No one ever expects a fire, but when it happens, the damage is inevitable. For this reason, getting an effective fire alarm system should be a priority for proper property management.
Sadly, most property managers do not pay much attention to effective fire alarm installations. Most will do it with the sole purpose of meeting state law requirements, without much consideration of its efficiency and suitability for the property.
What’s worse is that 65% of businesses lack any fire evacuation plan, as revealed in a survey of 119 businesses.
As a property manager, it’s about time you paid attention to having the right fire alarm installed in the building.
Types of Commercial Fire Alarms
When it comes to fire alarm installations, they come in two broad categories, manual and automatic systems. An automated system will detect smoke and heat and emit an alert for immediate action. It will also alert the commercial fire alarm monitoring service.
A manual system is not as advanced as an automatic system. It has a pull system located in critical locations within the building. When an individual detects a fire, they have to physically pull the lever to alert the rest of the occupants of the danger, and activate the fire alarm systems.
Here are the most common types of fire alarms options available.
• Conventional Fire Alarms
It is a system containing several zones in the building. Each zone represents a separate part of the building, has its fire alarm, and is hardwired to a central control panel. All the alarms are wired to the same cable, which then connects to the control panel. If one alarm requires repairs, the entire fire alarm system malfunctions. Conventional fire alarms are suitable for small business premises such as warehouses.
• Addressable Fire Alarm
This is an intelligent system that will monitor the fire alarms in the building. They provide the option to choose between manual and automatic settings. Each alarm has a unique address. In case of fire alarm repairs, you can easily set apart the faulty alarms by looking at the status of each address. Addressable fire alarm installations are an excellent option for large story buildings such as hotels and office buildings.
• Hybrid Fire Alarm
The hybrid fire alarm combines the strengths of the conventional and addressable fire alarms into one control panel. It will come with the monitoring capabilities of the addressable fire alarm and the hardwired zone features of the conventional alarm.
• Wireless Fire Alarm
Wireless fire alarm installations come in either conventional or addressable systems. As the name suggests, they do not require any wiring. This fire alarm system works by automatically transmitting the signals it receives from a smoke, heat, or carbon monoxide detector, to a fire control panel. These signals are transmitted through a radio frequency.
Proper Fire Alarm Maintenance
It is essential to keep your fire alarm system properly maintained. You need to ensure it is always in good working order and complies with the current regulatory standards with regards to fire safety in commercial buildings.
Get a fire protection company to service your system properly and on a regular basis. They can carry out a fire alarm inspection and check to see that they activate and respond to fires as expected.
Fire alarm inspections Tampa will not just give you peace of mind with the assurance that your property is protected, but will keep you on the right side of the law.
Choose a fire protection service provider who is experienced and is a member of a fire protection organization. They should offer 24-hour emergency response and have a history of delivering quality services.
In Conclusion
Any property owner who values their possessions will get serious about proper fire alarm installations. They will consult with the best fire protection companies to ensure that the best system for the building is installed. They will further arrange for proper servicing and maintenance of the fire alarm systems, ensuring that they are always in working condition.
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