Fire Fighting Equipment Maintenance and Its Importance

Fire fighting equipment protects people and businesses during fire accidents. It keeps people safe wherever they live and work. Regular inspection and servicing of the equipment meant for the safety of the occupants to the relevant standards is very crucial. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual inspections are done to ensure the equipment’s functionality, and maintain all other aspects of fire safety management.
Trained personnel need to involve in the checking of fire fighting equipment, which is usually provided by the installer, or the installer’s agent, or even by a servicing organization. The equipment includes fire detection and alarm systems; emergency and escape lighting systems; sprinkler systems; fire door hankison dryer parts automatic release mechanisms; portable fire extinguishers; gaseous, foam and powder extinguishing systems; smoke control systems including systems using pressure differentials; evacuation lifts for persons with disabilities; fire hydrants; hose reels; fire mains; fire doors, and other related things.
Fire Safety Equipment Maintenance Plans
The Standard plan provides regular round-the-clock maintenance and call-out services. The Standard Plus plan, in addition to the services provided in the Standard plan comprises initial service of new fire safety equipment, its disposal, and charges of minor parts and refills. The comprehensive plan covers all the engineers, attendance charges, and services of the Standard Plus plan. However, the charges are not covered in the case of the equipment being damaged by users, or third parties, or natural calamities. Replacement of all major parts is chargeable under all the plans.
Services Offered
A yearly basic service is done for the maintenance of fire fighting equipment. Safety clip and indicating devices are inspected to find out whether the fire extinguisher has been operated. Pressure indicating devices on stored pressure extinguishers are checked to see if the pressure limits are within needs of manufacturing industry normal ranges. The body of the fire equipment is examined for corrosion, dents or damage. The hose, horn and nozzle are checked. The equipment is weighed for loss of contents. Operating instructions are verified for accuracy and legibility. Gas cartridges in appropriate extinguishers are inspected.
An extended service includes the basic service and the discharge test. The fire fighting equipment is discharged under controlled conditions to test its working efficacy. Its internal body is examined for corrosion or lining damage. If it is in a good condition, then it is refilled, recharged and returned to service. The extended service is done once in five years for water, foam and powder based extinguishers, and once in ten years for primary seal powder extinguishers. An overhaul service interval for CO2 extinguishers is ten years. The maintenance record of the service should be affixed to the fire fighting equipment.
The basic requirement in any premises is the presence of a fire fighting equipment in a good operating condition. The regular maintenance checks with a suitable plan are highly essential. The equipment has to be maintained to fulfil the relevant standards and conditions according to the Regulatory Reform Order 2005. This ensures safety of people and …

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Old School Fire Fighting With Water Fire Extinguishers and Fire Hose Reels

You drink eat, you bathe in it, you clean with it. Water, the universal liquid, life giving, life sustaining, and when you really need it: life preserving. Before the technological advancements in fire fighting, the original fire fighting tool used by man is water. Despite the commercial sewage treatment plant diagram fire extinguishers making use of chemicals as its main components, the traditional fire douser is still used and in fact recommended for the most basic type of fires. Water fire extinguishers are manufactured and sold, packed similarly like its chemical counterparts.
With the Benefits Comes Some Danger
Given the good qualities of water, it may also be deadly in a blink of an eye. Just like leisurely swimming in a lake and suddenly getting terrible cramps that you panic and lose concentration that in an instant you are now drowning in the same body of water that you were just enjoying a few moments ago. The danger lingers with fire fighting as well. Today, there are two kinds of water dousers that are meant to put out different classes of fires.
The first type is the air-pressurized water fire extinguisher, which basically uses the simple principle and prowess of air pressure to shoot the water from the container to the flame, is recommended for Class A fires. Class A fires are those that are fueled by ordinary combustible materials like paper and wood. However, as water conducts electricity fairly well, the danger lies when due to the pressure from the container a handful of the water spewed may ricochet back to you from drenched plugged in electric equipment. Also, using this type for Class B, flames fueled by flammable liquids like gasoline, and Class C fires, caused by electric equipment, will be a very bad idea. You would be better off leaving the blaze rather than attempting in using the product as it will only worsen it.
The second type is the Water-Mist Fire Extinguisher contains pressurized nitrogen mixed with distilled water to spray a mist instead of shooting a strong stream of water. It is safe to use in cramped spaces with electric equipment without the hazardous risk of getting electrocuted in addition to being less messy than the first type. Also, this may be used to contain the earlier mentioned Class B and Class C blazes. The only downside though is that it does nothing for the simplest of the fire types, Class A.
Large Scale Fire demand decreases and supply decreases Fighting
While water fire extinguishers that come in canisters are obviously for small scale fire fighting and will be absolutely no match to an inferno that has already engulfed a whole hose, then it’s time to bring out the big guns. The best bet here is to use a fire hose reel. It is what is being used by the professionals. Imagine the nuisance of having to fight a conflagration with hundreds of those containers? Swapping what you are holding every so often whenever the …

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