Tag Archive for: fire safety inspection

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How to Prepare For Fire Safety Inspections

Engineer checking Industrial fire control system,Fire Alarm controller, Fire notifier, Anti fire.System ready In the event of a fire.

An unscheduled fire safety inspection can feel like a pop quiz for property owners. However, just like in school, this pop quiz won’t be too bad… if you did your homework!

(Don’t worry, you won’t need to do any pre-calc to prepare for a scheduled or unscheduled fire safety inspection!) All you need to do is follow a few simple steps.

Below, we’ve prepared a fire safety checklist to help you prepare and pass your next inspection—whether it’s scheduled or a drop-in—with flying colors.

Let’s take a look!

Prep Your Paperwork

Collect and organize paperwork showing any steps your business takes to address fire protection and any previous inspection violations. This demonstrates that your business is committed to meeting requirements.

Collect Proof of Services and Inspections

Keep track of services and inspections that licensed professionals have performed on your systems, such as:

  • Serviced fire alarms
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Sprinkler systems, and
  • Fire pumps

Make Appointments for Outstanding Maintenance

It’s time to sit down and make some appointments—yay! Contact some trained professionals (like our team at VFS) to help with the maintenance of your fire protection systems. This will not only help you pass inspections but also will protect your people and property.

Not sure if your commercial property needs servicing? Read on to learn how often fire protection systems should be serviced.

Take Precautions Against Special Hazards

Special hazards are areas that require special hazard fire equipment and fire alarms.

Building owners should note that special hazards are not specific fire hazards that occur as a result of certain situations or triggers, such as a flammable liquid being too close to a heat source.

Instead, special hazards can be things like gasoline pumps, computer server rooms, or storage areas that may contain flammable or combustible chemicals.

Read on to learn more about solutions to special hazards.

Clear Clutter

To prepare for a fire safety inspection, building owners should make it a priority to avoid clutter. Why? Clutter can quickly become combustible waste and serve as fuel for fires.

Combustible waste can take many forms, including:

  • Trash (i.e. cardboard boxes, paper, cartons, etc.)
  • Debris
  • Plant matter
  • Yard trimmings
  • Fallen trees
  • Wood, and
  • Leaves

Fire laws prohibit the accumulation of these items anywhere except intended disposal locations.

Lastly, property owners should make an active effort to keep their hallways free from obstructions.

Properly Store Combustible Waste

It can be difficult to keep combustible materials off your property at all times. Instead, we suggest prioritizing safe storage for these materials to prepare for an inspection. 

For example, property owners can:

  • Use lids on containers 40 gallons or greater
  • Keep containers exceeding a capacity of 40.5 cubic feet outdoors and over five feet away from construction work
  • Keep storage containers away from the building, and
  • Ensure storage containers near facilities don’t contain oily rags or other unsafe materials without proper container identifications

This will help keep any staff working on the property safe as well as help prepare the space for inspection.

Ensure Efficient Entry for the Fire Department 

According to national codes, all buildings must offer firefighters safe and immediate access.

Complying with this code should be simple. Most businesses comply with this code by mounting fire department lock boxes on the outside of their building.

This way, in the event of an emergency, the fire department can open the lock boxes with a master key and enter the building.

Part of the reason for keeping clutter out is to allow firefighters to safely navigate the building. Trust us, you don’t want firefighters tripping over the cardboard boxes from Amazon during a fire!

Make Sure the Fire Department Has Access to Water

Building owners should clearly mark all fire hydrants and ensure they are available for use. Additionally, fire hydrants must have three feet of clear space on all sides to allow firefighters access. This means that the building occupants should not be parking within this space—sorry Brandon from HR, it’s time to learn to parallel park!

Further, to prepare for inspection, building owners can check the fire department connection (FDC) that allows firefighters to supply water to a sprinkler system. This system should also be marked and accessible.

Need Help Preparing For Inspection?

At VFS Fire & Security Services, we have a diverse team of experienced fire protection professionals who are capable of inspecting and servicing even the most complex fire protection systems.

We tell you what’s due, when it’s due, and why it’s due, and are constantly communicating with your team to keep you up-to-date on the latest information within your facilities.

Read on to learn more about our testing and inspection services.

 

How to Prepare For Fire Safety Inspections infographic

Why Are Insurance Costs Going Up?

Why Are Insurance Costs Going Up?

One thing’s certain about 2022—insurance costs are going up and they are unpredictable.

At VFS Fire & Security Services, we’ve seen our clients directly feel the impact of a rise in premiums. Over the next year, you can expect 15 to 40% rate increases on certain lines.

Let’s look into more details about why insurance costs are going up.

Fire Insurance Premiums

With the rise of wildfires in California, insurance costs have increased in various zones. ABC News reports that some business owners were even dropped from their coverage unexpectedly, writing that “in 2019, insurers did not renew 235,000 policies across the state.”

The premium increases forced businesses and homeowners to have a quick mindset shift and turnaround for new coverage. With the increase of high-risk areas, VFS Fire & Safety Security Services has personally watched clients caught off guard with the increase of fire insurance. So, how does this impact your fire safety? 

Factors that Impact Your Fire Insurance Costs

Your commercial building or home will have different insurance premiums based on various factors, as listed by Resinger Insurance:

  • Proximity to the fire department
  • Community awareness
  • High-risk area
  • Building size
  • Current fire safety equipment installed
  • And more

Mark Sektan from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association sheds light on the perspective of insurance companies. “Premiums are going up because the risk is going up significantly,” says Sektan. “One of the challenges insurance companies face is that because of the highly prescriptive regulatory system, [it’s almost like] we’re driving the car by looking through the rearview mirror,” said Sektan.

“…We base premiums on losses, not what we know, not what we see coming… we’re not allowed to use that type of modeling yet.”

With this perspective in mind, it’s important to make sure your commercial property is updated with the current fire safety guidelines. Learn more from our blog about prepping your commercial property for fire season.

Where Can You Manage Your Risk? 

Risk mitigation begins with what fire safety equipment and inspections your commercial building uses, and if your building is up to NFPA code. 

For some insurance providers, if you have a certain level of protection from sprinklers and monitors, it can potentially lower the cost of your premium.

The NFPA Code 5000, also known as the Building Construction and Safety Code, is a great start for checking to see if your commercial building is up-to-date on inspections and equipment.

The equipment that VFS Fire & Security Services specializes in, and that should be inspected to match NFPA codes includes but is not limited to: 

  • Fire Sprinkler Systems
  • Fire Suppression Systems
  • Sound and Communication Systems (ERRCS and DAS) 
  • Integrated Security
  • Fire Alarm and Detection Systems
  • Fire Extinguishers

As mentioned above, the constant upkeep and inspections of your fire safety equipment can improve your insurance premium. 

Haven’t You Heard? We’re Fire Safety Inspections Experts

At VFS Fire & Security Services, we believe your fire safety equipment is only as effective as the inspections performed on them. 

The frequency of these inspections ensures the most effective operating conditions for your building year-round and is critical to keep current with industry and insurance codes.

At VFS, we have a diverse team of experienced fire protection professionals, all of who are capable of inspecting and servicing even the most complex fire protection systems.

Our advanced platforms and highly trained dispatch team allow us to manage inspections and testing from inception to execution.

We tell you what’s due, when it’s due and why it’s due—which means constantly communicating with your team to keep you up-to-date on the latest information within your facilities.

Aside from potentially lowering your insurance premium, keeping up with inspections benefits your commercial building for long-term safety. Learn why regular inspections lead to safer buildings on our blog.