The Fire Safety Equipment That Legally Needs To Be Checked Regularly

When it comes to fire safety regulations, many businesses are woefully underprepared and don't understand what their legal obligations are. It is easy to think that your fire safety and maintenance obligations are fulfilled when you have a couple of extinguishers and maybe a sprinkler system, but all this equipment means nothing if it isn't functional when the need arises. Part of your fire safety and maintenance routine should be to have regular fire system maintenance to ensure you are meeting all legal requirements. Here are just a few common fire safety devices that need to be inspected on a regular basis or you risk getting fined.

Fire Hose Reel

If your building is on the larger side then you probably have a fire hose reel present at an easy to reach location. Your fire hose reel needs a full inspection every six months to ensure that it still has the ability to work at the desired output if a fire were to break out. The fire safety inspection will also test how securely anchored the hose is, how the nozzle is holding up, whether there are any obvious leaks and flaws and so on. If your fire hose reel is not inspected regularly you risk a fine and, more severely, you also put people's lives at risk.

Fire Extinguisher

The most common fire prevention device of them all, the humble fire extinguisher, also needs six-monthly check-ups. Here the fire safety inspection service will check the date of the fire extinguisher and make sure it can still be used. They will also weigh it if there is no pressure gauge attached to the fire extinguisher. Luckily that is all that needs to be done, as actually using a fire extinguisher would render it useless in the future. As long as these steps are fulfilled and the log is completed, you are good to go.

Sprinkler System

The biggest part of your fire safety and maintenance check-up will probably revolve around your sprinkler system. This needs to be done on a yearly basis and can be quite intensive. The fire safety inspectors will check all the components of your wet (or dry) sprinkler system to ensure no blockages and that water can freely move about. For more specialised sprinkler systems, like the deluge system, this timeframe is significantly reduced and you probably need inspections on a more monthly basis. Check the legal requirements of your sprinkler system to know for sure. Most will come with a suggested guide of inspection dates. 

For more information, contact a fire safety inspection service in your area.