Smoke vents are essential in buildings in terms of fire-safety hazards precaution, not only in preserving the building’s structural integrity but also for protecting lives. Preventive maintenance and regular inspections of smoke vents are often required to ensure that the smoke vents are working correctly.
To help you keep your smoke vents in mint condition, let’s further discuss the importance of proper maintenance and good practices for this type of unit.
Preventive Maintenance and Regular Inspection for Smoke Vents is Important
Most commercial building owners frequently find themselves searching for the most affordable operating costs. Sometimes, they forget the proper maintenance for certain parts of the building or having maintenance to the bare minimum. Reasonable care or adequate maintenance is essential considering the costs of equipment failure or damages from hazards that will quickly add up to exceed target costs of regular and thorough maintenance. This scenario is very actual when it comes to smoke vents, roof hatches, or fire-rated access doors. If they are well maintained, they can help:
- In releasing hazardous heat, gasses, and smoke from the building during an emergency fire.
- Create smoke-free routes in the building and also to the building occupants.
- During fire emergencies, it facilitates firefighting operations locating the source of fire and increasing building visibility.
- Reduces thermal effects of the fire on building structural components.
Proper preventive maintenance is a must to keep access to the great benefits of smoke vents. Be not reactive but be proactive on it.
Proper Maintenance Practices
Maintenance Standards
The Fire Marshal Office follows the standard NFPA 204 for heat and smoke venting, including mandatory guidelines for smoke vents or inspection and maintenance. It is crucial to know such regulations because building owners who fail to abide by the said regulation will be subject to heavy fines.
Routine Maintenance
Regular maintenance goes together with cost savings, and the more you can stay on top for routine preventive maintenance of a smoke vent, the more it can extend the life cycle of your ventilation system. So it is highly recommended to have smoke vents inspected at least once a year by qualified staff maintenance. If it is necessary, have them in service twice a year if possible.
Replacing Old Units
An old, defective smoke vent can be hazardous to your building, which trumps the purpose of having one. And if your smoke vent is already outdated. It is high time to search in the market and find a new one.
Routine Maintenance Benefits
- Carrying regular maintenance also provides significant cost savings;
- It allows the system for more prolonged efficient operation; and
- It dramatically helps identify issues before they can develop costly system failures.
One cannot overlook the importance of an effective and proper maintenance program of the smoke vent because its role is essential in the effectiveness of natural and smoke ventilation systems.
The Takeaway
For years, routine schedule maintenance has been treated as boring and often considered an overlooked task. Without adequate supervision, you cannot notice any minor issues of your system and can develop into catastrophic or entire system failure in a moment the system is needed most.
While some commercial buildings may have their maintenance staff who undertake some checks, it makes sense to have regular inspection and maintenance experts. You need to consider the cost of fines for non-compliance and the possible loss of income if the commercial building is closed by local fire service authorities.