What Happens If You Ignore Fire Extinguisher Inspection
Fire safety protocol is essential to maintaining a safe and comfortable workplace. All fire protection systems are required to be inspected at least on an annual basis according to NFPA standards and local fire codes. Many systems may even require monthly inspections and maintenance to ensure proper functionality and make necessary repairs. Whether you are a small church or a 500,000 square foot manufacturing facility, your systems must be inspected regularly. If you’ve fallen behind on inspections as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, or for any other reason, you are likely out of compliance.
The importance of fire protection
The main goal of fire protection is to prevent an uncontrolled fire from spreading and threatening your workers, your business, and your facilities. A fire, in addition, can result in a substantial loss of life. How fire is extinguished in your building depends on many factors such as the materials you use and how easy it is to extinguish the fire. To keep your workers, your business, and your operations safe, it is important to make sure that your fire protection system is in working order and thoroughly inspected. Failure to properly maintain your fire protection system can make a major difference in what kind of disaster you and your workers face. A fire suppression system that is not regularly maintained is not only ineffective, but can contribute to a fire’s rapid spread.
What are the risks?
Ignoring the need to perform maintenance may result in multiple dangers. Every year we see an increasing number of fires related to malfunctioning and faulty fire safety systems.
Why it’s important to stay compliant
Not having a current annual fire inspection is a huge fire safety risk. Fire safety regulations are designed to protect the lives of your workers, facility occupants, and members of the community. Your inspectors will evaluate a wide range of factors to ensure you are following the laws and regulations. These can include structures, alarm systems, fire suppression systems, and any other types of fire protection measures in place. Failure to have a current inspection means your fire safety systems may not meet all of the requirements for your company’s type of property, and if a fire were to occur, they may not work as designed. Not having working fire suppression systems or fire alarms is a recipe for disaster, and can result in the death of your workers and members of your community.
How to stay compliant
Though inspection frequency may vary, you need to be held accountable and maintain proper inspection frequency as a prerequisite to being compliant. But how do you stay compliant? Here are some tips and information to help you.
- Make sure that your employees are all aware of the fire safety program. If your employees aren’t aware of the fire safety protocol in place at the facility, it’s time to get them to know about the fire safety protocols. The best way to do this is to teach your employees the proper method of exit, inspection frequency, and how to report any maintenance issues that may arise.
- Test the fire extinguishers. Periodically perform a test on all your fire extinguishers to make sure that they are in good working condition.
What can I do to ensure I am up to date on Inspections?
It is likely that you are not yet considered compliant with NFPA standards in regard to your fire protection system. That means that you have a host of safety-related issues to contend with in order to bring the system up to standards. Make this year the year you are completely fire safe, call White Palms Fire for all of your fire safety needs.
