How Ember Helped Bay Cities Fire Suppression Work 3x Faster

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Bay Cities Fire Suppression handles a wide range of fire protection services, from quarterly and annual inspections to five-year tests, pump runs, and repairs, across commercial and residential properties in Northern California.

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Like many inspection teams, they were facing growing challenges behind the scenes. Inspection paperwork was slowing them down. Reports were being filled out by hand. AHJ submissions involved back-and-forth steps. And the same information was being entered more than once. First in the field, then again in the office.

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“There were so many places where things could go wrong,” said Erin Holmes. “And all of it just ate up time we didn’t have.”

The result? Longer turnaround times, more errors, and valuable hours lost to administrative tasks.

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That’s when Bay Cities turned to Ember Software to streamline their inspection process and bring everything into one place.

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The Challenge: Manual Reports, Duplicate Work, and Lost Time

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Before Ember, everything took longer than it needed to. Inspections were written by hand, scanned, and distributed manually, taking up unnecessary hours each day that could have been spent on more valuable tasks. Even small changes to a report required restarting the process and re-sending copies between the field and office.

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The delays didn’t stop at paperwork. Erin often had to block off 2–3 full days in the office just to catch up on reports and proposals. That time wasn’t billable and it wasn’t productive either.

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“I was handwriting every inspection,” Erin explained. “Then I’d scan it at home, email it to the office, and physically drop off paper copies. It was a mess."

At one point, she estimates she was losing 8 hours a week just sitting in the office writing reports.

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The Solution: One Platform to Speed It All Up

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When Bay Cities Fire Suppression adopted Ember, the impact was immediate.

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With Ember’s mobile-friendly NFPA and AES digital forms, Erin can now complete inspections on-site in real time. There’s no need to rewrite notes, fill out paper forms, or return to the office just to catch up. Everything is done as she moves through the job.

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“I can do everything as I go now,” Erin said. “And I’m not writing the same information on 10 different forms.”

AHJ submissions that once required scanning, submitting, and follow-ups are now handled with a single click. Reports go out instantly. And once submitted, they’re immediately available to the office to review the status.

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Behind the scenes, Ember keeps the office and field fully synced, removing the gaps that used to slow everything down.

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The Results: 3x Faster and 8 Hours Saved Per Week

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With Ember, Bay Cities has reduced their inspection and reporting time by more than two-thirds.

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• Inspections that used to take 2.5–3 hours (e.g., a 5,000 sq. ft warehouse annual) now take just 1 to 1.75 hours on-site
• Erin no longer spends 2–3 days a week catching up in the office - instead, she’s down to just 1–2 days a month

• She’s saving 8+ hours per week by eliminating manual reporting and office admin

“It takes me a third of the time now,” Erin said. “And the office isn’t having to re-enter everything. It's already loaded in.”

Faster turnaround times. Fewer mistakes. More time spent in the field doing meaningful work. And a whole lot less stress.

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A Smarter, Simpler Way to Work

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For Erin and the Bay Cities team, Ember has become more than just a software tool - it’s a smarter, simpler way to get inspections done right, without all the chaos.

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“It makes it a priceless investment for companies like ours.”

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Want to speed up your inspections and save hours every week?
Schedule a demo to see how Ember helps fire protection companies simplify ITM, reduce admin time, and get more done.

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