Everyone loves to sit around a bonfire, relaxing and enjoying the warmth and the dance of the entrancing flames. Fireplaces keep us warm during cold winter nights, and we have adapted the use of fire to cook our food. Properly handled and respected, fire can be of great use. But unfortunately there are too many cases where uncontrolled or mishandled fire causes incredible damage. There are now fire protection systems in place that help to reduce the chances of a fire raging completely out of control to the point that it consumes entire rooms or buildings or the worst possible outcome, taking lives. Buildings with fire sprinkler systems are deemed much safer, and should a fire start, the occupants will have a much better chance of escape and survival.
Fire alarm contractors to the rescue
Many building codes require the installation of some sort of fire safety feature, and in many cases, this will include a sprinkler system. According to the National Fire Protection Association, or the NFPA, there are no records of any fire killing more than two people in a building where the sprinkler system was in place and operating properly throughout the entire building. It is no wonder that the addition of sprinkler systems in public buildings is on the rise. But even the buildings that do not have a sprinkler system should at least have a proper amount of fire alarms, and they need to be kept in working order at all times. Fire alarm contractors can install and even maintain these life saving machines, but if the people in the building interfere with them in any way, the fire alarm contractor cannot be held responsible.
Being prepared for the situations you hope against
No one wants there to be a dangerous fire. But being prepared just in case could end up saving lives. This is why schools and many other places will have routine fire drills, so that the people in the building will know exactly what to do if that unfortunate event does occur. And these prevention and preparedness training techniques can cover quite a few aspects. For example, if a hospital or other medical building is undergoing some renovation or another type of work project that requires the fire alarm system or the sprinkler system to be disabled for more than a specified number of hours within a 24-hour block, special procedures must be followed. The hospital will need to establish a full alert fire watch, and the local fire department will need to be notified of the fire warning system’s disabled status. A fire alarm contractor can easily manage the functionality of these systems, but everyone should be well versed in fire safety and the first response plans as well as the evacuation plans in the event of a fire.
Protecting everyone and everything from fire
Being ready for a fire could prove to be the difference between a disastrous, dangerous, and potentially deadly situation, and a slightly scary, overall inconvenient situation that has been quickly and efficiently contained. The main concern when dealing with a fire, is of course the preservation of life. Getting everyone out of harm’s way should always be the main priority. But once everyone is accounted for, there is the question of property and material damage, which could prove catastrophic for businesses. For example, data centers can be at risk for fire if all of the electrical elements are not properly monitored and maintained, and those centers are typically not holding useless data. A fire that is sparked and rages out of control in such an environment could have serious repercussions, as countless files of critical data could be lost.
Businesses around the world pour in great amounts of money to preserve and grow the product or service that they offer or work with. The money spent on data centers alone can reach up to $149 billion dollars worldwide in one year. Fire prevention and detection are crucial to protecting these businesses, the precious data within them, and most importantly, the lives of those who staff them.