Fire Safety in the Commercial and Industrial Setting
Commercial and industrial warehouses, depending on their size, are required to have fire protection systems in place. At minimum, smaller buildings require fire extinguishers, and as the size of the building increases and depending on the class of the building, will require hose-reels, hydrants, smoke detectors and fire sprinkler systems.
Each of the above systems, would require a design from fire sprinklers, escape routes to fire equipment. At Elite Fire Protection, we are able to assist with all fire protection needs, including inspections, design and planning, installation and maintenance.
Inspection of Property
To ensure that your building has a reasonable degree of protection, the first step is to call a reputable fire protection company to inspect and assess your property.
Inspections are useful to ensure that existing fire protection systems continue to operate without the risk of malfunctioning, determine when servicing of equipment is required, and for new buildings, establish what fire protection systems are required.
Inspections are also beneficial to identify risks which could have either been overlooked by a previous company, or where alterations were made to the building or warehouse since the initial installation.
Following the inspection, the fire protection company will be able to provide you with a report and a quotation upon request.
Fire Protection Designs
A major component in ensuring your business is successful and safe, is to ensure that you are prepared for risks that have not occurred yet, such as the dreadful event of fires.
Following an inspection and assessment of your property, the next step is to establish if the client has designs and block plans. The design process is important to ensure that existing fire protection systems coincide with the designs. The primary goal for fire protection designs to “map out” where specific fire protection is required to allow for safety and protection of your people and your property, and that should a fire occur, the systems in place are able to contain and extinguish fires while causing minimal damage. Here are some steps you can follow to achieve all those goals and get the fire protection system that perfectly fits the needs of your business.
There are some useful ways to proceed with designs for a new fire protections system which include:
- Compliance: Make certain designs are compliant with relevant regulations and codes
- Detection capabilities: Be smart about detection solutions and heat detectors that can notify you of a fire before smoke is present.
- Fire alarms: they are essential to alert employees and emergency responders that a fire has a started and its location.
- Fire suppression: include a fire suppression system to contain fires until it can be further extinguished.
Installation
Getting an inspection completed is an important step in getting your property fire safe and getting a reputable company to install the system is an even more vital step.
Installation of fire protection is not a job that anyone can be entrusted with. It takes a company and its employees or subcontractors the skills to follow the design and layout correctly, fabrication of materials required, no short cuts to installation and painting piping correctly.
An incident occurred approximately 3 years ago in South Africa where a section of a mall had visible sprinklers, but when access was gained into the roof, there was no piping connected to the rest of the system to feed water into the sprinklers in the event of a fire. It was then established that the previous company took a shortcut to complete the job as the client started rushing them for a timed launch.
Keep quality installation in mind when selecting a fire protection company to install this very essential service.
Maintenance
A fire protection system will not perform as it should if they are not serviced at the correct intervals. Do not spend the time and money in following all the steps to prevent and control fires, prevent, or reduce loss of damage and lives, get insurance for your property, and not maintain it. Not servicing fire protection equipment and systems increase the risk of malfunction.
According to the NFPA, statistics show that property damage is reduced by half to two-thirds when sprinklers are present. These stats only apply where the designs are accurate, installation has been carried out properly and has been well maintained. It has also been noted that in 59% of incidents in which sprinklers failed to operate, the system had been shut off.
It goes without saying that regular inspections of the fire protection system and equipment, and regular maintenance thereof is important in identifying human errors, as well as possible system malfunctions.
Get your turn-key solutions at Elite Fire Protection
At Elite Fire Protection we offer, inspections and assessments, designs, installation, and maintenance. If you work in an environment that requires fire protection and safety, we can help find the best solution for you, your property, and your people. Contact us today