Maintaining Your Commercial Fire Alarm System

Commercial fire alarms were designed to protect people and property from devastating losses. However, they are only effective when they receive proper maintenance on a regular schedule. Even though you cannot predict when an emergency or fire will occur, you can take the necessary steps to ensure that your business is protected by making sure that your fire alarm is in the correct working order.

First, it is important to know the age of your fire alarm system.

Just like the mile-specific maintenance required by cars and trucks, commercial fire alarm systems require specific maintenance depending on their age. By knowing your system’s age, you are able to anticipate the maintenance that is coming up and some potential replacements that will be needed. There are a number of factors that have an effect on these systems, including humidity, temperature, and voltage fluctuations, that could all cause components to break down over time. As with most things, the older the system, the more work that will be needed. Systems between five and ten years old many experience common component breakdown that are caused by normal environmental factors. Systems that are a bit older, between ten and fifteen years old, may still provide the necessary life-saving response, but require close attention even with the proper maintenance procedures in place. Systems that are near 20 years old are reaching the technological life-expectancy and should be very closely watched.

When was your last system test?

One of, if not the, most important aspect of commercial fire alarm maintenance is the testing and calibration of the system. These tests require knowledge about the specific system sensors of the unit, failure modes, and re-installation requirements. With an annual commercial fire alarm inspection from A Total Solution, Inc., your business will be protected at all times.

The basic fire alarm system test can be summarized in five steps:

1. Test and calibrate alarm sensors.
2. Stimulate inputs and test annunciators.
3. Set the system sensitivity.
4. Test the input to the fire department system
5. Check the battery for expiration or corrosion

For more information on commercial fire alarm systems and fire alarm inspections, contact the fire safety specialists at A Total Solutions, Inc. today!