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Why Fire Alarm Systems Need Inspecting

By January 5, 2022January 17th, 2022No Comments

A working fire alarm system detects a fire and then warns people of this fire. When the fire alarm system detects a fire, it will close all doors and shut down all air systems, depends on how it has been set up. This is done to control the possible fire and smoke, while helping people escape from the fore. The fire alarm system can also control other systems too. These could include elevators, lifts and some fire suppression systems for example.

However, a fire alarm system is electronic. Just like all electronic systems, they need to be checked, inspected and maintained regularly. Electronic systems will start to fail or degrade over time. Fire alarm systems need inspecting to ensure they are in good working order. If anything is found during the inspection that is not working, it can then be fixed or replaced.

A fire alarm system is made up of lots of different components. While each component is individual, all the components work together. This means that if one component is faulty and not working, the whole fire alarm system will not be working.

Your fire alarm system inspection will test each individual part of the fire alarm system. This will include the components within the fire alarm system that detect a fire and warn people of a fire. During the inspection and performance testing, the following will take place.

  • Each component that detects a fire will be tested, one at a time. This includes things like smoke detectors, pull stations and hear detectors for example.
  • The horns, speakers or strobes that alert people of a fire will also be tested. This is done by activating them all and checking that they are alerting correctly.
  • The control panels will also be checked and inspected. This will ensure that if the control panel was activated it will automatically turn on or off the things in the building that it was designed to turn on and off.
  • The power supplies throughout the building will be checked too. This check is to ensure that it will provide power if power is required.
  • You will have standby batteries throughout your fire alarm system. These will all be tested for service dates and ensure that if the building lost power, they could provide the power that is needed.
  • Finally, the whole system will be activated as if there was a fire. This will be tested to ensure that if there were a fire people are aware, warned and alerted correctly. The fire alarm system will also contact the monitoring company too, to ensure that this part of the fire alarm system is still working.

This is why fire alarm systems need inspecting – to ensure that if there was a fire, the people within the building would be alerted and could evacuate safely.

Do your fire alarm systems need inspecting? If so, call our team now and we will book in a fire alarm system inspection for you.