Protecting Your Home Against Fire Damage

Fire is one of the most dangerous threats that a building will face. Once a fire starts, it is possible for it to rapidly spread throughout the entire structure. This makes being prepared for the event of a fire starting as well as mitigating this risk important objectives that any responsible building owner will meet.

Install Fire Mitigation Systems

When a fire starts, you may only have a very short time to react before it becomes unmanageable. To this end, having a fire alarm system installed can be the best option. In addition to being able to be manually activated, these systems can also automatically activate when they detect a fire. By combining sprinklers with a loud fire alarm system, you can enjoy more comprehensive protection as this will both alert those in the building to the fire while also working to limit its ability to spread.  

Inspect Common Fire Sources

There are some appliances and areas of a building that will simply be more prone to suffering fire damage. This will most often include heating units, breaker boxes and other major electrical components. Regularly inspecting these areas of the building can alert you to a problem before it is able to progress far enough to cause a fire to ignite. In addition to inspecting these areas, you may also want to concentrate your fire mitigation systems in these areas so that they will be more likely to detect these fires when they start. If you are unsure as to the areas where this is the most likely threat, you can have a fire safety audit conducted, which can allow fire safety professionals to inspect the building for these risks.  

Maintain Fire Extinguishers And Alarm Systems

Installing a fire mitigation system and placing fire extinguishers throughout the building are not the only steps for preventing fire damage. You will also need to maintain these systems. A fire alarm system will need to be regularly tested to ensure that all of the sensors are functional. If a fire starts in a room where these sensors have failed, it will have far more time to grow in size before functional sensors are able to detect it. Your fire extinguishers will also need to be tested and pressurized on a periodic basis. Over time, the pressure in a fire extinguisher can gradually decline, which may prevent it from working during a fire. Recording the date that you have this maintenance done can help you avoid forgetting when you need to schedule this work next.