The C&M Fire Alarms Team at the City Business Centre, Horsham (© AAH/Alan Wright)
38
BLAZE OF GLORY
HORSHAM FIRE ALARM SPECIALIST CELEBRATES 50 YEARS C&M Fire Alarms in Horsham is celebrating 50 years since its foundation. Rod Stewart was high in the charts with ‘Maggie May’ and the country was days away from the first ever episode of Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game when Robin Carter launched his own business. He was soon joined by friend Ken Marsh and the two endured testing times before building a successful brand. Today, C&M’s vans are a familiar sight, with a team on nine engineers carrying out installations, service and maintenance of fire alarms.
Starting Out... Robin has been in the trade since 1959, starting as an apprentice at London-based company Strand Electrics before joining Dunford Fire Alarms, a Newcastle-based firm that capitalised on new legislation on fire safety. “Smoke detectors were new and were being installed everywhere,” recalls Robin. “Before then, if you wanted to sound a fire alarm, you had to activate it manually.”
Having been promoted to supervisor, Robin took on a new engineer, Ken Marsh, and they both progressed through the ranks until Robin felt he had the knowledge to set up his own business. “I knew about electrics but didn't have a clue about starting a company!’ he admits. “Fortunately, a friend introduced me to a solicitor and an accountant, who told me I needed £200 to set up, which was a lot back then. I remember my father telling me, “whatever you do, make sure it's a limited company because you’ve a mortgage!” So, I did.” He was joined in the new venture by brother Peter and friend Ken, combining the surnames Carter and Marsh to form C&M. They ran the business from Robin’s home near Croydon, with his wife Hazel taking on the duties of secretary while also raising a family. The company focused on fire alarms for industrial, commercial and residential businesses rather than homes, but also undertook electrical contracting jobs to keep busy.
Ken recalls: “In the early years, we had to work three day weeks. Everyone was struggling as we had miner strikes, recessions, you name it. Like most people, we had to do odd jobs to make ends meet and sadly, Ken had little choice but to find employment elsewhere.”
Building a Brand The business turned a corner when it took on sub-contracting work for an established firm, Safety Alarm Services (SAS). Although this brought Ken back into the fold, it meant travelling to Liverpool and Birmingham, far from home, and Peter decided to step away from the business. Robin says, “We spent Monday to Thursday away and came home on Fridays to carry out any local work. Every day, we’d start at 7am and finish late at night, so it was hard work. One night, we were walking back to the motel when we smelt smoke. Being in the trade, we investigated and found it was