State and local fire marshals, building inspectors, and insurance company officials can visit any facility unannounced to inspect the emergency and safety equipment. If they find equipment that isn’t functioning correctly, you could be subject to fines or temporary closures. Therefore, you must keep emergency supplies. Explore these tips for maintaining your building’s emergency equipment to ensure you’re doing everything required to be prepared for any worst-case scenarios.
Emergency Lighting Bulbs and Batteries
In the case of a power outage or fire, people in the building will need to evacuate in an orderly and quick manner. However, in both of these cases, the building lights won’t be working. To avoid complete darkness, buildings are required to have emergency lights and red exit signs. These are essential fixtures in any building; because they operate on a separate battery or generator, they will remain lit regardless of outages. Have an electrician check that the emergency power is correctly wired and charged to ensure the backup lights will always work. Also, you should replace any burnt-out bulbs the day they stop working.
Charging Radios
One of the more straightforward tasks to remember is always to plug your radios back into the charging ports when not in use. During a fire, tornado, or another natural disaster, staff can get broken up into groups for safety. With regular lines of communication being affected, the radios may be the most effective tool for relaying important information. To maintain a two-way radio battery, establish the habit now of charging it every day. Otherwise, it might not work when you need it most.
Fire Extinguishers
You may not realize it, but fire extinguishers have an expiration date. Once the date comes to pass, the extinguisher’s foam will start to dissolve and lose its effectiveness. While they’re easy to forget about in their glass cases, keep a record of any expiration dates, so you can replace them when necessary.
Also, you’ll have to replace or refill any extinguishers after they get used. Hanging onto a used or empty fire extinguisher violates local safety codes for most American cities and counties.
AED
Depending on the capacity and size of your building, you may be required to keep an automated external defibrillator (AED) on-site for medical emergencies. These defibrillators have batteries and pads that will need to be maintained to function properly. Additionally, they’ll have to get replaced occasionally. Just like any battery, they’ll go sour after a long period of not being used, so replace them once they expire.
Use these tips for maintaining your building’s emergency equipment to prepare for dangerous situations that require the use of reliable safety tools.
