A number of hazards may threaten a modern building or the property or lives inside. In some regions of the United States, particular hazards such as earthquakes or hurricanes are to be expected. Buildings near fault lines are designed to stay standing and minimize structure damage during the quake, and buildings on the Florida coast tend to have hurricane-proof glass windows and sliding doors to keep wind and rain out. But no matter where a building may be found, fire is always a possible threat, and fire can threaten both property and human life alike. A number of fire protection services are available and can be installed in commercial buildings to protect property and lives alike, and a building manager is responsible for contacting a fire protection when they need to. Different types of fire protection services can be found, and fire protection companies may install fire sprinklers. When fire sprinkler installations are done, a building has a solid line of defense against sudden flames. When is it time for fire sprinkler installations? Which companies can perform fire sprinkler installations?
The Fires
Statistics are being kept to track how much damage to property and loss of human life results from fires in American commercial buildings in the 20th and 21st century. Although famously large blazes such as the Great Chicago Fire or the Great London Fire are a relic of the past, fire persists as a threat to property and lives today. Among commercial American buildings, it is hotels and inns, office buildings, and hospitals who suffer the most from fire, and warehouses also face many fires per year. In fact, is it believed that around 15 lives are lost due to hotel and motel fires per year, and fires in those buildings cause around 150 injuries per year as well. Meanwhile, hospitals and similar healthcare facilities often suffer from fires due to electrical devices malfunctioning, and from 2006 to 2010, American fire departments responded to many such fires. In that time frame, a yearly average of 6,240 healthcare facility fires took place. The good news is that while warehouses sometimes catch fire and to a great loss of property, warehouse fires are in fact on the decline. Around 4,700 warehouse fires took place in 1980, but by 2011, this figure had dropped to roughly 1,200 incidents. All the same, great care must be taken in a warehouse or elsewhere. Fire sprinkler installations, for example, can be done to prevent a fire from getting out of control.
On Fire Sprinklers
Fire sprinklers are a common line of defense against open flames in today’s commercial buildings, and this technology dates back to 1874 in some or other. If an accidental fire starts, or if an arson sets a building on fire deliberately, these sprinkler systems will activate and douse those flames without the need for human input. This system’s hardware is a series of nozzle heads on the ceiling, and these heads are found in hallways, rooms, and elsewhere and can cover nearly all areas. They are supplied by water pipes to keep them running as long as needed. And when a fire is detected, only the sprinklers in the affected area will activate, which keeps the system efficient. There is no need for a sprinkler head on the building’s opposite side to activate in the case of a localized fire on the other side. This can help conserve water and prevent unnecessary water damage to property.
A responsible building manager will have regular fire sprinkler inspections done by the city, to ensure that they are all up to code and ready to handle a fire. Fire protection is extremely important, so American cities and states have their own codes on fire protection hardware for commercial building. If the hardware is lacking, then fire protection contractors may be found and hired to repair any faulty hardware and even install new sprinkler heads or other hardware as needed. This can get everything up to code. And if an entrepreneur purchases an old building for work, they will need all of its hardware and utilities inspected before use, and this certainly includes the fire sprinklers. The sprinklers might be non-functional or decades out of date.