Features of fire safety equipment testing.
Fire safety equipment includes complex devices located throughout the facility to detect fire and smoke.
Delayed warning and diminished containment.
Malfunction of any single device can compromise the detection of fire and delay the warning to staff and patients. Because the system also initiates multiple actions to contain the fire, without these, the fire can rapidly spread.
Patient evacuation.
The concept of defend in place is reliant on rapid detection, warning, and containing the fire. If any of these actions is compromised patients may need to be physically removed from the facility.
Comprehensive system wide testing of each component assures proper detection, communication, and reaction.
Standardized, routine testing is needed to assure that individual devices are functioning properly and the entire system is reacting to input from any devices. Complete documentation is essential to identify and correct problems discovered during testing and to assure all devices are tested.