There’s a certain ring to solving real problems in the places most startups overlook. EPR Fireworks didn’t show up trying to impress VC panels with flash. They entered the U.S. fire and EMS market back in 2016 because they saw a system failing the people who run toward danger when the rest of us are running the other way.
While the tech world fumbled with simple solutions and support tickets that felt like sending a message in a bottle, EPR Fireworks quietly went to work. Nine years later, nearly 500 departments across 35 states are running on their platform, not because they made the loudest noise, but because they built the only RMS that actually works the way boots-on-the-ground fire and EMS professionals need it to work.
This isn’t theory, it’s lived experience. Co-founder and CEO Gilad Preger didn’t come from a fantasy world of SaaS pitch decks, he built his second software company after seeing firsthand how government systems break down under pressure. With COO Avishai Wach, VP Benny Shalev, and VP Giora Redler, EPR Fireworks assembled a team with actual firefighters and EMTs baked into the build. So when they say it’s purpose-built, they mean from the ground up, not a thin layer of red paint slapped on generic tech.
Now comes the gas. On July 16, 2025, EPR Fireworks announced its first external investment, a strategic growth round from Frontier Growth. After nine years of bootstrapped grind, they didn’t sell out. They brought in a partner who gets GovTech. Frontier Growth has already seen wins in the space with PowerDMS, GovQA, and ClearGov. Now they’ve added a fire-tested gem to their roster.
Tim Bechtold, Partner at Frontier, joins the board. Strategic minority stake. Majority ownership stays with the people who built it. That’s how you scale without sacrificing soul. The funding will light up their innovation roadmap, NERIS-compliant reporting, mobile response, AI workflow automation. Not just new features. Tools that save lives.
Here’s the lesson: you don’t need to go loud to go big. Solve a real problem. Serve your users like family. Build tech that doesn’t just check compliance boxes, it earns trust from departments that don’t tolerate B.S.
