Tag Archive for: hurricane season

Why Facility Maintenance Matters During Hurricane Season

Building owners must take preventative measures such as facility maintenance and frequent inspections to protect people and commercial property.

Commercial building owners in Florida are no strangers to hurricanes. Why? More than 41% of hurricanes that hit the United States make some kind of landfall in the sunshine state.

Due to the frequency and severity of these storms, building owners must take preventative measures such as facility maintenance to protect their property during hurricane season.

Let’s discuss this further.

How to Prepare Your Facility for a Hurricane

Hurricanes are characterized by:

  • Strong, high-speed winds
  • Tornadoes
  • Torrential rains, and
  • Storm surges

Experts classified almost a third of hurricanes to hit Florida as Category 3 with winds ranging from 111 to 128 mph. This considered, building owners should prepare their commercial property to withstand these intense elements.

So, how can you prepare your facility for a hurricane? Commercial building owners can take the following steps:

  • Create a containment plan for any hazardous chemicals or on-site materials
  • Develop an emergency response plan
  • Invest in data backup servers and backup generators
  • Create an evacuation plan with multiple routes
  • Provide provisions for alternative communication systems
  • Make safety equipment accessible

In addition, commercial building owners should prioritize the maintenance of fire safety systems in their facilities to properly protect people and property.

Why Facility Maintenance is Crucial in a Hurricane

In the event of an emergency,  owners want to be sure the safety systems installed in their buildings work effectively. Why? These systems can make a difference in saving lives and property.

Saving Lives and Protecting Property

NFPA 1600 emphasizes the importance of assessing and addressing possible risks before a hurricane:

“5.4.1* The entity shall conduct a resource needs assessment based on the hazards identified in Section 5.2 and the business impact analysis in Section 5.3.

“A.5.4.1 Scenarios developed during the risk assessment and BIA should be used to identify resources needed by the program. Resources for emergency operations/response to protect life safety, stabilize the incident, and protect property should be identified.”

Additionally, NFPA 1600 discusses the necessity of automatic sprinkler systems. Since many natural catastrophes include a significant threat of fire, automatic sprinklers are essential.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) suggests property owners have their automatic sprinkler systems inspected before hurricane season in case of such an emergency.

Insurance Purposes

Many insurance carriers require proof that property owners took reasonable measures to prevent damage before covering a claim. Building owners should keep in mind this can include both fire and flood property damage.

What Systems Should be Inspected Before a Hurricane?

Building owners can employ the help of an experienced technician to ensure other systems are properly installed, serviced, and maintained.

For example, these systems may include:

  • Fire alarm systems
  • Fire sprinkler systems
  • Backflow preventers
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Emergency and exit lighting
  • Fire pumps
  • Commercial kitchen fire suppression systems
  • Clean agent fire suppression systems
  • Access control
  • Intrusion systems
  • Fire hydrants
  • Foam systems, and
  • Elevator monitoring

How Often Should These Systems Be Inspected?

How often you service or inspect your fire protection services depends on the device. 

Some systems require inspections on a weekly, monthly, semi-annual, or annual  basis. However, all fire and life safety systems require at least an annual inspection.

Therefore, property owners do not need to wait before or during hurricane season to schedule an inspection for their safety systems. These systems should be checked year-round to ensure they will perform to the best of their ability at any time – hurricane season or not!

Ready to Have Your Systems Inspected? Consider LSM

LifeSafety Management has been providing fire protection and life safety services in South Florida for over 20 years—hence why, we’re your resident life safety experts. 

LifeSafety is your single-source provider for any of your fire protection needs: Fire alarms, sprinklers, fire suppression systems, security systems, and beyond. We can start from the very beginning to design and install your systems, then maintain and repair your systems as needed.

Learn more about us and our solutions.

Understanding Inspections and Maintenance For Your Building

Some fire protection systems need to be maintained on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Building owners can protect people and property through keeping up with inspections.

Did you know that the fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation every 24 seconds? The numbers of fires and fire deaths have decreased since the 1970s, largely due to advancements in fire technology and quickened response time. With this being said, it’s important that your fire protection systems remain up to inspection and testing standards provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Here at LSM,  we are the Inspector Gadget for your fire protection systems. We find what’s not working and we help fix it. Here are a few things you need to know as you look to ensure your fire protection systems remain up to date with their inspection and testing.

What Items Need to be Inspected and Maintained? How Often?

Quarterly Inspection and Maintenance

There are a few fire protection systems that require quarterly regular inspections—mainly fire sprinkler systems. Fire sprinkler systems need to be inspected and maintained on a quarterly basis. This inspection and maintenance includes inspection of water flow devices, wolves, valve components, low air pressure alarms, and other components of your fire sprinklers.

Semi-Annual Inspection and Maintenance

Twice a year, your kitchen suppression systems need to be inspected (that is, if your facility has a kitchen). In addition, if your facility uses magnetic door locks, these must be inspected twice a year to ensure they remain operating correctly in the event the fire alarm is activated. 

Annual Inspection and Maintenance

Most of your fire protection systems need to be inspected and maintained annually. These inspections will be your most comprehensive and intensive inspection periods for fire alarms, fire suppression, and bi-directional amplification systems. 

