Here in the United States, we are safer from fires than ever before. From fire sprinkler systems and fire sprinkler inspections to the fire protection services that are offered to communities as a whole, there are many steps that can be taken to stop a fire from raging out of control. But it is important to understand the danger of fires and the devastation that they can cause in order to properly understand why things like fire alarm systems and fire sprinkler inspections are so very important, so very necessary on a whole.
For instance, fires have been found to be particularly common in high rises. In about half of these high rise fires, four property classes are involves, ranging from hotels to offices to apartments and, of course, to medical facilities such as hospitals. In hotels and motels, fires can be particularly devastating, with as many as 15 people dying in fire related incidents on a yearly basis. In addition to this, more than 100 people will become injured in hotel and motel fires over this same span of time as well.
And though severe injury and loss of human life is of course the most devastating consequence of any fire, we cannot overlook the devastation of property damage as well. For home owners, fires that rage out of control can leave them with nothing. So too, unfortunately, can hotel and motel fires not only damage the hotel itself, but can cause a great deal of individual property loss and damage as well. In fact, more than $75 million in property loss is likely to be sustained over the course of a mere 12 months – in hotel and motel fires alone.
Fires in medical facilities can be equally as devastating, often due to the fact that many of the people there cannot evacuate themselves due to being bed bound. And the cause of most medical facility fires is a well known one, as it has been discovered that more than half of such fires (around 55% of them, to be more precise) originate in confined cooking spaces. Electrical malfunctions certainly play their role as well, causing nearly 20% of medical facility fires as well (around 19% of them to again be more exact).
Fortunately, there are many steps that can be taken to reduce the prevalence of fires in our world, from fire alarm inspections to fire sprinkler inspections to the installation of fire sprinkler service in the first place. Already, the dropping rates of fires can be seen in some spaces, such as in the warehouses that become more highly utilized each and every year. In fact, the data that has been gathered on the subject more than backs this up, showing that there were less than 1,500 of such fires in the year of 2011, down from more than 4,700 in the year of 1980.
Simply investing in fire sprinkler installations can make a big difference, though fire sprinkler inspections will also be necessary. After all, fire sprinkler inspections help to ensure that fire alarm systems and fire sprinkler systems are working as they should be. Without fire sprinkler inspections, this could not be assured and confirmed for any sprinkler system in use. When looking for reputable fire sprinkler inspections, however, it will be important to hire a local and trusted fire sprinkler company to carry out these fire sprinkler inspections.
In addition to the installation of fire sprinkler systems and the prevalence of fire sprinkler inspections for any given sprinkler system, the need for an evacuation plan is also high. Unfortunately, less than half of businesses in the United States actually have one and, in cases of particularly severe fires not able to be combatted by the typical fire sprinkler system, this can prove to be highly dangerous or even deadly. Getting an evacuation plan in place is important for any commercial building or even residential home, but the presence of a comprehensive evacuation plan will be particularly essential for many medical facilities where patients will not have the physical ability to evacuate themselves.
