But shortly after, Ohrn received a bill for $60. He then noticed they switched out his fire extinguishers with others.
"My fire extinguisher was basically brand new," Ohrn said. "The ones that they left are really old."
The OCFA has received several complaints from small businesses in cities across the county.
"We don't contract out with anybody to do our inspections," said Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion of the OCFA. "We do our inspections on our own, so it will be an /*Orange County Fire Authority*/ employee."
Lately, officials said certain companies appear to be targeted where there are workers whose first language is not English.
"They're having the employees that don't speak English sign a piece of paper, then a few days later they come back with an invoice charging them for that inspection," Concepcion said.
A company named Fire Protection Systems Inspection or Orco Fire Protection allegedly got a Korean worker at one Orange County business to sign what looked like an inspection sheet. Two weeks later, a bill for more than $300 arrived.
Officials are informing businesses that the OCFA does not do repairs for businesses, but must conduct inspections every one to three years.
Authorities warn businesses to be cautious. The OCFA performs inspections for free and drive a county car.
"You can tell very easily that we have a unique Orange County Fire Authority patch on our shoulder and they'll have a badge," Concepcion said. "Ask for identification."
