Fire alarms come in several different types that warn us of impending danger with horns, sirens, bells, chimes, beeping, and now even voice fire alarms.  According to whether you are a large building such as a school or a private home having some type of fire alarm in the area is essential for saving lives in case of a fire.

If you are in a large school or department store you will probably have noticed the fire alarms throughout the building.  There should also be important information listed as to how to evacuate the building in case of fire.  When the fire alarm goes off the signal is sent to the local fire department, police and emergency personnel.  The sound will be heard throughout the building so everyone will be able to get out of the building.

In our homes, fire alarms are usually in the form of smoke detectors.  Many people do not really worry about any type of fire alarm in their homes.  Most homes should in fact have a smoke detector in their homes, but they are not maintained.  These types of fire alarms need batteries replaced on a regular basis to ensure that they are working properly.  The main types of smoke detectors for the home include standard battery-operated alarms, 10-year battery-operated alarms, and another type that operates on the homes electrical system.  But remember all fire alarms need to be tested, batteries replaced and maintained as instructed with the manual.

You should inspect your Fire Alarm Panel daily to check that it has power and no faults have occurred over night.  You should test a different call point each week and log this in your Fire Log Book.  Preferably test at the same time on the same day each week.  We do ours every Monday morning at 0900 hrs.  The Fire Alarm System should be serviced at least every six months by a qualified engineer, this should also be logged.

For more information on inspections and service intervals, contact us.