When a fire breaks out, most facilities have the standard practice of evacuating everyone out of the building and allow fire suppression systems to mitigate damage to the facility. Some facilities take a different approach due to the circumstances of the people in the building. These types of facilities are known as defend-in-place facilities, and tend to house people who are unable to evacuate, such as hospitals and other healthcare facilities. What is the best way to prepare your facility to defend in place if such a situation should arise?
Install defenses now in case of a fire.
If a person were forced to defend in place during a fire, you want to be sure to have places for them to be able to wait out the fire in a protective way. Obviously, sprinkler systems and fire alarms are a must, but there are other structures and pieces of equipment you can build in to help protect those who might be forced to stay behind until such systems can take effect. Defense doors, walls, and large cupboards are all fixtures that are worth installing in key areas, as many hospitals do in patient rooms or in critical care units.
Perform preventive maintenance on fire suppression systems.
Any time that a person needs to defend in place, the goal is that those people will wait it out until fire suppression systems can kick in and put out the fire or until further help can arrive. To increase their chances of success and survival, it is vital that fire alarms and sprinklers are kept in working order. This can only be assured through regular testing and by making small fixes as they are detected, a powerful practice known as preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance should never be pushed aside, especially when there could be lives on the line.
Facility fires are dangerous and scary, but with the right preparation, they can be prevented and dealt with. At MaintenX, we specialize in facility maintenance and can help you install the equipment and fixtures that you need and set up a preventative maintenance plan to ensure that all is working as intended, both now and in the future. To learn more about how we can serve your company in this way, please call us at (855) 751-0075.
