Best Security Products blog

In a report released by the Nation Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division, office fire statistics are analyzed and made public.

Here are a few highlights from the report. Read the entire analysis here.

The report gives information about structure fires in office properties which include business offices, banks, veterinary or research offices, engineering, mailing firms and post offices.

Peak times of day for fires were between noon and 2:00 PM. There were fewer fires on the weekends, since fewer people work on the weekends, but in spite of the lower number of weekend fires accounted for 31% of associated property loss.

The high rate of loss that occurred when the offices were less populated show how important it is to have automatic systems that can not only detect but also extinguish fires when no one is present.

• Greater than one in every four of the fires (29%) was a cooking equipment fire
• Intentionally set fires caused the biggest share of property damage
• Electrical and light equipment fires caused the second most office fires
• 22% of the fires started in the kitchen or cooking area
• 2% of the fires of the fires began in the attic or ceiling area, but these fires caused 13% of the property damage.

Wet pipe sprinklers were very effective in controlling fires and saving lives. When the fires were large enough to trigger the sprinkler system, they operated 90% of the time and were effective in 88% of the fires.

Compared to offices without automatic extinguishing equipment, deaths per 1,000 fires were 62% lower in those that had wet pipe sprinklers.

Is your office adequately protected from fire? If you are not sure, it is time to call a professional for help. Best Security Products specializes in business and commercial fire security systems.

At Best Security Products, we specialize in fire systems for business and home. One important component of your fire security system is a heat detector.

There are two main types of heat detectors available:

1. Fixed Temperature. This type of heat detector works by monitoring the ambient temperature in the room. When the temperature reaches a predetermined level, the detector will activate and sound an alarm.

When a fixed temperature heat detector is activated, it cannot be reused. Activation destroys the device. This is the most common type of heat detector.

2. Rate of rise. This kind of heat detector is designed to activate when the ambient temperature in the room rises at a particular rate, which is programmed when the device is manufactured. This type of heat detector may not activate in a fire that is slow to build and spread.

For a demonstration of how a fixed temperature heat detector works, click the video below by New Age Server Alarm. A head detector is dismantled to show exactly what happens when the temperature reaches the predetermined level. 

It is important to keep in mind that heat detectors are not meant to replace smoke detectors in bedrooms or hallways outside of bedrooms. Heat detectors are better used in areas that are less than ideal for smoke detectors, such as the kitchen. However, when choosing a heat detector, consider the normal activities that will be going on in the area you want to protect.

If your business operates out of a garage where you use equipment that causes the temperature to elevate quickly during use, you may want to use a rate-of-rise heat detector to avoid false alarms from a fixed temperature detector.

Fire safety is our specialty at Best Security Products. Give us a call at 1-800–988–2378 or email us at sales@bestsecurityproducts.com for customized fire security in your business or home.

More kitchen fires occur on Thanksgiving Day than any other day during the year. Do you know what to do if a grease fire breaks out in your kitchen – whether at home or at work?

ABC 2 News reports on the dangers of grease fires. According to this report, it can happen within seconds – your stove can go from a small grease fire in a pan to something like an explosion – “a massive fire ball rolling through your home.”

After the fire starts, you have just a few seconds to make the right decision about how to handle it.

Watch the video below for a demonstration, but here are some top tips from the experts:

1. Don’t move a pan that is on fire. When you move it, you provide more air to the fire. The extra air can cause the fire to come back at you.

2. Don’t put water on a grease fire; that can cause an explosion.

Many people make these these mistakes. Our first reaction is to try to move the burning pan to the sink and put water on it. After all, that is how we usually put out fires! But water is the absolute worst thing you can put on a cooking fire.

The best way to put out a cooking fire? Place a lid or cookie sheet on the fire and then turn off the heat. Be sure not to lift the lid until the pan has cooled, because fresh air may cause the flames to reignite. 

You can also purchase a stovetop fire stop and hang over your stove. When the fames reach the can, the fuse on the bottom of the can is ignited causing the fire stop to dump a powered chemical which puts out the fire. It is like an automatic mini-fire extinguisher. 

At Best Security Products, we specialize in fire systems for business and home.

Give us a call at 1-800–988–2378 sales@bestsecurityproducts.com