How to Test Your Fire Alarms & Fire Extinguishers? – 2024 Guide

Testing fire extinguishers and alarms are necessary to ensure safety from severe fire accidents. For regular testing, one must reserve a day in a month. But for internal and external inspection, it is okay to test the device once a year.

Nowadays, it is common to install these devices in your building for fire protection. But your job is not done once you install them. It is essential to take care of repairs and maintenance. There will be fewer risks of any accidents if you take care of these devices. Many times, you need to call the professional team for regular or detailed inspection.

But you must take advantage of this step in any way. Therefore, you need to do the testing process by yourself. This write-up will explore methods to test your alarm and fire extinguisher. This Guide Will Provide Enough Information So That You Can Do The Entire Process By Yourself.

Importance of Testing Fire Extinguishers and Alarms

Before you set up the fire extinguisher and alarm in your building, you must know the importance of testing. You cannot forget them once you install them. Whenever any fire accident happens, it is uncontrollable, and you need a few moments to evacuate. But what if you do not receive any alert of such an accident? You must stay in the building and get stuck inside.

It can be more dangerous if you cannot use the extinguisher device present near you. Check this site for fire alarm and fire extinguisher device testing. It is quite essential to understand the importance of the testing process and take care of regular maintenance of the devices to avoid any risks.

How Can You Test Your Fire Alarm?

Every alarm system varies from the other because of its features, manufacturing design, structure, etc. You can call the manufacturing company to do this process, but you can also do the same in easy steps.

1. It is necessary to inform the people living in the building about the alarm testing so that they do not panic when they hear any sound.
2. You need to check whether there is a connection between the control panel and the receiving center of the alarm.
3. Take out the manual call point and try to reset the system during the testing process.
4. Now, you need to activate the available manual call point and wait for some time so that the alarm makes a sound. Once it happens, you need to reset it by using the key.
5. You need to check whether the location of the call point is perfect over the control panel.
6. After that, you need to stop the alarm sound.
7. Check all the features working on the control panel and record everything on the logbook.
8. You need to call the receiving center to check whether they got the test signal.
9. Once you reset the settings, check the control panel in the testing mode.

How Can You Test Your Fire Extinguisher?

Within three minutes, you can easily inspect the fire extinguisher. But you need to follow a few steps:

1. Checking the Accessibility

The initial thing you need to do is to check if the equipment is accessible and visible to people living in the building. In an emergency, one must find and use it. There should be no object that blocks the device. Any person must not find it challenging to access.

Portable types of extinguishers must be placed in a secure location, like inside a box or a cabinet made up of glass or wood, so they cannot be moved. But it must be accessible to all.

2. Examining Its Physical Appearance

The testing process starts by examining the physical appearance of the device. You must check the damage to its body. It is necessary to evaluate its complete body and search for any physical defect. The label must be readable with the serial number.

There should be no rust, dents or any kind of damage to the cylinder. You should also check cracks or leakage in the nozzle. A seal must secure the locking pin. The pin does the locking of the lever to prevent any accidental kind of discharge.

3. Examining the Pressure Gauge

You must check and examine the location of the gauge needle. It is good if it is present in the green section. But if it is in the red zone on the left side, it means that the device is undercharged, and you need to recharge it immediately. But if the device is in the red section on the right side, it is overcharged and dangerous to use.

4. Check the Inspection Tag

It is necessary to have a look at the inspection tag present on the device. If you get it, then it means this device is inspected and checked regularly .

5. Create a Report and Do Planning

When you are done with the inspection process, it is necessary to summarize all your actions and observations. It is essential to sign off the tag of inspection from the device by mentioning your name as well as your signature. In your report, you can mention all the flaws and try to resolve them immediately.

The Bottom Line

It is necessary to test your extinguishers and alarms in your building regularly for a month and perform a deep inspection once a year. The process is simple if you follow all the mentioned steps. Calling the team to accomplish the testing process every time is not easy. You can do the same if you know all the crucial steps.

You must keep all the points in your mind and test the devices yourself. Within a few minutes, you can complete the process without any help. If you are facing any difficulty, you should call the professional team and hand over this job to them.

Overall, you need to be patient during the entire process and follow the guide in steps. Your safety is in your hands. You can protect yourself from severe fire accidents by inspecting these devices regularly.