Fire alarm inspection

What's the purpose of having a fire alarm inspection done periodically? If you own a building such as an office building, movie theater, supermarket or apartment, you would need to have a working fire alarm system as required by law - Plus you would also need to inspect it at least yearly.

The law in most states require a thorough yearly inspection to be done, both on the fire alarm system and the fire safety aspects of the premises. This is not just a safety requirement but it is plain old common sense. This also goes for home systems (which are not regulated by law). Inspecting them regularly keeps them in good working order. Your life may depend on it.

Regular inspection has many benefits, but the most important is that you can be confident your fire alarm system works as it should, when it is needed to. A well maintained system saves lives and minimizes any damage to your property caused by fire.

Regular inspection helps prevent false alarms. False alarms are not good because if it happens too many times, the homeowner will tend to ignore it, as will the fire department if this is a monitored system. This is like the case of the boy who cries wolf too often. So, when a REAL fire does happen, and people do not take the fire alarm's warnings seriously, the consequences can be fatal. Such a scenario can happen with a malfunctioning fire alarm system - because it wasn't inspected.

If there are no regular fire alarm inspections and the fire alarm malfunctions during a fire which results in fatalities, the building owner would be held liable. This has happened many times in documented fire cases. The building owner would be faced with jailtime and heavy lawsuits; a heavy price to pay for not conducting inspections.

From the economic point of view, regular inspections on your fire alarm system will also lower your insurance premiums. When your appointed fire alarm inspection company submits inspection reports to your insurance company, this will be taken as proof that your risk factor is lowered, which can in turn, push down your insurance premium costs.