As a responsible home or business owner, it’s vital to prepare for a possible fire. This means having the proper fire protection equipment installed and in good working order. Here are four different kinds of fire safety equipment that can protect your home or business.

Smoke Detectors

Every home and business should have smoke detectors. If your unit starts beeping, don’t ignore it. Worse still, don’t disable it! The National Fire Protection Association states that three out of every five home fire deaths can be attributed to a lack of working fire alarms.

Maximize the effectiveness of your smoke detectors by following these tips:

  • Install one on every floor of your home, including outside each sleeping area.
  • Test each smoke detector once a month to ensure it’s operating correctly.
  • Trade out the batteries once a year or as soon as the unit starts beeping.
  • Replace your smoke detectors every 10 years.

Fire Alarms

Smoke detectors alone are sufficient for residential buildings, but large commercial properties require more complete fire alarm systems. In addition to smoke detectors, these may include heat sensors, manual pull stations, and strobe lights and sirens to ensure everyone at risk knows to evacuate the building immediately.

Every component of a fire alarm is controlled at the annunciator panel. Monitoring is also available, which signals the fire department to dispatch immediately to your location when the alarm sounds or a manual pull station is activated.

Fire Extinguishers

Portable fire extinguishers serve the life-saving purpose of putting out fires before they grow to an uncontrollable size. The right type of extinguisher in the hands of someone who feels comfortable using it can often smother the blaze before the fire department even arrives.

Every home and business needs at least one fire extinguisher. Different types are designed to fight specific fires. In the average home or office building, a multipurpose ABC fire extinguisher is ideal. This puts out Class A (ordinary combustibles), Class B (liquids) and Class C (electrical) fires. Class K extinguishers filled with wet chemicals are designed to smother grease fires, making them appropriate for kitchens.

Fire Sprinklers

These heat-sensing fire protection systems extinguish fires quickly and effectively, even when the building is vacant. According to the NFPA, flames are contained to the room of origin 97 percent of the time when fire sprinklers are present. Civilian deaths are also 81 percent lower in homes with sprinklers than in those without them.

Regrettably, while new commercial buildings are required to have sprinklers, only 4.6 percent of homes have this life-saving equipment. Fortunately, it’s possible to retrofit your home with fire sprinklers to provide extra peace of mind.

With smoke detectors, fire alarms, extinguishers and sprinklers in place, you can minimize property damage from an unexpected blaze. If your building recently suffered fire and smoke damage, schedule restoration services from DKI. Please contact us today at 877-533-0210 for more information.