Fire Safety Inspections

Fire Safety Inspection Objectives

Inspections conducted as part of code enforcement help to ensure reasonable life-safety conditions within a structure. The condition of exits, interior finish, operation of exit doors, emergency lighting, exit signs, and all fire doors should be inspected. Inspection of exiting facilities should include inspection of the exit discharge area.

Inspections, which are intended to prevent fires from occurring, are effective because the inspector identifies fire hazards that could cause a fire, allow a fire to develop, or allow a fire to spread. In addition to locating and correcting potential fire causes, the fire inspector should check any accumulation of combustible trash and debris, storage practices, maintenance procedures, and safe operation on building utilities.

Inspections determine the proper installation, operation, and maintenance of fire protection features, systems, and appliances within the building. The inspection process should ascertain whether each fire protection system is tested regularly by the fire department or by others.

Fire detection equipment, alarms, annunciation and notification systems, sprinkler-valve operation, supervisory switches, and fire pumps all should be tested regularly as part of the overall inspection process. Other fire protection features, including standpipes and fire escapes, should be tested or closely examined to detect possible malfunctions due to deterioration from weather and corrosion. Portable fire extinguishers should be checked as to proper type, placement, maintenance, testing, and distribution in the structure.
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Technical information on a building and its processing should be recorded during the inspection and used for response information for each fire district in case of a fire at the property. The type of construction, vertical openings, utility type and placement, fire protection systems, fire department access, hazardous materials, or special life hazard conditions are the kinds of information that should also be noted during inspections and used to develop fire fighting plans.

Inspections provide an opportunity to educate the owners or occupants of a building about fire safe behavior and the need for adequate fire and life safety conditions in the areas under their control. "Selling" fire prevention is the key to success in obtaining code compliance and how fire prevention is "sold" should be an important consideration in training programs for inspection personnel. When inspection programs are properly designed and put into practice, inspectors may achieve more through public education and persuasion than through exercising their enforcement authority. The persuasive effect of the inspector's presence, coupled with the ability to spot and directly ensure that hazards are corrected, enhances the effectiveness of the inspection program.

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