you for the last nine years, for the leadership, the commitment, and the steady hand on the wheel, and for helping drive WFP forward every single day.

Congratulations and Great Scott, what a journey!

07/01/2026

We are delighted to have received our new membership certificate from Essex Wildlife Trust.

Local wildlife and natural spaces are incredibly important to us, and the work Essex Wildlife Trust carries out across Essex plays a vital role in protecting habitats, supporting biodiversity, and educating communities.

We are proud to support a charity that makes such a positive difference locally, and we would encourage other businesses to support their local wildlife organisations too. Together, we can help protect the environment we all rely on and enjoy.

01/01/2026

New year. Same principles. Higher standards.
Grateful for the trust, committed to better every day

23/12/2025

Barry Leeds celebrated a big birthday this week.

He was not in on the actual day, because at WFP Fire & Security everyone gets their birthday off. That rule exists largely because it is a nice thing to do, and because people like Barry would otherwise come in anyway.

Barry has been with WFP since 2008, which means we have seen him turn 50, and now somehow 60, while remaining largely unchanged. He is comfortable in his own skin, quietly delivers outstanding service, and long ago earned the title “Barry the Legend”.

Barry is not a man for fuss, which makes writing this mildly risky, but here goes.

Barry was my biggest ever signing, no pun intended. He joined us from what I would call the big league, and I remember him being surprised by how quiet the phones were in the early days. That worried me slightly, but it also gave me the push I needed to get on with selling properly.

That was exactly why I needed Barry. Someone calm, capable, and unflappable to steer the ship while I was out selling the dream to our very patient clients. He made a difference very quickly. He made me use the CRM properly, which is why we have records going all the way back to 2008 that actually make sense.

Someone said to me recently, “I like you Paul, do you know why?” I leaned in, eager as ever, and the reply was, “Because you have a Barry.” Cloning is probably illegal, so instead Barry trains our engineers. My competitors should probably send him thank you cards, as some of those engineers have gone on to make other businesses better. Having a Barry, plus a training room, has a wider impact than people realise.

Barry is also notoriously difficult to buy for. Angie Leeds and I have exhausted ourselves over the years trying to think of something suitable. A while back, during a rare moment of rest, Barry reflected on starting his career in electronics, back when things were built properly. He said he would love a proper project, old electronics, relays, logic, something real. Ideally an old non working pinball machine that he could really get his teeth into, and maybe use to help trainees learn some basics. He mentioned, with a cheeky wink, that there would be room for it in the training room.

A few years later, Scott and I were discussing what to do for this birthday and I remembered that conversation. I found someone who repairs old pinball machines and asked if he had anything that needed serious TLC. He did. Scott took one of the spare vans to Kent and collected an absolute beast of a machine.

We sang happy birthday in the office on the wrong day, as tradition dictates, gave him a few token gifts, then took him across the road to the training room and asked him to lift a tarpaulin. Think “The Repair Shop”, but in reverse. Barry was speechless, which was miracle number one. Miracle number two came later, once it was assembled and sitting in pride of place. That smile appeared. Rare as hens’ teeth, and very satisfying to see.

We are now looking forward to seeing it fully up and running, and to attempting to beat the high score. That may depend on whether Barry upgrades the coin slot to accept two pound coins. At the moment it still takes ten pence, which feels both historically accurate and very on brand.

Happy 60th Barry. Legend feels about right.

28/11/2025

We got a call from a small retail shop earlier this week because their heaters had packed up.

Given the plummeting temperatures, it was one we were straight on top of.

So, the next morning at 9am (the call was late in the previous day), one of our electricians headed over there and conducted a survey.

He got to the route of the issues, which were smashed sockets and damaged spurs, whilst onsite he also discovered they were due an updated EICR.

By 10.40am, Holly had the quote issued and back with them, just over an hour and a half after we first walked through their doors.

Now, I’m not telling you this for a pat on the back. I’m telling you because this is exactly what too many businesses don’t get when they request a quote.

It’s not purely about speed; it’s about recognising what’s important to the customer and why. In this instance, an immediate assessment of the situation was crucial before anything else.

The important factor here, which is often the case, was reducing the window where things can go from inconvenient to dangerous.

It’s why we’re committed to being the honest, timely, efficient WFP that we’ve been for 22 years and counting, which is why we’ll always price everything we do with a full explanation of what you’re getting and why.

If you’ve got anything you’ve been putting off or even if you’re still waiting for a quote from someone else, we’d be more than happy to pop over and get the quote over to you the very same day.

PS – Holly is dedicated to ensuring that you get fair and accurate estimates for essential repairs, she will chase you up, and remind you that things need to be fixed, either that or you’ll have Boyce to answer to…