How Prepared Is Your Organization For Your Next Fire Safety Inspection?

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Organizations unprepared for annual and unannounced inspections not only put their operations at risk, but also jeopardize the safety of their building’s occupants. Rather than approach inspections with trepidation, there are a number of things you can do to ensure visits from the fire marshal are productive and positive exchanges.

Be Familiar With Fire Safety Codes And Ordinances Relevant To Your Area

Because every state and local government has its own fire code, it’s imperative that you educate yourself on the ordinances relevant to your jurisdiction as well as current international fire codes set forth by the International Code Council. While this may feel like a daunting task, look to resources such as the NFPA’s interactive Code Finder Tool to find codes and standards used in your state. Alternatively, a subscription to InspectNTrack’s fire and life safety compliance software provides you with instant access to code compliant ITM (Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance) programs. Simply upload all of your fire and life safety equipment and the software will direct you on exactly how to inspect and maintain the equipment.

Get To Know Your Local Fire And Emergency Response Teams

Establishing a relationship with your local fire department and emergency response teams may make all the difference in the unlikely event of a fire. Invite emergency personnel to your building and offer to do a walk-through, pointing out the locations of emergency exits, fire extinguishers, alarm pull stations, and staff meeting points. Provide them with building floor plans, door access codes, and relevant organizational contact information. And by all means, ask what you can do to make their jobs easier in an emergency situation – and follow through on their suggestions.

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Post Current Egress Plans Throughout The Building

The best safety systems in the world are not enough if no one can get out of the building. An egress plan is a map of a facility that contains critical information such as emergency routes, evacuation paths and red exit signs that lead to stairs and doorways. By looking at an egress plan, an individual should know where to go in an emergency, even if they have never participated in a fire drill at the facility.

Familiarize yourself with OSHA requirements so that you have the appropriate number of exit routes based on the size of your building and organization.

Have Your Records Organized And Easily Accessible

In every fire safety inspection scenario, it is critical that you be able to quickly provide the fire marshal with records showing your compliance. Most fire protection systems are a complex network of systems, devices, and alarms, all of which have different requirements for inspection, testing, and maintenance. Without precise and rigorous record keeping, producing the documents showing your system is up-to-date at a moment’s notice can be a difficult feat. Consider implementing a robust fire and life safety inspection software such as InspectNTrack to manage your system’s scheduling, inspections, maintenance activities, and record keeping. This will ensure that inspections and maintenance are performed as needed and that records and forms are accessible on-demand by request.  

Fire safety inspections many seem like an annoyance, but they are invaluable and intended to protect your business and the individuals that work there. By taking a bit of time to prepare for these visits, you’re much more likely to see them as such, and to walk away from these inspections as a stronger, safer organization.



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