This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Illustrating the wide impacts of the recent U.S. apartment-building boom, a Provo company is gaining national publicity over its device designed to prevent kitchen fires.
FireAvert sells wall-plug gadgets for electric stoves that amount to sound-activated circuit breakers, cutting power to heating elements when it "hears" a smoke alarm go off.
Company founder Peter Thorpe notes that kitchen fires are common — and easy to avoid. And the well-documented surge in recent years in apartment dwelling, driven by young adults and downsizing seniors, is helping raise interest in FireAvert's products.
The company, Thorpe said, has focused primarily on selling to multifamily property owners and senior housing facilities, as a way to protect both residents and investments.
"If one person has a fire, that can affect the whole building," said Thorpe, who is also a full-time Provo city firefighter.
The firm's automatic stove shutoff, which typically retails for $195, was recently featured on the ABC reality series Shark Tank.
Since then, Thorpe said, sales have "exploded."
While demand is strong among single-family homeowners — particularly older ones — FireAvert's major customers are some of the country's biggest players in apartments these days: Bridge Investment Group Partners, Abbey Residential and WinnCompanies.
And Provo-based Peak Capital Partners, owner and manager of apartment properties across the country and one of Utah's fastest-growing companies, was an early investor in FireAvert.
Tony Semerad