Keeping your business or institution safe from fire is a daily endeavor. It requires you stay up-to-date on the latest fire inspection system technology, regularly spread awareness and maintain good day-to-day habits even when the risk seems low. When some buildings are under higher risk than others, with fire running the gamut from damaging to deadly, contacting a fire alarm contractor will go a long way in keeping everyone safe. Fire professionals are well-versed in the art of addressing and improving the fire needs of any given establishment and can make your workplace safer in the span of a single visit. Do you have a good evacuation plan or fire suppression system in place? Let’s take a look.
How Common Are Fires?
One of the deadliest and most reoccurring risks of modern day businesses are fires. Hotel and motel fires, for example, cost an estimated 15 deaths and 150 injuries on an annual basis. Additionally, hotel and motel fires reach nearly $76 million in property losses. With fire alarm inspection services these figures can be drastically reduce — studies have shown 91% of all reported structure fires large enough to activate sprinklers, making these an absolute must in all situations. Some areas have been found to be more high-risk than others and often see far more attention from local fire departments.
What Causes Fires?
Even a tiny spark can cause a massive fire. Electric malfunction has been found to be the leading cause of non-confined fires in hospitals and clinics, adding up to 19%, and confined cooking fires account for 55% of all medical facility fires. Many attributes can be traced to common fire outbreaks, including close areas and insufficient ventilation. The purpose of the NFPA 75 has been to set forth the minimum requirements for the protection of both IT equipment and IT equipment areas, ranging from smoke corrosion, heat and water.
What Are High Risk Areas?
Fires are exacerbated by a few common factors. These include low ventilation, regular exposure to smoke and large groups of people. The four property classes that account for half of all high-rise fires are hotels, apartments, offices and facilities that care for the sick. According to ongoing studies by the NFPA, American fire departments responded to over 1,200 fires in hospitals back in 2010. Ongoing data has seen automatic extinguishing equipment in 47% of hospital fires between the years 1980 and 1984 — this figure has risen to 78% in later years.
What Is An Evacuation Plan?
While commercial fire protection is necessary to curb the onset of a fire until help arrives, an evacuation plan involves getting any and all people in the area to safety. A survey of nearly 120 businesses found only 35% having a fire evacuation plan in place — this number is far lower than where it needs to be and unnecessarily puts workers and customers at risk. An evacuation plan includes easily accessible exits as well as how and where to call for professional help. A fire alarm inspection can ensure you’re able to identify a fire no matter what.
What Should I Do To Protect From Fire?
The first step to protecting from damaging fire is to request for fire sprinkler testing and fire alarm inspection. A professional can gauge the risk of your particular establishment and figure out which forms of technology you’re lacking, be it fire suppression or an up-to-date evacuation plan. Dry and wet chemical systems in the area of a fire have been found to operate in 81% of reported structures large enough to activate operational equipment — data centers are particularly vulnerable due to the nature of holding valuable data and resources. A fire alarm inspection should be done on a frequent basis to ensure the risk is as low as possible. When it comes to preventing fire, it’s better to be proactive than reactive.