Business owners and managers are focused on day-to-day operations. While fire protection is important, it’s easy to let routine maintenance slip through your busy schedule. What can you do to be sure your systems are ready to work perfectly in an emergency?
How Often Should You Expect an Inspection?
Oklahoma requires annual fire inspections. If you’re not sure when you had your last one, check your fire panel. There should be a sticker on the front of the panel with the date of your most recent inspection. If it’s been over a year, call a licensed fire alarm company and schedule your inspection as soon as possible. Upon completion of the inspection, the fire alarm company will place a new sticker on the panel.
Do You Have Questions About Fire Services?
Testing Fire Protection Systems
Fire Extinguishers
Fire extinguishers must be tested annually. Your fire extinguisher will have a green tag hanging from it with a month and year punched out indicating the date it was last tested.
Fire Sprinkler Systems and Pumps
You should have your fire pumps and sprinklers tested annually. Like your fire extinguishers, there will be tags hanging on your sprinklers and pumps with the month and year punched out indicating the last annual inspection.
- Fire sprinkler systems have an inspector test line that has a drain going outside the building. To test the system, an inspector will open the valve to let water out of the pipe. This simulates when a sprinkler head releases and triggers the water flow alarm in under 90 seconds from when he or she opens the valve.
- To test fire pumps, an inspector hooks hoses to an outside header connection. The water flows from the system and multiple points on the fire pump are checked to verify that it is still performing correctly.
Kitchen Hood Suppression Systems
Your kitchen hood systems should be inspected semi-annually. During the inspection, a technician will verify that all cooking equipment shuts down and that fans turn on when the system trips. The system is triggered when fusible links melt, so these are replaced at inspection. There will be a tag hanging from the tank or pull station with the month and year punched out to indicate when it was last inspected.
Keep Your Fire Inspections on Schedule
FPS utilizes the latest inspection and scheduling software to give customers clear and useful reports. We can tailor a plan to fit your business needs and budget. The first step is to call us for an assessment. We can usually assess your building's fire protection needs and set up your yearly inspection and maintenance plan in under thirty minutes.
FPS Technologies offers a variety of resources to help business owners and managers keep their companies and employees safe and be prepared for an emergency.
For more information or a free estimate, please call FPS Technologies at (405) 842-8708 or email us at support@fps-technologies.com.