Standpipes: The Lesser Known Saviors of Fire Protection
According the fire safety firm Fire Protection Group, Inc., standpipes are a crucial but often lesser discussed aspect of fire safety.
LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- When people imagine firefighters attempting to put out a fire on one of the higher floors of a tall building, they will often picture a fire truck at ground level attempting to use water cannon to spray all the way up to the top floor. This is a fantastical picture of how a fire is put out, and in reality would be both inefficient and ineffective. According to Fire Protection Group Inc., for effective fire safety, tall buildings must have properly maintained standpipes designed to deliver water to the highest floors. Thanks to properly maintained standpipes, firefighters have access to water throughout even the tallest building so they can fight the fires at the source. Yet, the phrase "properly maintained" is key. There are several factors to consider when it comes to installing and maintaining standpipes:
- General Functionality – The absolute worst time to find out that a building's fire protection systems are not functioning properly is when a fire has already broken out. Not having regular maintenance from a proper fire protection firm is not only unwise financially, but morally questionable, as a fire can put both property and lives at risk. Moreover, non-functioning standpipes can put firefighters themselves at risk, after running into a building that is already ablaze just to realize that they do not have the tools that they need. While fire alarms and detectors are crucial in making sure that a building's occupants make it out alive and uninjured, functioning standpipes are what assures the safety of the first responders.
- Water Pressure –Even if the standpipes are definitely working properly, they may not be operating with the full water pressure necessary to stop a blaze. Insufficient pressure can also be a big problem for fire sprinkler systems. In fact, a well-designed fire protection system works to detect where exactly the fire is, and direct all of the water pressure to that one area. Luckily, Fire Protection Group's lead engineer, George Saadian, and his team have the necessary years of academic and practical field experience to know exactly how to design, fabricate, and install an effective system.
If your building is not equipped with all of the necessary alarms, detectors, standpipes, and fire sprinkler systems necessary to stop a fire from spreading, it is imperative that you contact a firm like Fire Protection Group Inc. before it is too late. And, even if you have a system in place, it is equally important to schedule appointments for regular maintenance and inspection to insure that it will work properly when needed. To inquire about any of these services with Fire Protection Group Inc., you can visit them online at www.firesprinkler.com or call 888-251-3488 today!
SOURCE Fire Protection Group, Inc.
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