Benefits of a Commercial Fire Alarm System for your Business
Regardless of how big or small your business is, the reality is that your building needs a fire alarm system. Perhaps you’re thinking that something like a residential smoke alarm will do the trick, but is that enough for fire and safety codes? Actually, there are 300 consensus codes from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that cover everything from how the fire alarms signal danger to what kind of chemicals and additives can be used in an extinguishing system and so much more. The fire laws are nationally mandated but locally enforced. Trying to wade through legal codes for what fire protection you legally need and determining what will be best for your business can be a frustrating mess. However, doing your research and hiring the right professionals may actually help you with both, and the many benefits of a good commercial fire detection system may surprise you.
Safety Benefits
The critical function of commercial fire alarm systems is safety. They keep people, property, and your business as a whole safe from the damage and destruction of a fire.
Life Safety
The biggest reason businesses are required to have fire alarm systems is due to life safety. The fact is: a good fire alarm system can save lives. The faster people are aware of a fire in a building, the more quickly they can get out of harm’s way and the less likely they are to become trapped or faced with a desperate situation. Some advanced business fire alarm systems even alert those within the building as to where the fire is and instruct people on the quickest, safest route to escape.
Property Safety
When a commercial fire alarm system alerts authorities to the incidence of a fire, it speeds up response time. The faster a fire is extinguished, the less time it has to cause damage to your building, documents, and other assets. Plus, fire detection systems can be connected to additional fire extinguishing systems, such as sprinklers, to put out fires quickly.
Quick Response Times
Modern business fire alarm systems can be linked directly to a monitoring center or to emergency services. As a result, firefighters can be immediately dispatched to your business the moment a fire is detected by the system. As previously mentioned, a faster response time means that the fire has less time to spread and threaten the safety of your employees and your business. Plus, some systems now can inform emergency services of exactly where in the building the fire is, further expediting its extinguishing.
Minimization of Costs
You may or may not realize how much a good fire alarm system can actually minimize your costs. Yes, the initial cost can be substantial, but the up-front investment can be well worth it in more ways than one. First, in the event of a fire, a proper fire detection system speeds up response time and protects your assets from the spread of the fire. Beyond that, though, a well-maintained and tested commercial fire alarm system can lower your insurance costs, decreasing your overhead, and you will not face fines during inspections for not having a sufficient system in place.
Integration of Systems
Some buildings require access control systems. Advanced fire alarm systems can have the added benefit of being interconnected with these systems. Say, for example, there is a fire in your building. If the access control system is still active in areas where personnel are located, that could potentially slow them down when they need to leave. However, if a fire detection system is connected to the access control system, the former could disable the latter, saving precious time and enabling people to exit faster.
Minimization of Unnecessary Interruptions
A faulty or substandard fire alarm system can be triggered at times when there are no signs of a fire, causing costly interruptions of business during which your employees and customers must leave the building and wait for the fire department to give the all-clear. With a well-installed, well-maintained, and high-quality fire detection system, the likelihood of this becomes minimal, if not completely erased.
Protection of Your Business as a Whole
A fire can destroy a building if it is not quickly and efficiently extinguished. If your business suffers extensive damage from a fire, it could take months and thousands upon thousands of dollars to repair. Many businesses never recover and cannot reopen after a fire. Furthermore, if there is no fire alarm system in place in your business, or if there is a substandard system, you could find yourself facing not only costly fines and a temporary shutdown of your business, but also lawsuits that can bankrupt your business.