It is estimated that there are over a quarter of a million building fires every year. In addition to billions of dollars in damage, there is also significant loss of life and injuries. Thus, fire protection is becoming an increasing concern to residential spaces and buildings alike. With so many new products to choose from, it can be tricky to know what you should be stocking up on. Here is a guide:
Start with the Fundamentals
When it comes to fire safety equipment, it is best to start with the most important products. This, of course, are smoke detectors and fire alarms. Now, you have two major options here – ionization or photoelectric alarms.
Now, they each have their pros and cons. Photoelectric alarms are best for detecting slow burning fires and have less chance of false alarms. Ionization alarms, on the other hand, are best for fast moving blazes, but are prone to false alarms.
It may be best to have some combination of the two alarms. If you don’t want to do this, stick with photoelectric alarms as they tend to be the most reliable option.
Light Up Emergency Exits for Larger Spaces
For commercial spaces, in particular, signs pointing to emergency exits are important. This is especially true if new people frequent the area on a regularly basis. In case of a fire, these individuals will not know where to go.
Make sure to clearly outline emergency exits with signs and lights. Look for high quality signs as they need to be visible in all lighting conditions. Although this is a simple feature, it can help to save lives.
Stock Fire Extinguishing Products
For smaller spaces where the risk of fires are low, you can do with just a fire extinguisher. Make sure that one is situated at regular intervals, though. These should be properly inspected and serviced. Once again, these are key elements and can be incredibly useful during an emergency.
You can also have blankets and buckets for water and sand in strategic areas. If a grease or electrical fire is more likely, have a small bag or bucket of sand. This will allow people to save time looking for such items.
Larger Buildings May Benefit from Suppression Systems
If the building is quite large, houses a lot of people, or is home to expensive machinery or tech, then a suppression system can be quite useful. Depending on the system in place, gas, water, or chemicals will be expelled, extinguishing the flames as needed.
This can be a good system to have if the building is also in a remote area and far away from a fire station. In such instances, it can take firefighters too long to get to the building, causing it to spread quite a bit. A suppression system would put an end to it quite quickly.
These are all the products that you should consider to ensure that your building and the people are well equipped in the case of an emergency. At the very least, you should use these suggestions as a starting point.