Relocating CEO: California tax man 'is right on you'

There never was a question in the mind of Lisa Mortimeyer that she'd be moving the corporate headquarters of Flaresun Fire Group Inc. out of California.

"When you get out of the research-and-development phases, California is right on you," says Mortimeyer, chief executive officer of the company that develops specialized fire and rescue equipment.

She ticks off the tax reasons to move no personal income tax in Nevada, no corporate income tax, no inventory taxes and says the two-year-old company now is looking to consolidate its operations in Reno.

The company's first product, patented gear that helps rescue workers assist accident victims who are at the bottom of steep embankments car accident victims who are in a deep ravine, for instance, or miners at the bottom of a shaft or pit.

Mortimeyer says the gear allows smaller teams of rescuers to bring victims to safety, and it allows much faster rescues than existing technology.

"Time runs out for that person who is down the bank," she says.

The equipment can be used with any truck larger than a three-quarter-ton pickup. The product, dubbed the SwiftLift Victim Retrieval System, was demonstrated to crews from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District about 10 days ago and Mortimeyer is gearing up for five scheduled demonstrations to mining executives across northeastern Nevada in coming weeks.

It's also getting some attention for potential military applications and for use in rescuing large animals.

The system was developed by firefighters in Willits, Calif. Flaresun Fire Group got the equipment ready for commercial applications from the company's former headquarters at Ukiah, Calif.

And then it was time to move.

"Our goal is to have all of our operations in Reno as soon as possible," says Mortimeyer. "Nevada has been an instant catalyst for new business ideas and new growth."

The small company's operations currently are strung across the West Coast, with manufacturing operations in Portland, Ore.

But Flaresun isn't just a manufacturer.

Early on, Mortimeyer says, the company's founders realized that volunteer fire departments would be strapped to find $18,000 to purchase the SwiftLift Victim Retrieval System.

So Flaresun provides a turnkey fundraising system Web sites, press releases, scheduled demonstrations to its potential customers.

And Flaresun works with Community Leasing Partners of Manhattan, Kansas, to provide lease financing, a bridge that allows fire departments to get the retrieval system into operation even before they finish fundraising.

The company is developing more products for the fire and rescue markets.

"We go after the big problems, the ones that injure firefighters," she says. "We want to be in every corner where there is a problem."

So far, the company has been largely financed by its founders, with a smidgen of money from an outside investor.

A self-described serial entrepreneur, Mortimeyer says Flaresun has relied on sweat, and sweat equity, rather than cash to get itself going.

"We can easily account for every penny we've spent, because you could count them," she says.