Since the fire was invented, humans use it for their needs. It was around for at least 230.000 years. Even today, people’s existence depends on the use of fire. The essence of its use is so important for that nothing can change it in those times of need when harsh winters come. It is also highly important for things we consider normal such as cooking, heating water, end other.
The other side of the importance of fire is that as much as it’s useful, it is a great danger too. if not being controlled, fires can make disastrous damages. Since every home use some kind of fire every day, you can just imagine how often fires happen because of lack of care. The best option in preventing fires destroy our homes are fire sprinklers. However, fire sprinkler systems need regular maintenance. In addition, we’ll talk about the problems that might occur during the years of inactivity.
Table of Contents
1. Sprinkler head check and change
Fires don’t just happen every month. It might not happen for years or never. It’s actually best if this is the exact scenario and no fire ever breaks out.
The real problem is we never know when a fire might do happen. We need to be ready for it in every moment. The sprinkler heads placed on the ceiling are new and unused but this doesn’t mean they’ll work like new ones in the moment of need. If they were there for years but no one checked if they still work, the fire might destroy everything and the sprinkler head will stay silent.
A lot of dust, dirt, or other tiny particles may cause the sprinkler heads to stop working. That’s why you need regular fire safety testing and changing of the heads that aren’t working.
2. Pipe freezing precaution
In those cold winter days, it’s normal for the water to freeze. When temperatures drop below 32 degrees – water freezes. Pipes that have water in them can’t prevent the low temperatures so the water inside also freezes. This is a problem not just if a fire happens, but also for the whole installation of pipes. They can break from the pressure of the ice.
When water freezes it changes its aggregate state from liquid to solid. Solids have more volume and these cause the parts with water that is still not frozen to have more pressure which makes pipes to explode under it.
That’s why you need to make a thorough inspection of the pipes and water sprinklers before the cold days come. You need to be prepared. There’s not much you can do about the low temperatures outside, but inside you can make sure the temperature is above the freezing point. Also, better insulation of the object is much recommended so the pipes won’t get frozen.
If freezing occurred, then you need to make sure you will avoid greater damages. First, turn off the water supply. Then thaw the frozen parts but make sure you’re not using flammable substances, nor electrical devices. Use preheated linens or if there’s a chance for this, turn on the heating in the room. See more about this problem here.
3. Water supply
More often than not, the water supply gets cut off without anyone notices. If there’s no water in the faucets we’ll surely notice, but if this happens inside the pipes used for the fire sprinklers then no one will ever know.
This is another reason why you need to make often checks to the system. Why would you have a fire extinguishing system if there’s no water in it? Very often the main supply gets broken. Even though it isn’t used for years, the pieces get worn off and this is completely normal. When a professional makes an inspection and see that there’s something wrong, you’ll need to fix the problem right away in order to have a fully functional fire sprinklers system.
In some cases, the sprinklers are the only ones using water in the object. Not paying the bill will make the water company cut you off the network. Until you pay it, the worst might happen and you won’t have sprinklers to prevent a catastrophe.
