Fires can occur in a variety of residential and commercial settings. Half of the fires that occurs in high-rise buildings, however, fall into these property classes:
- Apartments
- Hotels
- Offices
- Medical facilities
Hotel and motel fires, for example, have resulted in guests and employees sustaining injuries and fatalities. On an annual basis, this amounts to an estimated 150 of the former and 15 of the latter.
There can be a variety of reasons for why a fire breaks out. In hospitals, for instance, electrical malfunctions cause 19% of the non-confined fires. When dry or wet chemical systems aren’t maintained on a regular basis, this, too, can potentially lead to fires spreading once ignited. In 44% of the dry or possibly wet chemical system failures that were examined, 44% of these were determined to not have received proper maintenance.
When the aforementioned systems did function correctly, however, it made a significant impact in reported structural fires. The data showed that when fires were large enough to activate the dry or possibly wet chemical systems in the area, these systems operated 81% of the time. This is likely due to their being well-maintained and inspected on a regular basis. The best-case scenario, of course, is for these systems to be 100% effective.
In order to ensure that your residents, workers, and buildings have sufficient safety measures in place, it’s important to schedule regular fire alarm inspection services and maintenance. Experts recommend that buildings should have a combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems, such as fire alarms.
When these measures are both in place, overall injuries, loss of life, and property damage could potentially be reduced by 50% or more.
If you have a building that is currently under construction or an older building that needs an upgrade, you will need to contact a fire protection company to conduct an inspection. In addition to fire alarm installations for your new building, it’s necessary to have any buildings that are undergoing renovations inspected as well. While there is a possibility that your older systems may just need regular maintenance and some repairs, it is more likely that you will need a new fire alarm installation.