When was the Last Time you had Your Sprinkler Systems Inspected?
When it comes to fire safety, shortcuts are never a good idea. As a property owner, you have to consider that in the event of a fire, you are the one who has to ensure everyone is accounted for when the firefighters arrive. All public properties should take some precautions to prevent a fire from spreading. Today we are going to talk about what happens when you have sprinkler systems tested.
Different sprinkler heads are designed for different environments. Just like your fire extinguishers around the building. To ensure they do their job if a fire breaks out, you need to have them checked. It’s not like you can do a test run to see if they work because this would be inconvenient and expensive to do. You need to call in an expert to check them out.
The first step the inspector will take is to test the butterfly control valve. This valve has a tamper switch installed. The tamper sends a supervisory signal to the fire alarm panel. The technician has to check that this valve freely opens and closes. Once the technician has tested this, he will replace the tamper seal before leaving. This tamper seal can easily be broken in the event of a fire.
The second step is to ensure there is enough water pressure for the sprinkler system to operate properly. After reading the pressure gauge, the inspector will open the main drain of the system, and by doing that, the expert can check if there is sufficient water pressure, and there are no blockages.
The inspector then moves onto the inspector’s test. This part of the system is generally located at the furthest point from the sprinkler system. This part of the test simulates a sprinkler activating and sends a signal to the fire alarm system. Once the inspector is satisfied that your system has passed all the tests, he can move on and do the same on each floor of your building if you have more than one.
There is nothing like knowing that everyone in your building will remain safe if a fire breaks out. So when was that last time you had your sprinkler systems checked? If you are unsure, then stay on the safe side and call Allegiant Fire Protection Systems. We work in and around Albuquerque, NM and will be happy to come and test your system for you.