Maintenance and Servicing Tips for Fire Alarms and Smoke Detection Systems

Fire alarms and smoke detection systems are meant to protect your property and valuables, prevent casualties, and facilitate prompt response in the event of a fire. It is essential that these systems remain in good working condition all year round as you can never know when an emergency will occur. However, it is impossible to tell if these systems are fully operational by just looking at them. Their components can degrade over time and compromise the systems' operations. How do you ensure that the fire alarms and smoke detectors in your building are always functional? Here are some guidelines and tips on how to achieve this.

Know the systems' age

Knowing the age and maintenance history of your fire alarms and smoke detectors can help you determine their maintenance needs. This shouldn't be difficult for a new building. However, if it is a rental property, you may need to obtain this information from the property owner. New systems that are less than say five years are usually fully functional and require little maintenance. However, systems that are close to a decade should be regularly maintained to ensure that their components are in good working condition. Some very old systems should be replaced or upgraded to newer models for optimum performance.

Undertake regular servicing and inspection

Fire alarms and smoke detection systems should be serviced and inspected regularly to ensure proper performance. Ideally, the systems should be serviced at least once every year. However, if the systems are aged, you can have more than one servicing in a year. Also, the systems should be inspected and serviced after a fire incident that was controlled to ensure that the heat didn't damage any of the systems' components.

Install fault monitoring systems

Modern fire alarms and smoke detection systems have a fault monitoring system that is able to detect any faults within the system. Fault monitoring systems can identify anything from a power fault to an open or short circuit in the detection circuits. An alarm goes off any time the system detects a fault with the fire alarms or the smoke detectors. You should have such a system in place and ensure that an inspection is carried out every time the alarm goes off so that the fault can be rectified.

Problems with your fire alarms and smoke detectors can cost you your valuables or even lead to loss of lives. Contact a professional if you need your systems inspected, serviced, or replaced to ensured continued fire protection.