Fire suppression systems are fundamental in addressing fire risk to buildings and their occupants. Working alongside fire prevention and protection methods, they respond actively to prevent the spread of fire. If you are a property owner who's interested in installing fire suppression systems on your property, you've probably wondered, "How often should a fire suppression system be tested?"
This article outlines the latest fire suppression standards and offers advice on ensuring complete compliance with fire safety regulations.
Fire suppression systems are made to extinguish fires by using concentrated substances, including carbon dioxide, inert gas, and various dry chemical agents. These systems are responsible for promptly detecting the presence of smoke and flames, triggering an alarm, and controlling or extinguishing the fire as early as possible.
NFPA Codes Standards 2018. Many people use these terms interchangeably, but inspections and testing are two different elements.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes guidelines for both, which local governments use to establish standards and codes.
Inspections involve technicians visually inspecting equipment like sprinklers and fire alarm parts for leaks, corrosion, and damage.
Testing involves observing whether equipment functions properly and whether integrated systems work together as they should. Both inspections and tests are often performed according to NFPA Standards.
The building owner's legal responsibility is to ensure that fire suppression systems are intact and working properly according to the manufacturer's recommendations. For convenience, having inspection sheets and a copy of your owner's manual in a three-ring binder is a good idea, as this automatically organizes your records and streamlines the inspection process.
Weekly: For dry, pre-action, and deluge systems, check that the gauges are in the operable range for the system every week. Ensure there's no visible physical damage, and search for signs of wear, pitting, corrosion, or missing components.
Monthly: Wet pipe system gauges only have to be inspected every month. Do a monthly walkthrough to check for physical damage or conditions that may prevent your system from working. Search for potential problems, such as obstructions or equipment modified or moved away from protected areas. Please ensure the extinguishing system is properly located and that seals and tamper indicators are intact. The certificate or maintenance tag must also be properly affixed. Lastly, check that pressure gauges are within the operable range and that nozzle blowoff caps are intact and undamaged.
Quarterly: Check the operation of valve supervisory alarms, water flow alarm devices, and supervisory signal devices every three months. Make sure hydraulic nameplates are present, intact, and legible.
Annually: Certified technicians should conduct professional inspections annually to ensure detection systems work, signals are received and processed properly, and releasing devices function. This is also the time to look at your system's support hangers and seismic bracing. Ensure no fasteners are missing and nothing is broken or needs replacing. Search for damage and signs of wear to fittings and pipes. All signage needs to be intact, in place, and undamaged.
Quarterly: Make sure to test mechanical fire sprinkler systems every three months.
Semiannually: Have your vane (flow) and pressure switches tested every six months.
Annually: Each year, a certified professional thoroughly tests your fire suppression system. They perform water flow tests, fire pump tests, alarm tests, and, where applicable, check the antifreeze concentration. They also perform trip tests of the deluge, dry pipe, and pre-action valves.
Every five years: Have a professional conduct an internal test of the sprinkler piping for wet systems.
After any system activation: Whenever the system is activated, you should get it tested and put back into service by a certified and trained professional.
Maintenance is easy if you keep up with the testing and inspection schedule. Whenever a component fails inspection or testing, it's time to repair or replace it. Additionally, if components show signs of corrosion, rust, or wear, you can keep in mind that you can replace them during your inspection and testing process. A reputable inspection and testing company will know NFPA 25 and be able to execute all necessary maintenance on the required schedule to guarantee compliance.
Neglecting your fire sprinkler system can lead to false triggers as equipment breaks down over time. This can lead to unnecessary property damage and damage to equipment or files in your building.
More importantly, not having regular inspections and testing can leave your building unprotected from a fire. This can cause immense property damage, personal injury, and even death.
Having your fire sprinkler system inspected and tested routinely is crucial for your safety, property, and employees.
A fire sprinkler system inspection and test will include a complete examination and testing of all equipment in your system. The components inspected include sprinkler heads, control valves, piping, and triggers. The technician will test that your trigger system functions and that adequate pressure builds in response.
Your preparation for testing and inspection will often be minimal, but it is essential for a smooth process.
First, get the technician's fire inspection and maintenance records once they arrive. Make sure that as much of your system as can be exposed is accessible easily, so clearing areas in your equipment room might be necessary. Finally, have an individual familiar with your system on-site and willing to walk the property with the technician.
To ensure the optimal operation of your fire suppression system and compliance with local regulations, speak to a qualified fire protection expert or contact the system manufacturer for their specific recommendations on servicing intervals.
While the NFPA does not restrict owners or building managers from performing inspections, it does recommend that whoever does them be qualified. Also, certain states and counties require that a licensed company perform inspections.
With training, owners can learn to perform weekly and monthly visual inspections.
However, hiring a professional is the smartest decision for the quarterly and annual inspections for two reasons.
Your local standards and codes may include specific rules about who can and cannot inspect fire protection systems. Be sure you understand what the law requires of you.
A professional will know how to recognize when something is wrong and how to fix the problem so that your system is ready to respond in an emergency.
Regular inspections can offer advantages for an organization, including reduced maintenance costs, avoidance of penalties and fines for non-compliance, insurance discounts, and the opportunity to identify and address vulnerabilities. Without hesitation, the number one reason will always be preventing lost property and human life.
A clear reason to routinely inspect fire and life safety systems is to ensure that all systems function properly.
Life safety codes must be addressed, but managing the different maintenance, testing, and inspection requirements is challenging for most companies. While it's easy to see the significance of fire and life safety systems, it is just as important to comprehend the installation, testing, and maintenance requirements implemented by national and local authorities to ensure optimal safety and compliance.
Businesses can identify parts of their systems that need upgrades by engaging in consistent and regular inspections of fire and life safety systems. A continued mindset of improvement can offer benefits that have positive ripple effects across an organization.
Among the major benefits of regularly inspecting life and fire safety systems is the potential for premium insurance discounts. To begin reducing insurance costs and increasing discounts, an organization must first know how commercial property insurance rates are determined.
Consistent and regular fire and life safety system inspections allow companies and employees to mitigate the stress and anxiety associated with managing compliance with these systems.
While paying a fine for non-compliance might be a hassle, the bottom line should always be protecting human life. This is always at stake in fire safety system inspections and must be the guiding principle of your business's fire protection priority.
Proper installation, maintenance, and inspection are essential to avoid costly fines and code violations. To ensure proper completion and documentation, these highly important inspections and tests must be left to trained fire and life safety technicians like us at Texas Fire and Safety. Please reach out to us today!