If you run a business, one of the best ways to protect it is to ensure your commercial building features fire sprinklers. This way, you can greatly reduce the chances that a fire will damage your inventory or furniture and interrupt your ability to serve your customers. If you’re not familiar with fire sprinklers and are not sure how they can benefit your business, take a look at the top advantages of having fire sprinklers in your commercial building. Then consider some tips on what to think about before you get them installed.
How Do Fire Sprinklers Work?
Simply put, the point of a fire sprinkler system is to quickly detect a fire and spray the flames with water until they’re no longer a danger to the property and the people on it. More specifically, sprinklers are connected to a system of pipes throughout the ceiling that can hold water that’s under pressure. When a fire breaks out, the sprinkler closest to it senses the heat and sprays water to put out the flames.
Thanks to this sensor, the sprinklers in other rooms farther away from the fire do not engage unless necessary, such as if the fire spreads. If it does, then all the sprinklers will spray water for long enough to put out the fire.
What Are the Benefits of Fire Sprinklers?
The most obvious advantage of installing sprinklers in your commercial building is the increased safety of being able to extinguish fires almost as fast as they start. In fact, it often takes just seconds to extinguish a small fire using one or more sprinklers. This means sprinklers can quickly keep the flames from spreading, mitigating the damage the fire does to your building. This can save your inventory, office furniture, computers, and the structure as a whole.
Sprinklers can usually put out even big fires within minutes, often sooner than the fire department arrives. Even on the rare occasion that the sprinklers don’t completely extinguish a large fire, they can at least buy time until the firefighters get there to put out the rest of the fire with their hose. As such, sprinklers can reduce damage from large fires.
Of course, sprinklers can also give employees, customers, and anyone else on the property some time to escape from a burning building. This is especially the case when the sprinklers are combined with other safety features, such as fire alarms. When people hear the alarms and then see the sprinklers near them activate, they’re aware there is a fire and they need to leave. As a result, you need fire sprinklers installed if you want extra peace of mind that your employees and customers will be safe if the worst occurs.
Who Should You Hire to Install Fire Sprinklers?
Now that you know the benefits of fire sprinklers, you should make plans to get them installed in your commercial building. If you’re not sure where to start, it’s time to look for the right fire sprinkler contractor. First, find one that has years of experience installing fire sprinklers and possibly other safety features in commercial buildings. If your property is particularly large or has some features that could be challenging for some contractors, make sure you choose an installer who has experience working on properties like yours. This way, you can rest assured they have the skills and equipment necessary to reach your high ceilings or install the right size of piping.
Next, choose a professional with fire sprinkler contractor insurance. Contractors are often required to have this type of policy in order to protect themselves and their customers. For instance, if your installer falls off a ladder or cuts their finger while installing sprinklers in your ceiling, their fire sprinkler contractor insurance will cover their medical costs. Without this policy, your own insurance could be required to pay their medical bills. And if you don’t have insurance or the medical costs are higher than your policy’s limit, you could be required to pay the medical bills out of your own pocket.
Once you find a contractor with years of experience and fire sprinkler contractor insurance, you should look at their online reviews. Make sure the professional you choose to work with has successfully installed sprinklers for customers who were satisfied with the results. Look for past customers who claim that the installation process was seamless and pleasant for them, and that the contractor was polite and on time.
In short, if you don’t have fire sprinklers in your building yet, you owe it to yourself, your customers, and your employees to get them installed as soon as possible. Just make sure you choose a professional with the right experience, a fire sprinkler contractor insurance policy, and great reviews if you want the best results.
