I ran across some alarming statistics on the NFPA website this week and wanted to take a minute to share what I found. NFPA states that between 2005 and 2009, there was an estimated average of 6.260 structural fires annually in educational properties. Statistics show that 85 civilian fire injuries and over $112 million in property damage occurred as a result of these fires. These statistics have me thinking about all sorts of things: maintenance budgets being cut as a result of fiscal boundaries, little to no resources (both human and financial) and most importantly, our children’s safety should a fire strike in their school.
LSS’ statistics show that approximately 22% of the fire dampers and smoke dampers fail as a result of a mechanical issue*. If the dampers don’t work in a facility, what happens? The facility is vulnerable to fire. Located in ductwork, mechanical rooms, wall chases and above drop ceilings, fire and smoke dampers are perhaps the most overlooked element of building’s passive fire protection system. These dampers, often forgot about because they aren’t easily in our line of vision, sit waiting to operate and to stop the fire and smoke from spreading through the building’s HVAC system.
Unfortunately, with the exception of hospitals that have The Joint Commission mandating the inspection of dampers, many facilities do not inspect their dampers every four years as required by NFPA 80 and NFPA 105. Furthermore, top damper manufacturers, increased testing should extend the life of the damper and lessen the need to replace the dampers thus saving money and making buildings safer at the same time.
*Based on LSS’ inspection data.
