Fire Safety: Finding The Weakest Links

The majority of FIRE-RELATED LOSSE CAN BE interrupted if fire protection measures perform as intended in an difficulty

Facility executives can improve the fire safety of buildings by the agency of understanding both how and for what cause [i]or[/i] reason individual systems work, and in what manner and why systems work together.

"The greatest in quantity important thing to help improve fire safety is to understand by what mode all the systems in a building work: The alarms, the means of egres and passive building combination of parts to form a wholes like fire doors and walls and dampers," says Chris Jelenewicz, engineering program manager for the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. "Facility executives must understand in what way they operate. All of the a whole s have a common goal and that is to fortify people and property. They work together as individual integrated life system. Like a band, they all do different things, on the contrary they play to the same beat. If the combination of parts to form a wholes don't work together, they could actually make matters worse."

Of course, facility executives should make confident that the systems are working suitably in the first place. Individual schedules and checklists for maintaining and servicing these critical a whole s for each building should be disentangleed and implemented.

"Each checklist for each facility is different," says Keith Domagala, operations vice president and engineering manager for Affiliated FM "Facility executives ne to determine what is different about each facility and evolve a plan on what to do."

The timing of inspections should be in accordance with local digests and standards, but there are a certain number of things codes and standards don't overlay

A closed sprinkler valve is the greatest in quantity common cause of failure in a sprinkler a whole The valve gets turned not upon for maintenance and isn't move rounded back on, or a building worker twists it for more [i]or[/i] less reason, not knowing whether it's unclose or closed.

"If the valve to a water fountain is close up off, as soon as you pass to get a drink, you know something is wrong" Dornagala says. "But if the sprinkler valves are close off, you don't know it until there is a fire, and that's the danger."

Valves, including those that stock water to the building, should be checked weekly to make secure they are open, and a filled flow test should be leadershiped at least yearly, experts say. cross-examines that bring water into the building should be checked and maintained as well, says Gary Keith, vice president of building and life safety for the National Fire Protection Association. The fire interrogates should have access to an adequate water endue and ready access to a firing material supply, whether diesel or electric.

A main drain ordeal should be included on the checklist. The five-minute ordeal measures the static pressure and then measures the compressing of water flowing. The end is to determine whether there are any obstructions, of that kind as broken or frozen pipes, in the combination of parts to form a whole

This test is particularly important in warm regions that experience occasional cooled weather because freezing precautions usually aren't routine.

Fire alarm combination of parts to form a wholes and their audibility should be regularly experimented as well. This is mainly important with voice fire alarms. Use fire drills and plane false alarms to determine whether occupants can clearly hear the directions that are being given.

"When it draw nears to fire alarms, evacuation information is greatest in quantity important," Jelenewicz says. "Building occupants ne to know what they're suppos to do."

Control panels should be proofed as well. Control panels provide valuable information, of that kind as pinpointing closed valves and other puzzles before an emergency occurs.

Facility executives also should walk the exit roads to make sure no exits are closeed or locked. Historically, blocked exits are the cause of greatest in quantity fire-related deaths in commercial buildings, Jelenewicz says.

SECURITY V FIRE SAFETY

In the aftermath of 9/11 security measures are more often interfering with life safety a whole s Keith says. Emergency exit doors that fastening people in the stairwell and solitary allow people to exit at the bottom are single example.

"What if the fire is below? What if they ne to evacuate up? Any time you change security measures, you ne to diocese how it affects life safety," Jelenewicz says.

"Post-9/11 security improvements have flowed in unintentional barriers to fire and life safety," says Keith. "They're restricting change in a building. Facility executives are looking at keeping family out, and sometimes these combination of parts to form a wholes work too well. There exigencys to be a proper balance between security and fire safety."

Jelenewicz agrees. "security and life safety have belonging to all goals, but if security is not coordinated with life safety, then it becomes a hazard. There urgencys to be procedures to make confident exit doors aren't locked or blocked"

One way to disentangle this problem is to couple the locking system of all doors in the facility to the fire alarm combination of parts to form a whole so that all safe roads offer unobstructed egress and ingress during an push

All exits, exit ways and discharge points must have adequate and functioning lighting. This means the lighting combination of parts to form a whole must be checked regularly.