Regular Inspection of Fire Sprinkler Systems

Every building system requires regular inspection, testing, and maintenance, or ITM, to ensure it can do what it’s expected to. Fire sprinkler systems are no different. When properly maintained and inspected, fire protection systems are among the most reliable means to ensure the safety of your property and everyone in it. Trusting that your systems will optimally perform in the event of an emergency depends upon the quality of the service and inspections performed on them. If done thoroughly and correctly, organizations can expect to see many benefits.

Advantages of Regularly Inspecting Fire Sprinkler Systems

Regular inspections can provide advantages for an organization including reduced maintenance costs, avoidance of fines and penalties from non-compliance, insurance discounts, and the opportunity to identify and address vulnerabilities. The number one reason, without hesitation, will always be the prevention of lost property and/or human life.

Ensure Sprinkler Systems are Functioning Properly

A clear reason to regularly inspect fire sprinkler systems is simply to ensure that all systems are functioning properly. One of the most important aspects of an organization's fire safety plan is their fire sprinkler system. This automatic system acts as the first line of defense for your property, which is why it is vital to ensure they are performing optimally. Inspection and maintenance of sprinklers are required on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, annual, and five-year basis. By working with fire safety technicians, organizations can ensure that pipes are checked frequently for corrosion or other damaging aspects. Most of the time, sprinklers are static systems, meaning water doesn’t regularly run through them. If it did, most problems would come to light more quickly, however standard testing is the only way to catch issues before they prevent the system from properly operating in the event of an emergency. Consistent testing will also ensure companies are not paying for unnecessary maintenance fees, or worse, entire system replacements.

Fire Alarms

Fire alarm systems work in conjunction with fire sprinkler systems. Regular inspection and appropriate tests will ensure that all NFPA regulations are met, and will help identify any potential problem areas that might compromise the functionality of components in the overall system. Fire alarm systems can save lives and should be regularly maintained to guarantee their continued reliability and proper functionality. Items to be inspected and tested include but are not limited to:

Smoke and heat detectors

Annunciators and zones

Batteries

Output relays and activations

Flow switches, tamper switch, and low-pressure alarms

Supervised control valves and switches

Maintaining Compliance

Life safety codes are crucial, but juggling all the various testing, maintenance, and inspection requirements can be tough for many companies. While it’s clear how vital fire and life safety systems are, it’s equally important to grasp the installation, testing, and maintenance guidelines laid out by national and local authorities to ensure maximum safety and compliance.

Not having documented inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) for current fire and life safety systems can often hinder organizations trying to stay compliant. For example, it’s pretty common for businesses to have a fire extinguisher that hasn’t been tested or documented in years. To feel confident about how well a fire safety system works, it’s essential to know what ITM is necessary, how often it should happen, and what good results should look like.

The most effective way to stay compliant is to hand over the inspection of fire and life safety systems to a professional fire protection company. These experts have the right tools and training to ensure compliance while identifying and fixing any potentially dangerous situations.

Opportunities for Upgrades

By regularly checking fire and life safety systems, businesses can spot areas that need upgrades. Keeping an improvement mindset can lead to benefits that positively impact the entire organization.

For instance, just upgrading an automatic sprinkler system can significantly enhance a building’s fire protection by making it more reliable and efficient. Plus, this upgrade could lead to substantial discounts on insurance premiums.

One way of doing this is to ensure your sprinkler heads are tested at certain intervals per NFPA 25, Chapter 5.3. For example, quick response sprinkler heads should be tested at 25 years. This is accomplished by testing 1%, or a minimum of 4, of that type of head installed. If these heads pass testing, they need to be retested every ten years following.

Consistent maintenance and inspection of fire and life safety systems give businesses a chance to enhance these crucial fire protection and life safety systems.

Benefits of Maintaining Compliance

Fire and life safety system inspections are primarily about fire prevention, but they also offer businesses some great benefits:

• Cut down on costs linked to unmaintained, corroded, or damaged equipment.

• Dodge hefty nuisance fees for false alarms and penalties for not complying.

• Keep operations running smoothly and steer clear of long-term financial losses.

• Avoid penalties tied to non-compliance.

• By dedicating time to inspect their fire and life safety systems, organizations can enjoy a cost-effective and strengthened fire protection system.

Organizations can further cut costs related to fire and life systems by steering clear of fines from non-compliance. If an organization fails to meet testing requirements, even if it’s their first time, and can’t provide any testing records, they could face fines amounting to thousands of dollars.

The most effective way to completely avoid fines is through regular and consistent inspections of fire and life safety systems by a qualified and certified fire safety technician. Regular and consistent checks of life safety systems help companies and their staff reduce the stress and worry that comes with keeping these systems compliant.

It's essential to have proper installation, inspection, and maintenance to steer clear of code violations and expensive fines. These crucial inspections and tests should be handled by trained fire and life safety technicians to ensure everything is done correctly and documented properly.