Company History

OFS (Ough Fire Systems Ltd) was founded in Barrie in 1966 by Mr. John Ough Sr. and incorporated in 1971. The company was founded to meet the needs of Central Ontario's growing population base and industries need for portable fire equipment supplies and service.

The roots of the company began with becoming the original dealer for the Safety First brand of kitchen exhaust hood fire suppression systems for restaurant and hospitality kitchens. Operations grew from that business line to include service to portable fire extinguishers and other fire equipment.

In the early 1980's John Ough Sr. retired and the business was purchased by brothers John Ough Jr. and James Ough. In the following years, OFS continued to grow and expand in terms of staff and business lines. With expansion came larger premises and the decision was made to build our current head office property at 16 Lennox Drive, Barrie. This property and building is fully owned and operated by OFS.

With continued growth, a subsidiary office was opened in Newmarket, Ontario. In this time period, OFS also established a sister company; OFS Commercial Appliance Service This division supplies parts and service for almost all equipment that would be located in a commercial food service operation.

In the early 1990's John Ough Jr. retired and his interest in OFS was purchased by brother Jeff Ough. OFS continued to grow and prosper, increasing full time staff from 10 employees in the late 1980's to over 30 staff as of today. Our business lines have expanded to include all types of commercial and industrial fire prevention systems and equipment including fire alarms, sprinklers, extinguishers, emergency lighting, restaurant exhaust hood suppression systems, and specialized custom design fire system solutions. We have built strong relationships with all major fire and cooking equipment manufactures and suppliers, but remain independent and flexible in choosing the right solutions for our valued customers.

In 2007, due to growth, our Lennox Drive head office building was expanded more than doubling our warehouse and office space. OFS continues to be the area's largest full service independent commercial appliance and industrial fire protection supplier and service agency.