In this annual inspection, over 20 components of your fire alarm systems will be tested and inspected. The major components include:

  • Control panel and component inspections
  • Fuse, LEDs, and power supply inspections
  • Component battery replacement
  • Pull station inspection
  • Voice/alarm communication system inspection

Your fire sprinkler systems will also be inspected during this time. These inspections also include 20 major components of your sprinkler systems. The major components include:

  • Main drain
  • Antifreeze solutions
  • Hose valves
  • Pump system
  • Drain test

Long-Term Inspection and Maintenance

There are a few components and systems that require long-term maintenance and inspection. Some of these components include fire alarm audibility testing, which should be performed every three years. In addition, fire extinguishers are scheduled for replacement every six years. Hood suppression systems in kitchens have multiple components that will need to be replaced every 12 years.

Fire Safety Inspection Requirements

Requirements for fire safety inspections vary state-by-state. Therefore, business owners and property managers need to be familiar with individual state fire codes, ordinances, and standards, and how to comply with these requirements. In general, some specific industries require more frequent fire safety inspections. These facilities include places of public assembly; including theaters, nightclubs, hotels, and hospitals. High-rises also need to adhere to strict fire code requirements, as these buildings have high occupancy and complex exit plans.

Are You Prepared For Your Fire Safety inspections?

Preparing for your fire inspections is essential—especially if you’re in the industries that are subject to unscheduled inspections. In order to prepare properly, you need to know how inspectors evaluate your building.

Let’s start with what inspectors are evaluating as a whole

As inspectors go through your building, they look for a few key things; including:

 

  • The ways fire could start within your specific building.
  • Safety systems in place, like smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler systems. They ensure these systems are regularly maintained and in good working order. You should expect to be asked to see documentation on the regular maintenance of these systems.
  • Systems assisting in fire egress are working effectively, like lighted exit signs and exit doors. 
  • Lastly, inspectors ensure emergency personnel have easy, immediate access to the building. 

Ready to Have Your Systems Inspected? Consider LSM

LifeSafety Management has been providing fire protection and life safety services in South Florida for over 20 years—we are your resident life safety experts. LifeSafety is your single-source provider for any of your fire protection needs: fire alarms, sprinklers, fire suppression systems, security systems, and beyond. We can start from the very beginning to design and install your systems, then maintain and repair your systems as needed.

Learn more about us and our solutions here.

How to Prepare for Hurricane Season in Florida

hurricane incoming for hurricane season

It is important for building owners in Florida to know what to do to prepare their facilities for a potentially devastating storm. Why? Florida has been hit by more hurricanes than any other state. In fact, Florida has been hit by more than twice as many hurricanes as the next closest hurricane-prone state, Texas. Wow! In addition to that, more than 41% of hurricanes that hit the United States make some kind of landfall in Florida.

This means that building owners need to make significant efforts to protect their property for hurricane season. When it comes to natural disasters, taking preventative measures is key for protecting your commercial property.

Let’s discuss some methods building owners can employ to protect their property during hurricane season in Florida.

Know The Risks

Hurricanes can cause severe damage to property. These storms are characterized by strong, high-speed winds, tornadoes, torrential rains, and storm surges. Further, hurricanes in Florida are more likely to be severe; experts classified almost a third of hurricanes to hit Florida as Category 3, with winds from 111 to 128 mph. Because of this, owners with buildings in Florida should prepare their facilities to withstand these elements at their strongest intensities.

Create a Plan

Based on the above factors, create an action plan for your commercial property. Ensure all employees understand this preventative plan thoroughly.

Some factors to consider for a hurricane plan include but are not limited to:

  • A shelter plan
  • Company-wide communication
  • Evacuation route
  • Emergency warnings and alerts.

Get Other Resources Ready

Additionally, building owners should consider:

  • Reminding your staff about guidelines and/or policies that should be implemented or followed in the event of a hurricane.  All employees should be aware of their specific responsibilities in an emergency.
  • Reviewing your insurance policy to ensure that your business facility is protected from the losses resulting from hurricanes or other natural disasters.
  • Checking that their emergency kit includes essential items such as generators and hand tools
  • Backing up and securing all important data.

Prepare Your Property

A small act of preparation might save your building. When walking through your commercial property, there are a few key steps to take:

  • Clear all gutters and drains
  • Install check valves in plumbing
  • Trim and remove trees close to your building
  • Add sandbags as necessary (water pumps can be covered by water insurance in some cases but is not guaranteed)
  • Financial Preparation
  • As a business owner, it is crucial to understand your insurance policies and exactly what is covered. For example, most property insurance policies have a surface water exclusion. Have a safety fund available in case of the worst-case scenario.

What to Do After the Hurricane

An emergency response team should assess the building before people are allowed back to the premises. The purpose of this assessment is to identify any structural damage or hazard that needs to be fixed before the building can be occupied again.

Building owners and staff should only access the building after authorities give clearance.

Marine Fire Safety

Some of the key points to remember with marine safety are properly managing your:

  • Certifications and Documents
  • Fire Safety Equipment
  • Hurricane Preparedness Equipment
  • Engine Room Maintenance
  • Deck Maintenance and Crew Readiness
  • Emergency Equipment

Unfortunately, there is a long list of natural disasters to prepare for, like fires. And news flash, fire suppression, and fire sprinklers are not the same thing!

Need a Little Help? Consider LSM

LifeSafety Management has been providing fire protection and life safety services in South Florida for over 20 years—we are your resident life safety experts. LifeSafety is your single-source provider for any of your fire protection needs: fire alarms, sprinklers, fire suppression systems, security systems, and beyond. We can start from the very beginning to design and install your systems, then maintain and repair your systems as needed.

Learn more about us and our solutions here.