Unfortunately, house and building fires happen every day in the United States. They can cost home and business owners thousands of dollars in repairs and can cause major injuries. However, the combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems a building can reduce overall injuries, loss of life, and property damage by at least 50 percent.
The cost of not keeping up to date with your sprinkler inspection and maintenance can be devastating. There are countless injuries and deaths that happened because of a sprinkler malfunction or ones that are damaged. These injuries and deaths can easily be avoided. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports no instance of a fire killing more than two people when there were fully functional fire sprinkler systems in place. These systems save lives, and it’s important to always keep up to date with your fire sprinkler inspection.
Fire sprinkler inspection protocol depends on the state and county laws that the building is located in. Typically inspections occur annually or quarterly, although some laws may require fire sprinkler inspections to happen every month.
A fire sprinkler inspection service will not typically last too long. The fire protection company will be looking at the sprinklers for corrosion, leakage, orientation and if there is any type of blockage around the sprinkler head. It will pass inspection if the sprinkler head looks normal and there is nothing that will block it in the event of a fire.
Fire sprinkler services can also include testing, which differs from inspection a few different ways. The technician will test the valves to make sure that the water flow is at the right pressure and flow. The technician is also likely to look at the alarm system to make sure that it is connected to the sprinkler system.
It’s important to know that a sprinkler head must be replaced if it goes off in the event of a fire. Regular testing and inspection will be conducted after the replacement to ensure that it is working properly.
Regular fire sprinkler inspection and testing are extremely important to the protection of life and well being. The more consistent the inspections and testing the better prepared you are to protect yourself and others in the event of a fire.
