Fire Sprinkler System Maintenance

12/30/2016 (Permalink)

Do you ever worry that your sprinkler system may malfunction and water will start leaking from your sprinkler system unnecessarily? Have you ever had water damage due to your sprinkler system? We have provided mitigation many times for companies that have sprinkler systems that malfunction. Many times, the system fails in the middle of the night when no one is around to turn off the water. By the time someone gets to the shut off valve, a large amount of water has already been dispersed throughout the building. Sprinkler systems can be very helpful in putting out fires and saving a building, but they need to be properly maintained to stop damage from occurring outside of having a fire.

In many cases, doing sprinkler maintenance can be very easy. However, remember that in some cases you may need to call in the company that installed the system to do maintenance on the sprinkler system or have another company brought in.

You should check and make sure that any pipe that is in an area that gets very cold is properly insulated. For example, if the pipes to the sprinkler system are in an attic space or outside wall that does not get heated.

Your sprinkler system should have a flow test valve that you can discharge water through the pipes to the outside. This will test the pipes that they are in good working order. Be aware that by running the water to the flow test valve, your fire alarm may go off. Make sure to contact your alarm company to let them know that you will be performing a test so that they do not call the fire department and dispatch an emergency crew.

Ensure that sprinkler heads and cover plates do not get painted over. Check that boxes, shelving units or other contents are not placed in the way of the sprinkler heads.

Should you have a water damage due to a fire sprinkler system malfunctioning, give our office a call day or night and we’ll clean up the water and dry out any structure or contents that have been affected.

Some insurance companies offer a discount for having a fire sprinkler system installed. Check with your insurance company today to see if discounts are available to you!