Property owners all across the world rely on fire watch services, but why are they so crucial to have?
When a fire panel is down or there is “hot work” on a site, fire watch services are vital since they provide physical system protection for a property, agency, etc. Hot work is a word that was developed to describe when there is welding, construction, or spark-generating operational work on a property that must be overseen.
Professionals trained to monitor and patrol properties, including spotting vulnerable areas and monitoring any suspicious building activity, are ready to step onto the scene to protect the building from any hazards, smoke, fires, or other incidents that may occur while the fire monitoring system is down. You might also be interested to try this service: Fire Watch Guards
When a fire alarm, fire sprinkler, fire panel, or fire system is inoperable due to damage, broken power lines, repair, or other causes, the fire marshal orders a fire watch. If a malfunctioning fire panel is not detected, it can cause havoc in a structure, and while fire protection systems work 99% of the time, fire protection services may be required for the 1% of the time it is not operational. Fire prevention services are building security services that may be used for construction sites.
The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) has mandated that all property owners report malfunctioning or impaired fire systems to the local fire department/fire marshal whenever a fire panel is out of service for more than four hours in 24 hours.
The hours do not have to be consecutive, which implies that if a fire panel fails for 30 minutes throughout the day, the property owner should alert the appropriate fire protection authorities. If the owner understands that the outage will remain for an extended period, it is their responsibility to hire fire watch protective services to offer physical protection and surveillance of a building 24 hours a day until it is operational again.
According to NFPA 101 3.3.91, “the assignment of a person or persons to an area for the express purpose of notifying the fire department, the building occupants, or both of an emergency; preventing a fire from occurring, extinguishing small fires: or protecting the public from fire or life safety dangers” is the responsibility of the professional fire watch patrol person/persons who are monitoring the property while a fire panel is down.
If a “required fire alarm system or required automatic sprinkler system is out of service for more than 4 hours in 24 hours, the authority having jurisdiction shall be notified, and the building shall be evacuated or an approved fire watch shall be provided for all parties left unprotected,” according to NFPA 101-9.6.1.6 and NFPA 101-9.7.6.1. In brief, this indicates that property owners, managers, directors, and so on must hire fire watch to remain in compliance with their local fire marshal.
Fire watch may appear insignificant, but it is critical for property owners who are having problems and wish to remain open while their fire system is serviced. Fire watch patrol employees give important assistance to businesses that cannot afford to be too near during repairs, as well as an additional layer of protection that can monitor and patrol the premises’ perimeter.
The professional fire watch team from The Guard Alliance Inc. keeps thousands of property owners and businesses safe every year by providing fire protection, preventing fire dangers, and according to the fire marshal’s established standards.
