Fire protection Maintenance - Financial & Investment

Maintenance of a Financial & Investment Company, Gauteng

Elite Fire Protection was requested by the client to provide regular testing and maintenance of their fire protection system. The client makes a concerted effort to ensure the fire protection system is fully operational as the previous occupants of the building did not maintain the system well.

The client is largely based in South Africa and offers a wide range of affordable and comprehensive insurance, investment, and corporate solutions as well as financial advice. They were founded in 1845 and until 2018 employed 31 000 people.

ProjectFire Protection Systems
Size25000m2
Year of completionOngoing
ScopeMaintenance of fire protection system
DisciplineFire Protection

Project Scope

Maintenance

  • Every 3 months: Inspection and testing of 7 fire panels, the PA system and evacuation.
  • Every 6 months: service of smoke detection system

Process Outline

Fire Panels, PA System and Evacuation

Testing and inspection of the system occurs every 3 months.

Testing includes activating a break glass unit to see whether it activates the alarm on the fire panel and if it sends a message to the PA system for evacuation.

An additional means of testing the system is to activate two smoke detectors. This is done by holding up a smoke detector tester to one smoke detector to activate it and determine whether a signal is sent to the system to activate it. The smoke detector tester is then used over a second smoke detector which then should send a message to the PA system to evacuate.

This particular testing is carried out on all 7 fire panels, to ensure all 7 zones protected are fully operational.

Service of Smoke Detection System

Service of smoke detectors are carried out every 6 months as per the clients request. Every single device linked to one of the 7 fire panels needs to be inspected and tested over a few days. This inspection and testing include a visual and physical inspection of the devices.

Smoke Detection Devices

  • Smoke detectors
  • Manual call point/break glass unit
  • Flow switches on sprinkler control valves

Challenges

Working in an occupied building means inspection and testing can only be performed over weekends.