The threat of fire is something that many people don’t consider. But it’s real and something that all businesses and homeowners should take into consideration. The cost of not doing so can be such that you could end up with serious injuries or even fatalities. It is also one of the main reasons why you should have boilers and open fires such as those found at Stove Bay installed by a professional. A Wood Burning Stove Northern Ireland company can help and advise you on any safety requirements that you need to consider when using one of their items.
Prevention is of course better than cure, so it’s important to educate employees on safe working practices surrounding storage of materials, use of equipment and so on. However, you also need to plan for what would happen should a fire break out.
Alarm systems
There’s plenty of advice available on the measures you can take. An alarm system is the first step to alerting people to a problem. This can range from a simple smoke detector in home premises to more sophisticated systems in larger buildings. As well as having an alarm you need to ensure that everyone in your home and any employees know what to do when it sounds by having an evacuation plan.
Depending on the type of building, this may mean having dedicated fire escapes, fire doors to help stop a blaze spreading, emergency lighting so people can find their way out and other measures.
Sprinkler systems
As well as alerting people to the existence of a fire you need to have a means of doing something about it. Extinguishers are the usual step in offices but you need to have the appropriate type – CO2 rather than water for use on electrical equipment for example.
In larger buildings or storage areas a sprinkler system may be needed. They’re becoming common in other places too, in fact some parts of the US are starting to require sprinklers in domestic premises. Today’s systems are very sophisticated and can be programmed to trigger at different temperatures. They can also be designed to deliver a fine mist spray that will extinguish a fire with minimal damage to buildings and contents.
Companies that operate in the fire industry can advise on this type of system which may be installed with the need for much less pipework than conventional sprinkler systems, keeping down the installation costs. This means it can be used in domestic situations like loft conversions where other systems may not be practical.
Guarding against fire requires a mix of active and passive measures, but if well planned it shouldn’t be disruptive or too expensive.
