Inspections

Monthly Inspection

Monthly Inspections are not meant to be opportunities for companies to send untrained personnel to sites to simply sign tags and ignore specific codes, leaving blank spaces in Log Books where pertinent information is required Monthly inspections should be opportunities for trained technicians to properly inspect Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems, record their findings, and correct minor problems before they become major defects. Why is it that a service company will perform these inspections, bill for their time and find no problems; but when that same company performs the annual inspection of the premises there are suddenly thousands of dollars in repairs required. Time and time again, all across this city, I encounter situations that have been a threat to the safety of a building for long periods of time, while Monthly Inspections make no mention of the problems.

Omni Life Safety knows the importance of these Monthly Inspections. Our technicians not only record their findings in the on-site Log Book, they also note any problems on their work orders. This ensures Property Management and Omni office staff are aware of any irregularities so they can be rectified according to their importance. This is not a make work project. Most of the problems found during a Monthly inspection can be corrected during the inspection or the following month with no added labour cost.

Recurring nuisance alarms are annoying and costly occurrences. Some nuisance alarms that cannot be “helped” (the prank activation of a pull station); but many false alarms could be prevented by proper maintenance and service companies that take extra time and effort to investigate the cause. Fire trucks arrive and panels are reset before technicians can arrive and trouble shoot the problem. Omni’s 24-hour emergency line is always answered by a technician who can ask the buildings on call personnel to make note of certain information while the panel is still in alarm. This is imperative in finding the cause of these costly situations. The reason for certain false alarms is not always immediately evident, but the rate at which they occur can be greatly reduced by Omni’s vigilant maintenance programs and trouble shooting methods.

 

Annual Inspection

Here at Omni we pride ourselves on thorough, professional, and high-quality annual inspections. These inspections are required by law to ensure that buildings meet safety standards and that all occupants and property are safeguarded against possible fires.

During the annual inspection, each device will have a bar-code and scanned into an online report detailing all recommendations and deficiencies along with all devices that have passed inspection. These reports will be readily available within 24 hours after completion of the inspection.

Extinguisher Annual Inspection

Our technicians will check all extinguishers on location and go through a checklist for each one.

  • 6 Year check – Make sure that all extinguishers are up-to-date on their mandatory 6 year maintenance.
  • Hydro-test check – Make sure all extinguishers are up-to-date on their mandatory 12 year hydro test (every 12 years from manufacture date to ‘retirement’ date). Hydro tests takes place every 2nd 6 year test.
  • Charge Check – Ensure the extinguisher’s charge falls in the acceptable ‘green-zone’ on the gauge. If the reading is above or below the zone, by any margin, the extinguisher must be taken and recharged (recharging may be done on site if the location has many extinguishers — If there are only a few in need of a recharge, loaners will be left in their place until we return the freshly charged extinguishers)
  • Exterior Check – Ensure the extinguisher: has a pull pin fastened with a zip-tie, is mounted properly and is easily accessible in case of emergency, has appropriate extinguisher tags and that there is no substantial damage to the extinguisher body.

 Hose and Hose cabinet

Our technicians will inspect the hose and the hose cabinet for any damage. This includes visual inspection of the glass windows in the cabinet door, proper storage of the fire hose( should it be rolled and kept on the pin rack),leaks,cuts or tears.

Emergency Lighting Annual Inspection

Our technicians will locate all emergency lighting boxes and either unplug them or kill the breaker tied to them (depending if the light boxes are hardwired or plug-ins). They will ensure that all remote lights attached to each box are functioning properly, as well as confirm that each box’s battery(ies) are able to last the mandatory 30 minutes. If remote lights do not work, or the batteries cannot last the 30 minute period, technicians can try to remedy these problems (if they have supplies with them on site), or we can order new parts/Emergency lighting boxes to fix/replace any problem units.

Fire Alarm Detection

Depending on the building type this section of the inspection may vary.

Pull Stations – Technicians will manually trip all pull stations throughout the building and monitor alarm trip time, and also ensure the stations are mounted correctly and in good/working condition. It is imperative that any unsatisfactory pull stations are located and corrected, as they are (in many cases) the first line of defense in preventing a catastrophic problem.

Heat Detectors – Technicians will use a SOLO kit to test each heat detector in the building, ensuring that each one sends an alarm and that each alarm signal matches where it is being sent from. Any out of date or broken heat detectors can be changed at a later date if requested by the building owner.

Smoke Detectors  – Technicians use small doses of smoke to test all smoke detectors in the building. This ensures that the smoke detector sends a signal, that the signal is tracked from the correct location, and that they are sensitive enough to detect smoke properly in case of an emergency.

Smoke Alarms/Strobes and Carbon Monoxide detector combos  – Technicians will ensure that smoke alarms are in working order and new. Old smoke alarms (older than 10 years) will be noted and a list of working/not working/old smoke alarms will be given to the building owner at the end of the inspection. Battery operated smoke alarms must have their batteries replaced by tenants/building staff annually.

Carbon Monoxide detectors – Technicians will ensure the device is in  proper working condition. They will also make sure the device is in the proper locations according to the Ontario Fire code.

Bells/Horns/Strobes – Ensure bells and horns throughout the building work at an appropriate audible level, aren’t painted/taped, and are mounted properly.