Is Your Building Fire-Safety Compliant? How To Know For Sure

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All public and commercial buildings need to be inspected annually for fire safety compliance. You probably know the drill if you have been working in the same place for more than two years. If you want to make sure your building passes inspection this year, you might want to include smoke control system testing. This type of testing no only makes sure your building is fire safety-compliant, but it also verifies that smoke can be safely dispersed to prevent breathing problems and smoke damage. Is your building ready? Will it pass inspection? Here is how to know for sure:

Spray Your Smoke Detectors with Fake Smoke

You can buy fake smoke in a can at most hardware and home improvement stores. This product produces a steady, heavy stream of dark fog that mimics the smoke of a burning building. Use it to test your smoke detectors before the inspector arrives. That should give you enough time to find out which smoke detectors are working properly, which ones are not, and replace the batteries in all of the detectors that are not working properly. Then you will pass that part of the inspector's inspection.

Clean the Detectors Too

After you have tested the detectors with fake smoke in a can, you should immediately clean the detectors so that there is no dust blocking or clogging up the detector's ability to detect smoke. A damp rag is sufficient to clear away the dust. Be certain to remove the detector's hood and clean there as well.

Find a Spot away from Detectors, and Light a Cigarette

If you have a "no smoking in the building policy," this is the one day of the year where you can light up just to test your building for smoke movement. A good spot to try is in the basement, or somewhere a good distance away from a smoke detector. If people on the first and/or second floors of the building can smell something burning, or the smoke detector goes off when the burning cigarette is one hundred yards from the nearest detector, you know one of two things. 

1. Your smoke detectors are definitely functioning, and functioning properly.
2. The ventilation in your building is so poor that the smoke can quickly reach the first (and possibly second) floor. The ventilation will need to be updated to prevent smoke from using the ventilation system as a means to suffocate everyone during a fire.

If you manage to resolve all of these issues and test according to smoke control systems testing suggestions, you should pass your inspection with flying colors.

11 October 2017