After not being accepted into the union as an electrician and being disqualified from becoming a policeman in Portland, due to color-blindness, Mike Wilson was told by a man in his church to try to become a fire sprinkler fitter. After being told what a fire sprinkler fitter was, he applied to a local sprinkler company in Portland in August of 1969. After waiting four months, they finally called and told him that he had been accepted.