Top 4 Reasons For Regularly Testing Your Fire Alarm
Posted on: 2 December 2021
The importance of a fire alarm system for your home or commercial building cannot be stressed enough. It can save lives, minimize property damage, and alert fire authorities if a fire breaks out.
That said, you don't install a fire alarm expecting a fire to break out every other month. In fact, it may take years before you witness a fire incident, or you may never witness one at all. But this doesn't mean you should ignore your fire alarm. Apart from cleaning and maintenance, you'll still need to regularly test it. Here are four reasons for regularly testing your fire alarm.
To Check If It's Working Properly and in Good Condition
When a fire alarm remains inactive for a long period, some of its components may stop functioning optimally. This can be due to old age or the effect of dirt, dust, water, and human interference. You don't want to notice these inefficiencies during an actual fire.
When you identify these issues during the testing exercise, you can seek repairs, maintenance, or replacements in time. This ensures your fire alarm is in top working condition at all times.
To Practice What You Would Do If the Real Thing Happened
Installing a fire alarm is just one part of fire protection, especially in commercial settings. You'll still need to design fire exits on your building, install fire extinguishers, and monitor electrical hazards. Most importantly, you'll need to do some practice runs to see how you, your employees, and your customers would handle an actual fire.
While it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how a real fire breakout would occur, you can use the fire alarm test to devise a well-thought-out plan of action to save lives, limit the injuries of those inside the building, and prevent or reduce property damage.
To Fulfill Your Legal and Insurance Requirements
The law may require you to test your commercial fire alarm annually, semiannually, or quarterly. The codes differ depending on the type of business or facility you are running. In most cases, banks, hospitals, and organizations using hazardous materials have stricter codes regarding fire alarm testing and inspections.
Additionally, your insurance policy may require the fire alarm to be well-maintained and regularly tested. Failure to do that causes it to be invalid.
To Protect Yourself from Legal Action
If a fire breaks out, causing massive damage and injuring people, there may be an investigation to determine if your fire alarm was well-maintained and regularly tested. Without records to prove you had been testing the alarm, you could be held liable for the losses that occur.
This exposes you to heavy fines, loss of business, and even a possible jail term. Therefore, by regularly testing the fire alarm, you're not only protecting the people and things inside the premises, but also protecting yourself from legal action.
Contact a local safety system dealer to learn more about fire alarm systems.
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